Vol. 510 No. 4
136 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the study carried out for the French Government (details supplied) which estimates that legal and illegal drugs represent a cost to the economy of 2.42 per cent and 0.16 per cent of GDP respectively; and if he will have a similar study undertaken here with particular reference to alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. [22182/99]
I understand that this study was carried out by Professor Pierre Kopp of the Sorbonne in France, in collaboration with a panel of experts, for the French office on drugs and a special ministerial mission on the impact of legal and illegal substances. It deals with the social cost of consumption of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. The panel of experts found that the abuse of alcohol presented the most serious problem followed by tobacco and then illegal drugs.
Estimating the economic cost of alcohol related problems is fraught with difficulties due to the problems of gathering accurate data on true costs and the exclusion of other social costs, such as quality of life, the pain and misery suffered, which cannot be adequately quantified. In the case of Ireland, quantifiable costs for some of the measures were estimated in 1980 and again in 1992 both using similar criteria, including, for example, workplace production losses due to absenteeism, illness and accidents attributed to alcohol, losses from road accidents and numerous other areas. The most recent estimated costs available are based on 1988 estimates. However, the national alcohol surveillance project which was set up by the Health Promotion Unit of my Department following the publication of the national alcohol policy in 1996 is currently examining the information available with a view to updating the estimated costs. I understand these will be available next year.
