title: Avoidable cost of alcohol abuse in Canada.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate avoidable burden and avoidable costs of alcohol abuse in Canada for the year 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  A policy effectiveness approach was used. The impact of six effective and cost-effective alcohol policy interventions aimed to reduce alcohol consumption was modeled. In addition, the effect of privatized alcohol sales that would increase alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable costs was also modeled. The effects of these interventions were compared with the baseline (aggregate) costs obtained from the second Canadian Study of Social Costs Attributable to Substance Abuse.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was estimated that by implementing six cost-effective policies from about 900 million to two billion Canadian dollars per year could be saved in Canada. The greatest savings due to the implementation of these interventions would be achieved in the lowering of productivity losses, followed by health care, and criminality. Substantial increases in burden and cost would occur if Canadian provinces were to privatize alcohol sales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The implementation of proven effective population-based interventions would reduce alcohol-attributable burden and its costs in Canada to a considerable degree.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, CAMH, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rehm
authors.forename: Jayadeep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Gnam
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarnocinska-Hart
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Popova
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D002170:Canada; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic