A report from Time states that Americans are drinking at an alarming rate. In 2014, about 30,700 died because of alcohol-related conditions. This includes cirrhosis and alcohol poisoning.
The data in the Washington Post report shows relevant information. The rate from last year shows 9.6 deaths in every 100,000 people. This proves a significant increase of 37% since 2002.
Health officials have paid attention to prescription painkillers and heroin overdoses combined. However, in 2014, it was discovered that more and more people died from alcohol related causes more than the number of overdoses of prescription painkillers and heroin combined.
Based on the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the extreme use of alcohol is one of the major causes of deaths that could have been prevented. Health officers said that it contributed to about 88,000 deaths each from the years 2006-2010. This excludes the data for deaths caused by drunk driving or homicide committed due to alcohol intoxication. CDC states that if these were added to the statistics, death rate would close around 90,000.
Duke University professor Philip J. Cook studied the effects of alcohol consumption and its patterns. He observed that the rate for alcohol intake has been steadily increasing since the 90's.
Cook noticed the drinking behavior of people. The professor wrote in an email, "Since the prevalence of heavy drinking tends to follow closely with per capita consumption, it is likely that one explanation for the growth in alcohol-related deaths is that more people are drinking more." He explained as to why there is an increased rate of people who are drinking more.
It may be time to think twice about drinking a lot. For those who had less alcohol intake, a lot of research tends to state that moderate alcohol intake (a drink or two per day) is linked with a lowered risk of mortality.
