Search

The social cost of drugs is the monetary cost of both the consequences of their trade and their consumption. In this paper, drugs considered are tobacco and alcohol, which are legal, plus those that are illegal. The social cost is the sum of the external cost: value of loss in quality of life, value of years of life lost and value of loss in productivity, plus public expenditure. Public expenditure consists of public spending on medical care, prevention, and law enforcement, minus savings from unpaid pensions and taxes levied on tobacco and alcohol. The parameters for the calculations have used the recommendations of a French governmental working group (2013) Quinet, L'évaluation socioéconomique des investissements publics [Internet], Centre d'Analyse Stratégique, 2013, http://www.strategie.gouv.fr/sites/strategie.gouv.fr/files/archives/CGSP_Evaluation_socioeconomique_17092013.pdf , and the health data were derived from the scientific literature. The social costs are €122 billion for tobacco, €118 billion for alcohol, and €8.7 billion for illegal drugs. The largest fraction of the costs (53, 56, and 31 %, respectively) derives from the number of deaths, 79,000 for tobacco, 49,000 for alcohol, and 1600 for illegal drugs, given the high cost of a year of life lost (€115,000). The external cost corresponds to 86, 97, and 68 % of the social cost, respectively, for tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs. The annual drug-related net expenditure represents €13.9, €3.0, and €2.3 billion, respectively, for tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs. The tax revenues on tobacco and alcohol, €10.4 and €3.2 billion, represent less than half of the corresponding healthcare costs, which are €25.9 and €7.7 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article examines the consequences, for Paris, of the increase in two-wheel motor vehicle (2WMV) traffic (measured in vehicle/km). Our study reveals that, between 2000 and 2007, the subway''s (Métro) share in total inner-Paris travel increased by 13.6%, the RER''s share by 10.3% and the SNCF''s share by 20.5%. These three means of transport account for 58% of daily travel. On the other hand, the bus share has decreased by 16% and that of cars by 23.7%. Private motor vehicles represent 37.3% of total travel. Looking at road traffic, where public transport (buses) and private motor transport compete for the use of limited road space, private motor vehicles account for 91.5% and public transport 8.5% of total travel. The 2WMV share in Paris traffic increased by 36% between 2000 and 2007, with 2WMVs now accounting for a share twice as large as that of buses. A survey has shown that 100 million additional passenger kilometres were made by 2WMV in 2007 compared to 2000. 53% of this increase comes from people shifting to 2WMV from public transport and 26.5% from private cars. The remaining 20% is attributable to the increased use of 2WMVs by those already owning such vehicles in 2000. Is the growth in the share of 2WMV traffic in Paris beneficial to the community? This shift in the means of transport generates time savings of €293 million and increases owners'' vehicle usage costs by €49 million. The cost of accidents is increased by €49 million and the negative consequences in terms of pollution are estimated at €22.6 million. The welfare impact of the government revenue change is negative and equal to €4.7 million. In total, the gain for the community is therefore around €168 million. Accident costs are the key issue. The fact that there are on average 21 2WMV fatalities in Paris (average 2006–2007) for a means of transport accounting for 16% of passenger/km made every day in Paris offers a striking contrast to the 6 (average 2006–2007) fatalities concerning cyclists which account for a mere 0.1% of trips. The massive shift to 2WMV has taken place without any public policy support. Public policy could easily further improve the 2WMV cost-benefit balance by taking measures that would decrease the number of accidents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unlabelled: AIM, DESIGN AND SETTING: The economic costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs to French society are estimated using a cost of illness framework.Measurements: For the cause of disease or death (using ICD-9 categories), pooled relative risk estimates from meta-analyses were combined with prevalence data by age and gender to derive the proportion attributable to alcohol, tobacco and/or illicit drugs. The resulting estimates of attributable deaths and hospitalizations were used to calculate the associated health care, law enforcement, productivity and other costs. The results were compared with those of other studies, and sensitivity analyses were conducted by alternative ways of measuring risk attribution and costs.Findings: The use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs cost more than 200 billion francs (FF) in France in 1997, representing 3714 FF per capita or 2.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Alcohol is the drug that gives rise to the greatest cost in France, i.e. 115420.91 million FF (1.42% of GDP) or an expenditure per capita of 1966 FF in 1997. Alcohol takes more than half of the social cost of drugs to society. The greatest share of the social cost of alcohol comes from the loss of productivity (57555.66 million FF), due to premature death (53168.60 million FF), morbidity (3884.0 million FF) and imprisonment (503.06 million FF). Tobacco leads to a social cost of 89256.90 million FF, that is an expenditure per capita of 1520.56 FF or 1.1% of GDP. Productivity losses amount to 50446.70 million FF, with losses of 42765.80 million FF as a result of premature death and 7680.90 million FF linked to morbidity. Health care costs for tobacco occupy second place at 26973.70 million FF. Illicit drugs generate a social cost of 13350.28 million FF, that is an expenditure per capita of 227.43 FF or 0.16% of GDP. Productivity losses reach 6099.19 million FF, with 5246.92 million FF linked to imprisonment and 852.27 million FF to premature death. The cost of enforcing the law for illicit drugs occupies second place at 3911.46 million FF, followed by health care costs of 1524.51 million FF.Conclusion: Substance abuse exact a considerable toll from French society in terms of illness, injury, death and economic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Paris, an old bus line on the Maréchaux Boulevards has been replaced by a modern tramway. Simultaneously, the road-space has been narrowed by about a third. A survey of 1000 users of the tramway shows that the tramway hardly generated any shift from private cars towards public transit mode. However, it did generate important intra-mode transfers: from bus and subway towards tramway, and from Maréchaux boulevards towards the Périphérique (the Paris ring road) for cars. The various benefits and costs of these changes are evaluated. The welfare gains made by public transport users are more than compensated by the time losses of the motorists, and in particular, by the additional cost of road congestion on the Périphérique. The same conclusion applies with regard to CO2 emissions: the reductions caused by the replacement of buses and the elimination of a few cars trips are less important than the increased pollution caused by the lengthening of the automobile trips and increased congestion on the ring road. Even if one ignores the initial investment of 350M€, the social impact of the project, as measured by its net present value is negative. This is especially true for suburbanites. The inhabitants (and electors) of Paris pocket the main part of the benefits while supporting a fraction of the costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]