Whitepaper: Workplace Alcohol Screening - Current Research & Applications

Abstract

Alcohol misuse has a number of adverse effects on health and is a significant health problem worldwide. In the United States, alcohol use disorders are among the most costly medical and public health problems (McLellan, Lewis, O’Brien, & Kleber, 2000), ranking third as an avoidable cause of premature mortality and morbidity (Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2005). A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated excessive drinking costs the US economy more than $224 billion annually, or about $1.90 per drink, and approximately $746 per person per capita with almost three-quarters of this figure due to binge drinking (that is, consuming four or more alcoholic beverages per occasion for women or five or more drinks per occasion for men). The majority of these costs were reflected in lost productivity (Bouchery, Harwood, Sacks, Simon, & Brewer, 2011).