| Economic Costs of Underage Drinking
The costs to the United States of underage drinking is substantial. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Institute of Medicine released a landmark report to Congress in September 2003, "Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility", found that underage alcohol use costs the nation an estimated $53 billion annually, including:
Violent Crime: |
$29,368,000,000 |
Traffic Crashes: |
$19,452,000,000 |
Burns: |
$189,000,000 |
Drowning: |
$426,000,000 |
Suicide Attempts: |
$1,512,000,000 |
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: |
$493,000,000 |
Alcohol Poisonings: |
$340,000,000 |
Treatment: |
$1,008,000,000 |
TOTAL: |
$52,788,000,000 |
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