Landmark study
Marin Institute has conducted a landmark research study, estimating the total annual cost of alcohol problems in the state of California. The results include deaths, incidents, and economic costs to individuals and to society. We calculated the annual costs to the health care and criminal justice systems, the lost productivity from deaths, illness, and injury, and the reduced quality of life. Our findings indicate that moderate-to-high alcohol consumption in California requires serious and immediate attention.
The price tag for alcohol in California
- The total economic cost of alcohol use is $38 billion annually
- This translates to roughly $1000 per California resident or $3,000 per family each year
- This also translates to a cost of $2.80 per drink consumed, while current alcohol excise taxes equal only 8 cents per drink
How alcohol causes death in California
• Total number of lives lost each year to alcohol use is 9,439
• One person dies every hour due to alcohol use
• The total number of incidents related to alcohol use is over 920,000
• There are 100 incidents (injuries, crimes, highrisk sex, etc.) every hour due to alcohol use
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY(English) |
California Data (中文) |
Santa Clara Data (English) |
| Graphic Highlights (English) |
Los Angeles Data (English) |
CA Cost Report - Documentary Film |
| Graphic Highlights (Español) |
Los Angeles Data (Español) |
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 The Cost of Alcohol to California (slide presentation) 2.83 Mb |
Entire Report Package 
