DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE COST U.S. BILLIONS

WASHINGTON -- Drug and alcohol abuse cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of
dollars a year because of lost productivity, health care and other
problems, according to a government study.

The National Institutes of Health said the cost totaled $246 billion in
1992, the most recent year with enough data for a study, and its
researchers projected the cost at $276 billion in 1995.

The 1992 study took into account everything from lost productivity to
drug-related crimes. Researchers found that the costs of alcohol and drug
abuse problems averaged about $965 a year for each person in the U.S.

"This study indicates that emergence of health problems from the cocaine
and HIV epidemics during this period substantially increased drug-related
costs to society," said Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse. "The rising costs from these and other drug-related public
health issues warrant a strong, consistent and continuous investment in
research on prevention and treatment."

Most of the costs -- about two-thirds -- were related to lost productivity,
defined as illness or premature death. Another 13 percent of the total
costs were related to health-care spending, 9 percent to property damage
such as from car crashes and just under 9 percent to costs of substance
abuse-related crimes, the NIH said.

The researchers projected the 1995 losses of $276 billion based on
inflation and other factors.

To date, there are few available treatments for alcohol and drug abuse. A
notable exception is Madison, New Jersey-based American Home Products
Corp.'s Antabuse, which makes alcohol unpleasant to patients taking the drug.

ImmuLogic, based in Waltham, is among the companies developing new
treatments for drug abuse. In December, the company said it won approval to
test its cocaine addiction treatment in humans.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski