Smoking and Alcohol Abuse: A Comparison of Their Economic Consequences

Abstract

Smoking and alcohol abuse are two chronic problems whose health consequences have enormous economic implications. Berry has estimated the economic consequences of alcohol abuse elsewhere,^{1 , 2} and we have recently done a similar analysis of smoking.³ In this article we consider the health and economic consequences of tobacco and alcohol together, contrasting and comparing their current costs to our society.We have taken Berry's 1971 estimates of alcohol abuse, analyzed them in terms of 1976 dollars, and compared them to the costs of smoking (also adjusted to 1976). By comparing such costs (whether economic or disability costs), public-health administrators can make . . .