`Alcohol is closely linked with virtually every negative aspect of society; suicide, violent crime, birth defects, industrial accidents, domestic and sexual abuse, homelessness, death, and disease. It is the #1 drug problem for people from all walks of life. It is #1 among whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, and it's #1 among poor people and rich people, men and women, and young and old people alike."
Alcohol use is very common in our society. In fact, alcohol is currently used by more Americans than any drug other than caffeine. Drinking alcohol has immediate effects that can increase the risk of many harmful health conditions.
According to a 2009 government survey, more than half of the adult U.S. population drank alcohol in the past 30 days. Approximately 5% of the total population drank heavily, while 15% of the population binge drank. 1
The U.S, Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates that from 2001–2005, there were approximately 85,000 deaths annually attributable to alcohol use, approxi-mately five times the number of deaths from all illicit drugs combined! In fact, alcohol use is the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death for people in the United States each year. 2Alcohol is the top drug of abuse among today's teens. Underage drinkers account for 25 percent of all the alcohol consumed in this country. Thirty-one percent of high school students report binge drinking at least once a month. The gender gap in alcohol consumption has disappeared as male and female ninth graders are just as likely to drink (40 percent) and binge drink (22 percent). 3
The cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States reached $223.5 billion in 2006 or about $1.90 per drink. 4
| Researchers found that the cost of drinking was quite far-reaching, reflecting the effect this danger-ous behavior has on many aspects of the drinker’s life and on the lives of those around them. The CDC estimated that drinking cost $746 for every man, woman, and child in the United States in 2006. 5 |  |
 | Almost three-quarters of these costs were due to binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more alcoholic beverages per occa-sion for women or five or more drinks per occasion for men, and is the most common form of heavy alcohol consumption in the United States. |
The costs largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72% of the total cost), health care expenses for problems caused by heavy drinking (11% of the total), law en-forcement and other criminal justice expenses related to heavy alcohol consumption (9% of total), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (6% of the total). 6
``Alcohol affects immune, endocrine, and reproductive functions. Various cancers associated with drinking include cancers of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, tongue, lung, pancreas, and liver. Other diseases include chronic gastritis, hepatitis, hypertension, and coronary heart disease . . . More of our current college students will die of cirrhosis of the liver than will get doctorates in Business Management, and Communications combined."
Dr. Antonio Novello
Former U.S. Surgeon General
Former U.S. Surgeon General
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are the leading cause of birth defects with accompanying mental retardation. FASD diagnosis is based on a cluster of specific characteristics: growth deficiency, facial abnormalities and central nervous system effects.
FASD prevalence in the general population is estimated to be between 0.5 and 2 per 1,000 live births and the frequency of FASD and Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD) combined is approximately one percent of all births. 7
FASD defects are entirely preventable when pregnant women don't drink.
Each FASD affected individual will require lifetime care costing approximately $2 million. 9
Several decades ago the “French Paradox" attributed a low rate of heart disease to daily wine consumption. Recent research suggests that lowering of heart disease risk results from ingredients other than alcohol. The World Health Organization advises that alcohol should not be recommended for heart health. 10
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