WHO: Alcohol abuse kills 3 million a year, most of them men
More than 3 million people died in 2016 due to drinking too much
alcohol, meaning one in 20 deaths worldwide was linked to harmful
drinking, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
More than three quarters of these deaths were among men, the UN health
agency said. Despite evidence of the health risks it carries, global
consumption of alcohol is predicted to rise in the next 10 years.
“It’s time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the
development of healthy societies,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, said.
In its “Global status report on alcohol and health 2018,” the WHO said
that globally, an estimated 237 million men and 46 million women are
problem drinkers or alcohol abusers. The highest prevalence is in Europe
and the Americas, and alcohol-use disorders are more common in
wealthier countries.
Of all deaths attributable to alcohol, 28 percent were due to injuries,
such as traffic accidents and interpersonal violence. Another 21 percent
were due to digestive disorders, and 19 percent due to cardiovascular
diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.
An estimated 2.3 billion people worldwide drink alcohol, with average
daily consumption of people at 33 grams of pure alcohol a day. This is
roughly equivalent to two 150 ml glasses of wine, a large (750 ml)
bottle of beer or two 40 ml shots of spirits.
Europe has the highest per person alcohol consumption in the world, even
though it has dropped by around 10 percent since 2010. Current trends
point to a global rise in per capita consumption in the next 10 years,
the report said, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and
the Americas.
“All countries can do much more to reduce the health and social costs of
the harmful use of alcohol,” said Vladimir Poznyak, of the WHO’s
substance abuse unit. He said proven, cost-effective steps included
raising alcohol taxes, restricting advertising and limiting easy access
to alcohol.
Worldwide, 45 percent of total alcohol consumed is in the form of
spirits. Beer is the second most popular, accounting for 34 percent of
consumption, followed by wine at 12 percent.
The report found that almost all countries have alcohol excise taxes,
but fewer than half of them use other pricing strategies such as banning
below-cost sales or bulk buy discounts.
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