California Alcohol Problems Drain $38 Billion Annually

Marin Institute, the alcohol industry watchdog, held a news conference and town hall meeting in Los Angeles today to release the disturbing findings of its landmark report, The Annual Catastrophe of Alcohol in California. Such a comprehensive study has never been done in California. Before a large gathering of public health experts, policymakers, and community activists, digital clocks ticked away in real time the incredible economic costs ($1,200 per second or $38.4 billion annually), incidents of harm (100 per hour or 921,928 annually) and deaths (1 per hour or 9,439 annually). Marin's study calculates that moderate-to-high alcohol consumption in California is costing roughly $1,000 per resident. By comparison, tobacco costs California approximately $550 per resident. The study also estimates $25.3 billion in lost... [read full story]