What is the Value of Substance Abuse Treatment?

To begin to calculate the value of treatment for substance abuse, it is helpful to first understand the costs related to substance abuse.

Substance abuse impact is expensive, not just to the person using the substance, but to their family, workplace and society.

According to Verywell, an online resource that is a partner to the Cleveland Clinic, tobacco, a completely legal, addictive and medically proven harmful substance has an annual economic cost of over $300 billion.  Of that total, almost $170 billion is in direct medical costs and an additional $156 billion is in lost productivity due to exposure to secondhand smoke and death.

Alcohol abuse results in $249 billion in costs annually, prescription drug abuse is $78.5 billion, and illegal drug abuse is $193 billion.  All those substances combined total an astronomical $820.5 billion a year.

These numbers don’t reflect other results of addiction including overdose deaths, domestic violence, unemployment, homelessness, crimes to support the addiction that can lead to incarceration (another expense to society), health issues to unborn children to mothers who are abusing substances, and the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.

The list could go on even further with driving under the influence of substances resulting in injuries and death to innocent victims and families torn apart due to addiction with children being placed in foster care or with family members.  These consequences doesn’t show up in numbers.

The cost of substance abuse treatment varies from free peer-lead meetings, outpatient treatment programs, medication-based treatment, to intensive residential treatment programs.  Success rates vary with each type of treatment program as well as within each program, and with each individual participant.

Treatment programs cannot calculate the long-term value of their program, only the success of their participants in becoming substance-free.  But the value extends far beyond the individual in recovery.

Try a non-12 step program that allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life.

If you or someone you love has a drug or alcohol addiction, contact Gulf Breeze Recovery.  Gulf Breeze Recovery is unlike any other treatment center in Florida, their professional staff is available to help guide you.  They will continue to be there every step of the way, offering compassionate holistic treatment and support, helping you or your loved one with addiction reclaim freedom from addiction and rediscover a healthy life and lifestyle.

When you decide that Gulf Breeze Recovery is the right choice for you, contact us at Gulf Breeze Recovery or call: 833.551.2356 to speak to an addiction expert to learn more about our program that has helped so many people overcome their addiction and embrace life.

We help people not just to survive, but to THRIVE!