Financially how much does your alcohol problem cost you? Think about the cost of cabs, lost keys, lost days of work, hangover remedies and cigarettes smoked while intoxicated. Multiply that number by the number of years you have been drinking. That’s is a lot of money down the drain. Saving that money can in fact, be a prime motivator for you to stay sober.

How much does alcohol addiction cost society? The employees at work who works at half-speed because of their hangover, or the employee who fails to show up at all costing the company money. The increased healthcare costs for every single alcoholic affects monthly insurance premiums. The payouts made to survivors of alcohol-related car accidents are paid for by automobile insurance payments. We all pay the price for every alcoholic wandering around our country.

Alcoholism Hotline Banner

The government states that there are 14 million Americans currently abusing alcohol. The cost to our country is huge – over $150 billion in lost productivity and health-related expenses. All because of alcoholism.

If you think the alcohol companies are concerned about this number, you are mistaken. From 2001 to 2005, alcohol companies embarked on a “responsibility” advertising campaign, stressing the responsibility of drinkers and the necessity to be 21 if you do drink. The amount spent on that campaign amounted to approximately $100 million, less than 2% of their budget during that time period. Alcohol companies spend approximately $6.80 per drinker to woo them onto the bottle.

Think of this during Super Bowl Sunday when we all sit in anticipation of the next Budweiser commercial, or wait to see what Heineken will come up with over the holidays. They aren’t just selling alcohol, they are selling alcoholism, and we are all paying the price for it.