Before the latest report, the economic costs of alcohol abuse were last estimated in 1990 using data for 1985 (Rice et al. 1990). The estimate by Harwood and colleagues for 1992 is 42 percent greater than the estimate by Rice and colleagues, even after accounting for expected increases due to inflation and population growth. However, the estimate for 1992 is almost exactly equal to the average of the estimates from four other major studies, the Rice study included, dating back to 1977 (adjusting each of the earlier estimates for inflation and population growth). Although the estimates for 1985 and 1992 were developed using similar approaches, Harwood estimated that more than 80 percent of the increase reported in the newer study could be attributed to differences in data and methodology rather than to real increases in alcohol abuse or its consequences.
