Alcohol Addiction Does Not Get the Headlines, but Continues to Lead in Lethality

Prescription opioids, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine tend to lead headlines with regard to addiction-related news stories, belying the fact that alcohol addiction is not only much more prevalent in America, but also a bigger killer and threat to overall health. Opioid addiction related stories have tended to garner headlines in recent years because the number of opioid overdose deaths has risen dramatically over the past decade, more than doubling to reach almost 50,000 per year as of 2017.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths related to alcohol more than doubled since 1999, reaching more than 72,000 in 2017. This increase in deaths, according to National Institute of Health (NIH) researchers, coincides with an increase in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations. And the researchers admit that these official numbers “vastly underreport” the real rates, as they are based solely on death certificate findings and hospital reports. In fact, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates for annual alcohol-attributable deaths are significantly higher, with numbers topping 90,000 in some years.

While not as dramatic of a rise in deaths and health impacts as seen with the current “opioid epidemic,” alcohol addiction remains one of the nation’s most significant substance abuse problems. Unfortunately, this tends to get overlooked because alcohol is legal, easy to access, and much more socially acceptable than other addictive substances. So, to remind ourselves how prevalent alcohol addiction is in the U.S., let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

There are about 18 million Americans believed to be addicted to alcohol or otherwise subject to alcohol abuse disorder. Compare that to prescription opioids, 1.8 million; cocaine, 900,000; heroin, over 425,000; amphetamines, over 300,000 and you quickly realize that the numbers for alcohol addiction dwarfs all other drug addictions combined. The only addiction topping alcohol is tobacco, with about 40 million addicted and responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year.

Out of all addictive substances, alcohol then, is the second biggest killer. And it kills in so many different ways. In fact, about 60 different ways, according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Alcoholic liver disease and motor vehicle accidents are the two biggest, but there are plenty of other ways alcohol ends up killing it abusers. While other addictive substances can also kill in myriad ways, none come close to having the range of lethality as alcohol.

We’ll close by noting that the NIH researchers concluded that rates of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related medical emergencies, and alcohol-related deaths increased at a significantly higher level for women (85%) than for men (35%). Alcohol addiction was long perceived to be more of a male-oriented problem than a female one, but the NIH study shows that the previous differences in alcohol use between males and females is narrowing. In fact, the researchers concluded that women “appear to be at a greater risk than men for alcohol-related cardiovascular disease, liver disease, alcohol-use disorder, and other consequences.”

If you or someone you care about, has an ongoing history of trauma-related alcohol or substance use and/or relapse, contact Gulf Breeze Recovery or call: 833.551.2356 to speak to an addiction expert to learn more about their residential program, out-patient program, and intensive out-patient program, and which of these can best fit your individual needs.  These programs have helped many people overcome their addiction and embrace a new happy, healthy, substance-free lifestyle.

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