Substance Use Disorder Costs — $93B Lost Productivity in America

Substance use disorder costs and the $93B lost productivity in America explained through addiction science. This episode uncovers the hidden economic impact of drugs and alcohol, connecting the cost of addiction to real-world workplace and public health challenges. Listen to understand the true financial toll of substance use, so you can make better decisions in policy, business, healthcare, and your own life. **What you will learn** • Clarify what substance use disorder (SUD) is and how it differs from casual or recreational substance use in economic analyses. • Break down the nearly $93 billion in lost productivity in America—missed workdays, reduced on-the-job performance, long-term disability, and lost household productivity. • Understand how alcohol, opioids, and other drugs each contribute to the total economic impact of drugs in the United States. • Recognize the specific ways addiction and the workplace intersect, including absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, and safety incidents. • Connect mental health and substance use, and why untreated co-occurring conditions amplify both health and economic costs. • Interpret key alcohol and drug abuse statistics from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine study in clear, everyday language. • Identify evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies that can reduce both human suffering and the opioid crisis economic cost