The cost of living

Or perhaps the cost of dying.

I've heard a few interesting things recently about how the figures commonly bandied around on the costs of alcohol misuse are all bollocks.

For starters one of the major ways it's calculated is the cost to the economy of people losing their jobs due to alcohol problems. It was pointed out that toting up the cost of benefits of people who lost their job is highly dubious, as though it may well be a personal tragedy, the economy won't suffer as for each person made unemployed another will come off benefits when they fill the new vacancy.

Then there's the fact that people dying prematurely may well cost the NHS, but not half as much as people that don't die prematurely and end us needing constant care in their advanced years. Someone who pops their clogs early is really doing the NHS a favour!

Finally in all the talk of alcohol related costs there's no mention of the huge amount of money taxes on alcohol bring in.