Alcohol accounted for an estimated 3668 deaths and 95 917 hospital separations in Australia in the 1996–97 financial year.1 Alcohol-related deaths in Australia declined from 460 per million population in 1990 to 369 per million in 1997.2 The net economic cost of alcohol to the economy in 1992 was estimated to be $4.5 billion (this estimate includes increased healthcare expenditure and costs to industry from impaired productivity, increased accidents and absenteeism).3
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- Robert Graham1
- Alex D Wodak2
- Greg Whelan3
- 1 St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW.
- 2 Department of Drug and Alcohol Studies, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.