People Die from Alcohol Every Year,,,

With 79,000 deaths a year as the answer to how many people die from alcohol each year, that puts drinking to excess into the number three position of lifestyle-related causes of death. 

• 2.3 million years of potential life lost each year is also due to excessive alcohol. 
• In 2005, there were 4.6 million hospitalizations and four million emergency room visits because of various conditions related to the consumption of alcohol.  
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that of the 37,261 people that died in traffic accidents in 2008, 11,773 of them were the result of alcohol impaired driving.  That makes drunk driving the cause of 32% of all traffic deaths.  That comes out to be one person being killed in a drunk driving accident every 45 minutes. 
• Alcohol-related driving fatalities numbered 21,113 in 1982.  That shows a decrease in fatalities of 44% from 1982 to 2008. 
• Among people under the age of 21, there were 1510 killed in drunk driving accidents in 2008.  This is a 71% decrease from the 5215 that died in 1982.  

Alcohol Use

Now that you know the answer to the question of how many people die from alcohol each year, you may be wondering about alcohol use in the United States. 

• A standard drink is one that has 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol in it. 
• For comparison, that would be 12 ounces of a beer or wine cooler, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. 
• Excessive drinking is considered to be binge drinking, heavy drinking, or both. 
• Binge drinking for women is four or more drinks in one occasion, and for men is five or more drinks. 
• Heavy drinking is more than one drink a day on the average for women and two or more drinks a day on the average for men.

Hard Core Drunk Drivers

A big problem that is directly related to alcohol-related fatalities is hard core drunk drivers. 

• This is someone who is driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.15 or above, which is almost twice the legal limit of 0.08. 
• These are people who have had more than one Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and resist changing their behavior. 
• 44% of drivers involved in a fatal crash who had a prior DWI had a blood alcohol content level of 0.15 or higher.

Advice on Drinking

Once you know how many people die from alcohol each year, you may wonder if any drinking is OK.

• Moderate use of alcohol would be no more than one drink a day for women and no more than 2 drinks a day for men. 
• People who should not drink include: pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant, minors, people taking certain medications, recovering alcoholics, anyone suffering from a medical condition that worsens with alcohol consumption, and anyone who is planning to drive or doing anything else where alertness, coordination, and concentration are required. 

Health Risks

So it is obvious that there are immediate health risks of excessive drinking.  Let’s look at more immediate health risks of drinking to excess.  

• Immediate risks include unintentional injuries from accidents, drowning, falls, burns, or firearms. 
• Violence is another risk and it includes violence to a partner or child.  In fact, two out of three domestic violence incidences are related to alcohol. 
• People who drink to excess often engage in risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners, and a chance of rape. 
• These behaviors can lead to an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease. 
• Women who drink in excess and are pregnant may experience a miscarriage or stillbirth and have a higher risk of birth defects in their child. 
• The last immediate health risk is alcohol poisoning that can lead to coma or death.  

So, now you know more about how many people die from alcohol annually, as well as some other details about alcohol related deaths.