The cost of alcohol
The most obvious personal cost of alcohol is to our health. Alcohol damages our bodies in multiple ways: our heart, our liver, our brains, our skin, our liver and our cells – causing seven forms of cancer. Most people who die from alcohol are not fully alcohol-dependent – they’re more likely to be heavy drinkers who had no idea quite how dangerous alcohol is.
Alcohol also often has a hidden but major effect on our relationships including contributing to domestic violence, family breakdown, alcohol-reliant friendships, or simply not being fully present with our family or friends.
Societal costs
Another personal cost is time. Alcohol can leave us with low energy, very poor sleep and more time recovering and less time living; and can even lead to whole evenings in which we forget what happened. So, it doesn’t just risk shortening our life, it also removes parts of the life that we have. One of the most common things reported by those people who have used alcohol heavily and taken back control of it, is how much more time they have.Alcohol is estimated to cost UK society more than £27 billion each year.
Alcohol is estimated to cost UK society more than £27 billion each year, including costs linked to health, crime and lost productivity.
Even if you don’t drink alcohol and are not affected by a drinker in your household, you still pay for the costs of alcohol harm. That’s because alcohol has huge societal costs.
Over 1.25m hospital visits a year are alcohol-related and right across our health system, from GPs to A&E, from liver wards to cancer wards to alcohol treatment services, the costs of alcohol health harms is estimated to run into billions each year.
Support Available
If you want to reduce your drinking try these Tips for cutting down from Alcohol Change UK. An alcohol-free break is a good total reset for the body and mind.
Drinkline, a free, confidential helpline for people who are concerned about their drinking, or someone else's. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm)
SMART Recovery meeting available online here. SMART holds both face-to-face and online meetings which support people in managing harmful addictive behaviour. The SMART Recovery Programme helps individuals and family members of those who are struggling. They also have women's only meetings and those specifically for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Alcohol addiction services can help you stop drinking in a safe way.
Warning! Stopping drinking suddenly can be very dangerous, and can even kill you, if you are dependent on alcohol. Seek help from your GP or an addition service if you are dependent on alcohol.
