CDC study shows hidden costs of alcohol

Craft breweries and wineries are one of the bright spots in Nebraska's economy, but both sides of the balance sheet need to be examined before we put too much stock into the alcohol industry.

The Whiteclay, Nebraska, situation is perhaps the worst example, millions of cans of beer contributing to tragedy on the Pine Ridge reservation across the border.

But we don't need to travel as far as Northwest Nebraska to experience some of the downside to a booming industry.

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the cost of alcohol abuse at $259 billion in 2010, the latest year available.

The study took into account binge drinking, heavy drinking and consumption of alcohol by minors and pregnant women, saying the total cost increased by $25.5 billion from the 2006 estimates.

Nebraska ranks ninth highest in the percentage of adults that binge drink in the U.S., and four Nebraska communities -- Norfolk, Lincoln, Sioux City and Omaha -- rank among the top 20 binge drinking cities out of nearly 200 across the country.

Excessive alcohol consumption was up approximately $50 million in Nebraska over the 2006-10 period, reaching $1.16 billion, and taxpayers paid more than $491 million of those costs.

Three-fourths of those costs were attributable to binge drinking -- more than four drinks in a couple of hours for women, more than five for men.

By comparison, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission said the state collected $27.6 million in taxes from all alcohol sold in 2010, or only 5.6 percent of the state's estimated cost.

"Excessive consumption by both youth and adults in Nebraska is a serious public health issue, but it's clearly also an economic issue," said Nicole Carritt, executive director of Project Extra Mile. "Addressing this problem requires evidence-based solutions such as increasing alcohol taxes, which can not only reduce dangerous consumption and the tragic consequences, but also increase state revenue that can be used to fund public health and prevention efforts."

Most of the costs calculated in the CDC study were due to losses in workplace productivity, crime and medical expenses, and do not include costs such as pain and suffering associated with alcohol-related harm. The researchers also believe the study underestimates excessive drinking costs, because information is often under-reported or unavailable.

Even so, we do know that excessive alcohol consumption led to about 88,000 deaths each year in the United States from 2006 to 2010.

Prohibition, which undermined authority as well as giving organized crime a big boost in the last century, is a mistake we can't afford to make again.

It's not unreasonable that corporations that make huge profits from its production and distribution should be asked to shoulder more of society's alcohol-related burden, however.