This chart shows $250 billion cost of drinking to US economy

Binge drinking is on the rise, taking the cost of drinking with it. The cost to the economy has increased from $223.5 billion in 2006.

A group of girls saying cheers and are having ice cold drafted beer at the local nightclub. (PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)

It doesn’t take much to work out that heavy drinking will leave your wallet empty and result in a sore head the next morning. But a new report shows that the negative effects might extend much further than that, by draining billions from the economy.

Binge drinking - defined as more than four drinks for women or more than five for men — cost the US economy $249 billion in 2010, according to a new analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Binge drinking is on the rise, taking the cost of drinking with it. The cost to the economy has increased from $223.5 billion in 2006.

The increase, about 2.7 per cent annually from 2006 to 2010, also outpaced inflation. Most of the costs are attributable to binge drinking, and 40 per cent of the total is borne by the government.

The authors of the study included several categories such as lost productivity, criminal-justice fees for alcohol-related crimes, medical bills, and other costly ramifications associated with heavy drinking.

The highest cost came from loss of productivity, which comprised nearly 72 per cent of the total cost, or nearly $179 billion. Hungover employees are less likely to turn up to work all or be barely able to function. Thus having workers with ‘impaired productivity’ cost the economy approximately $28 billion.

This was followed by health care with 11.4 per cent or about 28 billion. While the cost of motor-vehicle crashes related to alcohol accounted for about $13 billion, and the cost of criminal-justice activities, associated with drinking accounted for $15 billion.

Although there are limitations to the study, the authors said the survey is likely to “substantially underestimate” the actual cost of excessive drinking as it can’t include intangible costs such as pain and suffering.