⊙ What makes alcohol use unique in comparison to other risk factors is that the costs to society from these second-hand effects are more extensive than the direct costs to the alcohol users.
⊙ Alcohol causes significant harms to many people other than the alcohol user; in other words it causes substantial “second-hand” effects.
⊙ The types of second-hand harms caused by alcohol are pervasive and include impacts on children and families, unintentional injuries and violence, crime, property damage and adverse economic effects.
⊙ The second-hand effects of alcohol are a compelling justification for comprehensive public policies on alcohol to protect the health and well-being of all people.
⊙ The influence of alcohol consumption, most often male alcohol use, on the family was one of the driving forces behind demands for alcohol control in the 19th and early 20th century.
⊙ The risk of harm associated with alcohol use extends beyond the family into the local environment including driving, public alcohol use, and violent crime.
⊙ Rates of violent crime, theft, robbery and burglary and vandalism are affected by levels of alcohol use in the community.
⊙ Losses in economic productivity or increases in alcohol-related costs to society constitute secondhand effects of alcohol consumption. The global costs of alcohol have been estimated to $665 Billion in 2002.
