The last time I updated this was back in June 2013, when we were told that alcohol costs our country £25 billion each year, which was up from £16.2 billion back in 2011.
Good news, chaps, somebody didn't read the memo and the new made-up figure is now a more modest £21 billion a year!
(On closer inspection it turns out that this is an old figure which Factcheck debunked last year).
Even more bizarre was today's FT which baldly stated that Britain's binge drinking epidemic costs the taxpayer £21bn a year.
Well whoopie doo. I could have told them that. A couple of years ago we were told that the government gets £14.6 bn a year from duty and VAT on alcohol, we can add on another half for PAYE and corporation tax paid by brewers, pubs etc, there's your £21 billion right there. That's exactly what it costs taxpayers.
In other news: Going to work costs employees (and employers) £234 billion a year.
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