Alcohol Statistics

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As discovered by alcoholism and alcohol abuse statistics and facts, even though alcohol has been used in a number of diverse ways throughout history that can be called "beneficial" it was, however, observed thousands of years ago that excessive drinking and abuse led to social as well as to personal problems.  Concentrating on current alcohol statistics in general and on alcohol abuse statistics and alcoholism statistics in particular, it is claimed, is an informative way to analyze the social and the personal problems that are associated with drinking alcohol to an excess.

Why Alcohol Statistics are Needed and Important

Regrettably, the full extent of the destructive and pervasive effects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism are not typically comprehended until relevant alcohol statistics and facts and alcoholism statistics are overtly expressed.

As a consequence, the following alcohol statistics and alcoholism statistics and facts, that have been acquired via different research studies and surveys on the Internet, will be outlined below:

• Employees who were in serious trouble with alcohol showed significant improvement in drinking behavior and job adjustment during the months immediately following an intervention to confront problem drinking that was intruding on their work.
  
  
• A study of fifth and sixth-grade students found that those who demonstrated an awareness of beer ads also held more favorable beliefs about drinking and intended to drink more frequently when they grew up.
  
  
• An estimated 6.6 million children under 18 live in households with at least one alcoholic parent.
  
  
• By the time they are high school seniors, 80% have used alcohol and 62% have been drunk.
  
  
• In the United States, roughly 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning are reported each year, and approximately once every week, someone dies from this preventable condition.
  
  
• Classical alcoholism takes about 15 years to develop, but it can happen much quicker in adolescents and young adults.
  
  
• Treatment for alcoholism has been shown to reduce criminal activity up to 80% among chronic offenders, has increased their rate of employment, decreases homelessness and reduces all health care costs.

• In 2002, U.S. alcoholism statistics reported that 2.6 million binge drinkers were between the ages of 12 and 17.
  
  
• In the United States, almost three times as many men (9.8 million) as women (3.9 million) abuse alcohol or are alcohol-dependent.
  
  
• 56% of students in grades 5 through 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to drink.
  
  
• Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of the preventable deaths in the United States.
  
  
• Statistics reveal that for American employers, alcohol abuse accounts for roughly 67% of total number of substance abuse complaints.
  
  
• Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school.

• Approximately 14 million people in the United States are addicted to alcohol or abuse alcohol.
  
  
• Alcoholics spend four times the amount of time in a hospital as non-drinkers, mostly from drinking-related injuries.
  
  
• 65 people each day die on our highways due to alcohol.
  
  
• It is estimated that over 3 million teens between the ages of 14 and 17 in the United States today are alcoholics.
  
  
• Approximately 14 million Americans — about 7.4 percent of the adult population — meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism.

• Girls are beginning to drink at younger ages. In the 1960s, 7% of 10- to 14-year-old females used alcohol; by the early 1990’s, that figure had risen to 31%.
  
  
• More than seven percent of the population ages 18 years and older -- nearly 13.8 million Americans -- have problems with drinking, including 8.1 million people who suffer from alcoholism.
  
  
• In 1988, 25,000 Americans were killed in auto accidents involving alcohol. More than 500,000 were injured.
  
  
• Studies have shown that the drinking patterns of employed women are different from those of women not employed outside the home, with less abstinence, increased consumption and greater frequency of drinking occasions observed among employed women.
  
  
• Long-term, heavy alcohol use is the leading cause of illness and death from liver disease in the U.S.

• The cost of untreated drug and alcohol abuse in the U.S. in a year is estimated at $276 Billion in lost productivity, law enforcement costs, health care and welfare programs.
  
  
• Drunk drivers are responsible for 50% of highway fatalities.
  
  
• 95% of alcoholics die from their disease and die approximately 26 years earlier than their normal life expectancy.
  
  
• There are approximately 14 million people in the United States addicted to alcohol and millions more who display symptoms of abuse, including binge drinking.
  
  
• Currently, approximately 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, abuse alcohol or are alcoholic.
  
  
• There are higher rates of alcoholism in the unemployed, laborers, those of lower socioeconomic status, those that drop out of high school, those who entered college but failed to earn a degree, and those under more stress.
  
  
• More than one-half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism.
  
  
• Alcohol is a factor in nearly half of America's murders, suicides and accidental deaths.
  
  
• The highest rates of current and past year heavy alcohol use are reported by workers in the following occupations: construction, food preparation and waiters/waitresses, along with auto mechanics, vehicle repairers, light truck drivers and laborers.
  
  
• Twenty one percent of workers reported being injured or put in danger, having to re-do work or to cover for a co-worker or needing to work harder due to others’ drinking.

• Up to 40% of industrial fatalities and 47% of injuries in the workplace are linked to alcohol consumption and alcoholism.
  
  
• Non-alcoholic members of alcoholic's families use 10 times as much sick leave as families where alcohol is not a problem. 80% of these family members report their ability to perform work is impaired as a result of living with an alcohol abuser.
  
  
• Absenteeism among alcoholics or problem drinkers is 3.8 to 8.3 times greater than normal.
  
  
• More than three fourths of female victims of nonfatal, domestic violence reported that their assailant had been drinking or using drugs.
  
  
• Underage drinking costs Americans nearly $53 billion annually. If this cost were shared equally by each congressional district, the amount would total more than $120 million per district.
  
  
• Individuals in stable marriages have the lowest incidence of lifetime prevalence of alcoholism ( 8.9%) as opposed to co-habiting adults who have never been married (29.2%).
  
  
• More than one third of pedestrians killed by automobiles were legally drunk.
  
  
• 500,000 Americans who are dependent on alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.
  
  
• Low to moderate doses of alcohol can increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse.
  
  
• About half of state prison inmates and 40% of federal prisoners incarcerated for committing violent crimes report they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of their offense.
  
  
• Research indicates that adolescents who abuse alcohol may remember 10% less of what they have learned than those who don’t drink.

Alcohol Statistics:  Conclusion

Alcohol Abuse Statistics and Alcoholism Statistics.  Ironically, in spite of the fact that basic alcohol information such as the negative consequences of abusing alcohol has been known for centuries, alcohol abuse and alcoholism continue to damage and destroy human lives in our "enlightened" and "aware" society.

Indeed, to confirm this contention, one merely has to review some of the shocking alcohol statistics outlined above.  In fact, it is alcohol statistics, alcoholism statistics, and statistics on alcohol abuse like those presented above that makes a person wonder how it is possible that alcohol abuse and alcoholism are increasing rather than decreasing worldwide.

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