The Alaska Governor’s Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ABADA) recently released a 2005 update of the 2001 report, Economic Costs of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse in Alaska. Prepared for ABADA by the McDowell Group, the report details the impact of alcohol and other drug abuse on Alaska’s economy.   The report found that the total cost of this dependence to the Alaska economy was estimated to be $738 million during 2003. The costs of alcohol and drug abuse and dependency were recorded in the areas of lost productivity, criminal justice and protective services, health care, traffic accidents and public assistance.

To better understand the significance of this report to the rest of the nation, it is important to acknowledge that Alaska has higher alcohol rates and higher costs of providing services. While the study team used national data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, these sources did not directly address Alaska’s population.  According to the report Alaska’s alcohol-dependent population is double the national average and cost-of-living indicators show Anchorage health-care costs alone were 65 percent higher than the national average during 2003.  Further, very little underlying data existed prior to the study about the monetary impact of alcohol and other drug abuse in Alaska and the report recommends the need for more comprehensive research.

Lost productivity occurs when alcohol and other drug abuse results in premature death, reduced efficiency of workers, incarceration for criminal offense and inpatient treatment or hospitalization.  Lost productivity in the workplace is defined as having high absenteeism, reduced efficiency of workers from diminished physical and mental abilities and/or having a limited work history due to a person’s inability to hold a job.  The estimated cost of this area alone was an estimated $367 million in 2003.  According to the report, this amount includes $106 million in alcohol-related impairment and $20 million in other drug-related impairment.  Alaskan residents receiving inpatient treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse cost an estimated $8.8 million in 2003.

Premature death from alcohol and other abuse contributes to the largest cost to Alaskans.  This can be seen in the number of deaths resulting from suicide, motor vehicle crashes, homicide, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes or other medical causes.  An employed resident contributes to the “overall benefit of Alaska society” by producing goods and services in addition to household services.  Without these contributions, the economy of Alaska is negatively influenced.

Health-care costs attributed to alcohol and other drug abuse result from injury and illness such as cirrhosis, hypertension and diabetes. Costs including hospital care, residential and outpatient treatment, and pharmaceutical costs are estimated to be $178 million in 2003. Hospital costs from illnesses and injuries were estimated at $9.3 million.  Alcohol abuse-related health-care costs accounted from $84.8 million, while other drug abuse-related costs were $8.2 million.  Alcohol and other drug residential and outpatient treatment costs were approximately $26.8 million and the total medical outpatient costs from illnesses and injuries totaled an estimated $25.7 million.

In 2003, an estimated 17,400 arrests were attributed to alcohol and other drug abuse. During this same period, 15,800 Alaska residents were victims of drug abuse-related crimes. Costs for associated law enforcement, corrections, legal costs and property damage were nearly $154 million. An additional $59 million was spent on alcohol and drug-related adult and child protective services.

Alcohol and other drug abuse are a major cause of traffic crashes in Alaska. The estimated costs including legal fees, property damage, injuries, fatalities and workplace costs is estimated to be $35 million.

A portion of public assistance expenditures can be attributed to alcohol and other drug abuse. Drug-dependent persons may qualify for public assistance because of reduced income, inability to hold a job, or disability caused by substance abuse. Administrative costs to these programs were an estimated $4.1 million in 2003.

A drug-free workplace program can assist employers in any state with workplace issues such as absenteeism and reduced efficiency.  This type of program helps to provide a workplace free of health, safety and productivity hazards caused by employees’ abuse of alcohol or drugs.  A comprehensive drug-free workplace program generally includes five components—a drug-free workplace policy, supervisor training, employee education, employee assistance and drug testing. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Working Partners program has a Web tool called the Drug-Free Workplace Advisor Program Builder that can assist in learning about these different components.

The full report is available on the ABADA web site at http://www.hss.state.ak.us/abada/.