Find out more about the impact of alcohol on your health by reading our factsheets on everything from alcohol and mental health to parenting. However, health harms are much more pronounced in areas of high deprivation, even though average consumption is usually lower in these areas. Most drugs affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine.
Alabama Alcohol Abuse Statistics
This is down from marijuana addiction 3.8 drinks a year ago and closer to 4.0 drinks over the seven years prior to that. The highest average number since Gallup has tracked this is 5.1 drinks per week, recorded in 2003. Gallup has tracked Americans’ drinking behavior since 1939 and their views of the health implications of moderate drinking since 2001. The latest results are from Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits survey, conducted July 7-21. CDC works with states and communities to prevent excessive alcohol use and its impact.
Data Table: Costs of Excessive Alcohol Use by State
Drawing on data from government offices, charities and research in the field, we have compiled key facts and statistics about alcohol consumption, drinking habits, alcohol use disorder, and its impact on public health. For example, a value of 3.6 for bipolar disorder indicates that illicit drug dependency became more than three times more likely in individuals with bipolar disorder than those without. The risk of an alcohol use disorder is highest in individuals with intermittent explosive disorder, dysthymia, ODD, bipolar disorder, and social phobia. From the patient perspective, limited understanding of what constitutes problematic drinking and attitudes towards seeking treatment can hinder recognition of the need for help.
Severe Withdrawal Risks

Beer contains around 5% of pure alcohol per volume1 so that one liter of beer contains 0.05 liters of pure alcohol. With the change country feature, it is possible to view the same data for other countries. Sweden, for example, increased the share of wine consumption and, therefore, reduced the share of spirits. By default, the data for France is shown – in recent decades, here, the share of beer consumption increased to https://w3facility.com/8-reasons-people-drink-alone-and-how-to-stop-3/ make up around a fifth of alcohol consumption in France. The map shows heavy drinkers – those who had an episode of heavy drinking in the previous 30 days – as a share of total drinkers (i.e., those who have drunk less than one alcoholic drink in the last 12 months are excluded).

Alcohol acts on the central nervous system and can lead to dependence. This question also matters because alcohol use often overlaps with anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, and sleep disruption. That overlap is one reason Futures emphasizes integrated dual diagnosis care through CORE. Alcohol also depletes the body’s fluids and can cause a person to feel thirst. The amount of alcohol in the body is measured as blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
- Deaths grew across both rural and urban areas in the past decade; however growth was fastest in rural areas–nearly doubling in the past decade and increasing by 35% during pandemic years.
- A measure of hospital admissions where either the primary diagnosis (main reason for admission) or one of the secondary (contributory) diagnoses is an alcohol-related condition (partially or wholly caused by alcohol).
- A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Therefore, education and outreach are key in helping people understand the possible risks of drug use. Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction. Mutual-support groups provide peer support for stopping or reducing Alcoholism Statistics drinking.
Utah has the lowest adult binge drinking rate in the nation, yet ranks fourth-highest for the percentage of alcohol-related deaths in individuals under 21. Despite a below average death rate from excessive alcohol, Illinois has one of the highest percentages of under-21 alcohol-related deaths in the country. Although Hawaii’s overall death rate from excessive alcohol is well below the national average, the share of alcohol-related deaths involving males is higher than a large majority of the United States. Find up-to-date statistics on lifetime drinking, past-year drinking, past-month drinking, binge drinking, heavy alcohol use, and high-intensity drinking. They are used as sweeteners and in making perfumes, are valuable intermediates in the synthesis of other compounds, and are among the most abundantly produced organic chemicals in industry. Perhaps the two best-known alcohols are ethanol and methanol (or methyl alcohol).
- Alcohol-related deaths in Washington are more likely to stem from chronic alcohol use than much of the country.
- This topic page looks at the data on global patterns of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, beverage types, the prevalence of alcoholism, and consequences, including crime, mortality, and road incidents.
- However, by lowering inhibitions and impairing judgement, alcohol can increase both aggression and our willingness to take risks.
- This may be due to women having higher levels of estrogen, body fat, and lower levels of body water than men.
- NIAAA describes alcohol use disorder as a chronic brain disorder that ranges from mild to severe.
- Futures positions CORE as a luxury dual diagnosis program for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions in Florida.
- The breakdown of alcohol use disorders by gender for any country can be viewed here; the majority of people with alcohol use disorders – around three-quarters – are male.
- That overlap is one reason Futures emphasizes integrated dual diagnosis care through CORE.
- Per capita ethanol consumption by beverage type, United States, 1977–2021.
Behavioral treatments—also known as alcohol counseling, or talk therapy, and provided by licensed therapists—are aimed at changing drinking behavior. Examples of behavioral treatments are brief interventions and reinforcement approaches, treatments that build motivation and teach skills for coping and preventing a return to drinking, and mindfulness-based therapies. Dr. Tammy Malloy holds a PhD in Social Work from Barry University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) as well as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). With over 20 years of experience in behavioral health, Dr. Malloy specializes in trauma-informed care, family systems, and high-risk behaviors encompassing all addictive disorders. Alcohol use disorder can involve loss of control, continued drinking despite harm, and strong cravings.
Use of these strategies can reduce binge drinking and related outcomes, such as motor vehicle crashes, injuries, violence, and sexually transmitted infections. For data years 1977–2021, the alcohol by volume (ABV; i.e., proportion of ethanol for each beverage type) values are 0.045 for beer, 0.129 for wine, and 0.411 for spirits (Doernberg and Stinson 1985). Following the ethanol conversions, gallons of ethanol for beer, wine, and spirits are summed to gallons of ethanol for all beverages. The ripple effects of alcoholism extend far beyond the individual, impacting families, communities, and societies. Public safety is also compromised, with alcohol playing a significant role in accidents and violent incidents. These widespread impacts call for a unified approach to prevention, treatment, and ongoing support to mitigate the damage and foster healing.
Carbonation – Carbonated alcoholic drinks increase the rate of alcohol absorption. This is because the pressure inside the stomach and small intestine force the alcohol to be absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream. Sugars and juices mixed with alcohol also speed up the absorption rate. Medication/Drugs – Mixing alcohol and medications/drugs together can lead to serious physical, behavioral, and health complications. Not only can alcohol and drugs increase the effects of each substance, they can also trigger dangerous interactions. The side effects of combining alcohol with drugs may range from mere discomfort to life-threatening reactions.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs)

Statistics indicate Georgia has a higher rate of deaths of individuals under-21 due to excessive alcohol than the majority of states. Although Florida ranks third nationally in total alcohol-related deaths, it has one of the lowest rates of alcohol-related deaths among people under 21. Approximately 178,000 people die each year in the United States due to alcohol abuse.
Why This Focus Helps People Who Ask “Is Alcohol A Drug?”
This is shown in the charts as the share of adults who had not drunk in the prior year and those who have never drunk alcohol. Economic and environmental factors can heighten risks or create additional barriers to recovery. Understanding how alcohol misuse breaks down by age group is important because interventions can then be more precisely targeted. Different life stages – such as adolescence, young adulthood, mid-life, and older adulthood – are marked by unique stressors, social norms, and patterns of behavior that influence drinking habits. People who start drinking at a young age are more likely to form an alcohol use disorder later in life.
