An assessment of financial and social cost of alcohol use

Abstract

Alcohol has been treated as a normal commodity in the modern societies. Alcohol consumption has risen in developing countries, where it takes a heavy toll. Various problems directly or indirectly related with excessive alcohol use are increasingly identified. Economic impact of alcohol is thus an important issue and the present work aims to study the direct cost of alcohol as well as various adverse consequences due to its use in the patients attending the facility. This prospective-descriptive study included 40 patients admitted in the Psychiatry Ward, TUTH due to alcohol-related problems over a period of six months. Thirty-nine (97.5%) were males, thirty-five (87.5%) were married, and 24 (60%) were farmers. The mean age of the patients was 37.7�10.3 years, and the mean duration of alcohol abuse was 14.65�9.51 years. The direct cost of alcohol was calculated as Rs. 57056 per year per person and an estimated Rs. five billion being spent by the Nepali nationals in alcohol over a period of one year. Alcohol use was found to be associated with marital, social, financial, occupational and legal problems. Adverse effects as well as consequence of alcohol is thus found to take heavy toll in the society.