Excessive Alcohol Consumption

The Surprising Thing That's Killing One in 10 Adults

The good news is it's totally preventable.

Published: July 1, 2014  |  By Kenny Thapoung

inShare

 

If you've ever been worried about your booze intake, this will make you reconsider just how much you drink at every happy hour, bachelorette party, birthday—basically, anything where alcohol is involved: Excessive alcohol use counts for 10 percent of deaths for adults between the ages of 20 and 64, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To find these estimates, scientists from the CDC analyzed data from the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) application for 2006 to 2010. The ARDI provides national and state counts of alcohol-attributable deaths and estimates how many years of your life are stripped away due to drinking.

Shockingly, there were approximately 88,000 deaths per year in that four-year time frame. Some of these were attributed to long-term health effects where alcohol was a factor (breast cancer, liver disease, and heart disease) while others were the result of alcohol-related incidents (violence, alcohol poisoning, and motor vehicle crashes). But here’s the real scary statistic: Overall, there were 2.5 million years of potential life lost each year.

 Not to sound like a broken record, but we feel like this needs to be reiterated: Zero benefits are associated with excessive alcohol consumption. If these numbers weren’t enough, remember that the World Heath Organization recently reported that dangerous alcohol use was responsible for 3.3 million deaths worldwide in 2012. So it goes without saying that you should always imbibe responsibly. This means abiding by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines for moderate drinking (three or fewer drinks in one night), avoiding all forms of alcohol while pregnant, and never getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.