Binge drinking cost the state of Wisconsin approximately $6.8 billion in 2012, including areas like motor vehicle classes and law enforcement costs, according to a report released Tuesday from the Wisconsin Public Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin has the highest proportion of binge drinkers in the country with 2.65 percent of the state population over 18 years old saying they drink an average of nine drinks in a sitting when they consume alcohol, according to the report. Binge drinking, which is defined as men having five or more drinks each time they consume alcohol and women having 4 or more, is a major public health problem in the state.
The report estimated the cost of binge drinking to the state in 2012 by multiplying the population percentage of binge drinkers in the state by the national cost estimate for binge drinking nationwide, which is $257 billion.
When the total cost of binge drinking is broken down, approximately $2.9 billion of the $6.8 billion came from lost productivity at work, $2 billion resulted from premature mortality costs, $749 million came from healthcare costs, $649 million came from law enforcement costs and $418 million resulted from motor vehicle repairs after car crashes.
The overall cost of binge drinking, which breaks down to about $1,198 per state resident, is paid for through state tax revenue. However, Wisconsin collected only $70 million, or 1 percent of the $6.8 billion cost, in alcohol tax revenue in 2011, meaning the vast majority of money used to pay for binge drinking costs came from tax revenue unrelated to alcohol funds.
