Scientists calculate exactly how much drinking alcohol really costs you

Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/

Ben Weich

January 27, 2019

Alcohol costs much more than we think, according scientists who have calculated that each bottle of wine drunk per week may amount to £2,400 a year in hidden costs.

Researchers from Cardiff University and Oxford reached the shocking conclusion after studying the long-term effects of alcohol consumption on health , mental ability and relationships.

While alcohol is believed to enhance short-term happiness and sociability, the academics found its cost far outweigh its benefits.

Simon Moore, professor of public health at Cardiff University, who co-led the study, told the Sunday Times that regular drinking “reduces our health, happiness, employability and our ability to think and remember”.

He said: “Alcohol costs us in all kinds of ways. It also raises the risk of cancer and of assault.”

The research, funded by the Medical Research Council , focused on 141,000 British drinkers aged between 37 and 73.

It found that, besides the “adverse cognitive impact” of alcohol, it also leads to higher risks of depression and insomnia .

They also concluded that, for long-term drinkers, each weekly bottle of wine is equivalent to £2,400 a year in damage to health and quality of life.

Each pint of beer a week is equivalent to £610 a year.

Prof Moore added: “The industry has sold it like it’s a medicine, convincing people that it will make them happy.

“In the end, though, it’s all alcohol and it damages your brain, body and relationships, whatever drink it comes from.

The Portman Group, which represents the alcohol industry, argued that ‘alcohol isn’t the cause of anxiety and ill-health – but a reaction to it’

“Our research estimates the actual value of that damage.”

John Timothy, head of the Portman Group, which represents the alcohol industry, said: “Some people turn to alcohol to help them manage the stresses and strains of the modern world.

“Alcohol isn’t the cause of their anxiety and ill-health but a reaction to it.”