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“Alcohol is a factor in the deaths of one in seven young people, kills 3430 people a year and causes accidents and injury that put 80,000 Australians into hospital annually. A report released by the National Drug Research Institute last month showed that, while alcohol-related deaths were decreasing, hospital admissions had risen by a third over the past decade. ‘Every week, on average, risky or high-risk drinking is killing more than 60 Australians and putting another 1500 people — the equivalent of a small town — in hospital, owing to injury or disease that is entirely preventable,’ the National Drug Research Institute associate professor Tanya Chikritzhs said. According to the National Preventative Health Taskforce Report, released this month, alcohol abuse costs the Australian economy $15 billion a year. The highest cost factors were loss of life ($4.135 billion), workforce reduction and absenteeism ($3.579 billion) and road accidents ($2.202 billion).” (Source: Harvard World Health News, 10/29/09) The Sydney Morning Herald, 10/25/09 Comment: Interesting figures for passive-drinkers, for all of us.