Premium
Economic cost of Alcohol‐related Health Care in New Zealand: an interpretive comment
Author(s) -
WOODFIELD ALAN
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00527.x
Subject(s) - health care , health economics , revenue , alcohol abuse , tax revenue , environmental health , economic cost , public economics , economics , alcohol consumption , cost estimate , actuarial science , business , medicine , alcohol , psychiatry , economic growth , microeconomics , finance , biochemistry , chemistry , management
Summary Two recent studies estimating the economic cost of alcohol‐related health care in New Zealand are critically assessed. It is suggested that some estimates are based on unscientific methods, and that estimated costs substantially over‐emphasize the net impact of alcohol abuse on properly‐defined net expenditures of the health system. To the extent that they are comprehensive, even the overstated estimated health costs appear to fall far short of indirect tax revenue extracted from alcohol users, including non‐abusers.