VOA标准英语2011--Study Calculates High Cost of Heavy Drinking

Study Calculates High Cost of Heavy Drinking

Excessive alcohol consumption in the United States costs Americans more than $200 billion a year, according to a new study.

That hefty bill includes the medical costs related to heavy drinking, plus the impact of alcohol abuse on law enforcement agencies and employers.

The researchers found the biggest contributor to the total costs of excessive alcohol use was a drop in workplace productivity, but the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas R. Frieden, MD, told reporters that heavy drinking also contributes to a wide range of chronic¹ health problems, including cirrhosis of the liver, "cancers, including liver, mouth, throat; high blood pressure; mental health problems; injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, burns, and firearm injuries; violence, including child maltreatment, homicide, suicide, and domestic violence. All are substantially contributed to by unhealthy patterns of alcohol intake²."

This study is limited to excessive drinking, which is defined in the CDC study as more than one alcoholic³ drink per day for women, more than two per day for men, and any drinking at all by pregnant women and underage youth. Other research has found light-to-moderate drinking can often have benefits.

CDC director Frieden says the price of heavy alcohol use averages out to just under $2 a drink.

Excessive alcohol consumption costs Americans $224 billion a year, according to a new study.

The estimated costs for 2006, the most recent year available, climbed $40 billion over the costs found in a similar 1998 study. And CDC Alcohol Program official Robert Brewer⁴, MD, suggests that the findings may understate the problem.

"Now, I should tell you that our estimates here are very conservative, yet the number that we are reporting here - $223.5 billion - is huge," Brewer said.

The study on the costs of excessive drinking in the United States is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

In separate research on the health effects of alcohol, heavy drinkers were found to be at higher risk of lung cancer.

The study, by researchers at Kaiser Permanente in California, used data from a group of more than 125,000 people, who were followed for as long as 30 years to assess various lung cancer risk factors. Those who had more than three alcoholic drinks a day were more likely to get lung cancer, but the increased risk did not apply to more moderate drinkers.

The researchers, led by Stanton T. Siu, MD, presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Hawaii.

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

3 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

4 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。