October 17, 2015
A new study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that excessive drinking cost the United States about $250 billion in 2010 with Pennsylvania footing almost $10 billion of that bill.
The study, released Thursday, looked at the impacts of binge drinking, as well as behaviors like underage drinking and drinking while pregnant, on the government and economy.
It found that lost productivity was the biggest side effect of Americans having a few too many, stating that around $180 billion in efficient work was lost.
Health care costs were the second largest losers as a result of binge consumption, with more than $29 billion going down the drain.
Other costs such as criminal justice and car crashes amounted to 16.7 percent of the total.
In Pennsylvania alone, $9.5 billion was lost to excessive drinking, with the government picking up nearly half of that tab.
That equates to about $1.92 per drink and $751 per person.
While those numbers may seem staggering, they are actually on the lower end of the spectrum when compared to other states.
The worst hangovers were in California, Utah, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, a map of the study created by Vox shows.
In New Jersey and Delaware, the total costs were around $6 billion and $800 million, respectively.
The study followed up on 2006 estimates on the nationwide price of binge drinking, finding that the total cost went up by about $25 billion.
One of the study's authors called the increase "concerning" in a news release and said prevention strategies which can be effective are underutilized.
