Some of the Latest Statistics on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Here are some of the latest statistics on alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Most of these statistics are complements of the NIAAA (US) and NHS (UK).

General Statistics:

• Young people who start drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who start drinking at age 21.
• Children of alcoholics are also four times more likely to develop alcoholism or alcohol related problems than those of non-alcoholics.
• People who engage in regular alcohol abuse or heavy drinking are at far greater risk of developing liver disease, heart disease, various forms of cancer, depression, stroke, sleep disorder, high blood pressure, diabetes and STD’s.
• 3 in 10 adults drink at levels that put them at risk for developing alcoholism, liver disease and other problems.

US Statistics

• Alcohol abuse or drinking to excess causes approximately 80,000 deaths a year.
• Almost half of these are from chronic alcohol related illnesses, rather than acute causes like motor vehicle accidents caused by drunk driving, with the main chronic conditions being liver disease, alcohol use disorders and cancer.
• Approximately 18 million people in the US suffer from the disease of alcoholism.
• Alcohol is the youth’s largest ‘drug’ problem killing 6.5 times the number of youth than illicit drugs combined. It also contributes dramatically to teenage motor vehicle crashes, other severe injuries, suicide, date rape and school problems.
• Every day, on average, 11,318 American youth (12 to 20 years of age) try alcohol for the first time, compared with 6,488 for marijuana; 2,786 for cocaine; and 386 for heroin.
• Alcohol is a factor in about 60% of fatal burn injuries, homicides and drowning, 50% of severe trauma injuries and sexual assaults, 40% of fatal more accidents, suicides and fatal falls.
• Up to 40 percent of all hospital beds in the United States (except for those being used by maternity and intensive care patients) are being used to treat health conditions that are related to alcohol consumption.

UK Statistics

• The number of alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom has consistently increased since the early 1990s, rising from the lowest figure of 4,023 (6.7 per 100,000) in 1992 to the highest of 9,031 (13.6 per 100,000) in 2008.
• In 2007, 33 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women (24 per cent of adults) were classified as hazardous drinkers. Six per cent of men and two per cent of women were estimated to be harmful drinkers, the most serious form of hazardous drinking, which means that damage to health is likely.
• In 2007/08 there were 863,300 alcohol related admissions to hospital. This is an increase of 69 per cent since 2002/03.
• In England in 2007, there were 134,429 prescription items for drugs for the treatment of alcohol dependency prescribed in primary care settings or NHS hospitals and dispensed in the community. This is an increase of 31 per cent since 2003.
• It is estimated that the cost of alcohol related harm to the NHS in England is £2.7 billion in 2006/07 figures.

Conclusions:

The impact of alcoholism and alcohol abuse are severe and potentially life threatening. The purpose of highlighting these statistics on alcoholism is to encourage you to take action and do something if you or someone you care about has a problem. The alcohol addiction treatment area will explain what you need to do and how to get started.