Public costs of addiction over a half trillion dollars

Another study has been done on the costs of the major addictions in the United States.  The top-five are estimated to carry a cost to society of over a half trillion dollars per year. The totals do not reflect the amounts paid by the individuals and their families as a result of their behavior. The report is the subject of a recent Forbes magazine article <click here>.  Lest we forget, the most expensive continue to be the 'legal' addictions, alcohol and tobacco which were $166 billion and $157 billion respectively.  Illicit drug use (prescription and street) ranks third at $110 billion, just ahead of over-eating (more polite than 'obesity') which accounted for $107 billion. Gambling comes in fifth at about $40 billion. The study focused on the available, reliable information and did not consider some 'addictions' ( pornography, for example) for which government figures are not available.