The economic costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs in Canada, 1992

• Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England) Vol. 93; no. 7; pp. 991 - 1006
• Main Authors: Single, Eric, Robson, Lynda, Xie, Xiaodi, Rehm, Jurgen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Carfax Publishing Limited 01.07.1998; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Alcohol; Alcohol Abuse; Alcohol Drinking - economics; Alcohol Drinking - mortality; Alcohol use; Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Cost analysis; Cost of Illness; Costs; Death; Drug Abuse; Drugs; Economic costs; Economic impact; Female; Health Care Costs; Health services; Hospitals; Humans; Illness; Male; Medical sciences; Mental health; Morbidity; Mortality; Organization of mental health. Health systems; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Smoking; Smoking - economics; Smoking - mortality; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Substance abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - economics; Substance-Related Disorders - mortality; Tobacco; Canada; North America; America; Consumption; Human; Abuse; Illicit drug; Mortality; Mental health; Alcoholic beverage; Tobacco; Health economy; Dependence; Complication; Cost analysis; Public health
• ISSN: 0965-2140; 1360-0443
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.9379914.x

Aims, design and setting. The economic costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs to Canadian society in 1992 are estimated utilizing a cost‐of‐illness framework and recently developed international guidelines. Measurements. For causes of disease or death (using ICD‐9 categories), pooled relative risk estimates from meta‐analyses are combined with prevalence data by age, gender and province to derive the proportion attributable to alcohol, tobacco and/or illicit drugs. The resulting estimates of attributable deaths and hospitalizations are used to calculate associated health care, law enforcement, productivity and other costs. The results are compared with other studies, and sensitivity analyses are conducted on alternative measures of alcohol consumption, alternative discount rates for productivity costs and the use of diagnostic‐specific hospitalization costs. Findings. The misuse of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs cost more than $18.4 billion in Canada in 1992, representing $649 per capita or 2.7% of GDP. Alcohol accounts for approximately $7.52 billion in costs, including $4.14 billion for lost productivity, $1.36 billion for law enforcement and $1.30 billion in direct health care costs. Tobacco accounts for approximately $9.56 billion in costs, including $6.82 billion for lost productivity and $2.68 billion for direct health care costs. The economic costs of illicit drugs are estimated at $1.4 billion. Conclusions. Substance abuse exacts a considerable toll to Canadian society in terms of illness, injury, death and economic costs.