Excessive Drinking Costs US $224 Billion a Year

Excessive alcohol consumption costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2006, binge drinking, underage drinking and drinking by pregnant women cost U.S. taxpayers $223.5 billion, the CDC study showed. That breaks down to $746 per taxpayer, the researchers said, or about $1.90 for each alcoholic drink consumed that year.   Full Read