A new study found alcohol caused over 900 deaths and 29,282 hospitalisations in 2018. Alcohol was linked to nearly 129,000 ACC claims and $9.1 billion in harm costs.
The rate of alcohol-attributed deaths was twice as high for Māori. A major new analysis has laid bare the health burden booze is causing in New Zealand, with its role in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of hospital cases. An advocacy group says it is also “frightening” alcohol was implicated in nearly 129,000 ACC claims over the year captured by the new Otago University-led stocktake.
In June, a Ministry of Health-commissioned report estimated the cost of alcohol harm at around $9.1 billion - half of it due to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) alone. Now, the first national study of its kind in more than a decade has teased out its impact on a wide range of health conditions and diseases.
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