S Afr Med J. 2014 Feb;104(2):127-32. doi: 10.7196/samj.7644.
The economic, social and health costs associated with alcohol-related harms are important measures with which to inform alcohol management policies and laws. This analysis builds on previous cost estimates for South Africa.
We reviewed existing international best-practice costing frameworks to provide the costing definitions and dimensions. We sourced data from South African costing literature or, if unavailable, estimated costs using socio-economic and health data from secondary sources. Care was taken to avoid possible causes of cost overestimation, in particular double counting and, as far as possible, second-round effects of alcohol abuse.
The combined total tangible and intangible costs of alcohol harm to the economy were estimated at 10 - 12% of the 2009 gross domestic product (GDP). The tangible financial cost of harmful alcohol use alone was estimated at R37.9 billion, or 1.6% of the 2009 GDP.
The costs of alcohol-related harms provide a substantial counterbalance to the economic benefits highlighted by the alcohol industry to counter stricter regulation. Curtailing these costs by regulatory and policy interventions contributes directly and indirectly to social well-being and the economy. CONCLUSIONS; Existing frameworks that guide the regulation and distribution of alcohol frequently focus on maximising the contribution of the alcohol sector to the economy, but should also take into account the associated economic, social and health costs. Current interventions do not systematically address the most important causes of harm from alcohol, and need to be informed by reliable evidence of the ongoing costs of alcohol-related harms.
与酒精相关的危害所带来的经济、社会和健康成本是制定酒精管理政策和法律的重要依据。本分析基于南非先前的成本估算。
我们回顾了现有的国际最佳成本估算框架，以提供成本估算的定义和维度。我们从南非成本估算文献中获取数据，或者在无法获取的情况下，使用来自二手资料的社会经济和健康数据来估算成本。我们特别注意避免成本高估的可能原因，特别是双重计算和酒精滥用的第二轮影响。
经济上酒精危害的有形和无形总成本估计占 2009 年国内生产总值（GDP）的 10-12%。仅有害酒精使用的有形财务成本估计为 379 亿兰特，占 2009 年 GDP 的 1.6%。
酒精相关危害的成本与酒精行业为了对抗更严格的监管而强调的经济利益形成了实质性的平衡。通过监管和政策干预来减少这些成本，直接和间接地有助于社会福利和经济。
指导酒精监管和分配的现有框架通常侧重于使酒精行业对经济的贡献最大化，但也应考虑到相关的经济、社会和健康成本。现行干预措施并没有系统地解决酒精造成的危害的最重要原因，需要根据酒精相关危害的持续成本的可靠证据来提供信息。
