Topic: Alcohol death toll is growing, US government reports say - page 2. (Read 201 times)
From a psychological standpoint, I can understand the rise in alcohol related deaths. Alcohol numbs both emotional and psychological pain. The pandemic was a period of pain through-out the world and people turned to it as a coping mechanism, albeit maladaptive. And most of them would have become addicted to it such that it lead to health related diseases which eventually led to deaths. Too bad that it is easier to buy alcohol than it is to pay for gym membership.
Unfortunately, these data can be generalized to other societies, not just the US society. In Islamic countries, where alcohol consumption is religiously forbidden, and some of those countries originally prevent its circulation among citizens, the consumption rate has risen to record levels since the start of the Corona pandemic, meaning that this coincides with the global economic crisis that made the global economy enter a state of stagnation. Tunisia, for example, is an Arab Islamic country located in North Africa. Despite being a small country with 10 million people, the latest statistics confirm that it is the first in the Arab world and Africa in consuming alcohol, at a rate of more than 2 liters per year for each citizen.
As for suicide rates, they are also on the rise significantly, and this has nothing to do with the consumption of alcohol or other drugs.
As for suicide rates, they are also on the rise significantly, and this has nothing to do with the consumption of alcohol or other drugs.
It is not all crimes that are spurred by alcohol consumption. Addiction is one of the most difficult sicknesses to treat. A drunker can be suffering from kidney issues, yet he would never stop drinking.
The truth is alcohol gives a temporal good feeling. It is one of the ways of escaping temporarily from the troubles and uncertainties of this world. But it has it's negative consequences which include health issues, societal stigma, and addiction. The global economic downturn is devastating lives and some people find solace in alcohol, that's why consumption is increasing.
There is also an increase in the rate of suicide. And for me an increase in alcohol consumption is far better than increase in suicide.
The truth is alcohol gives a temporal good feeling. It is one of the ways of escaping temporarily from the troubles and uncertainties of this world. But it has it's negative consequences which include health issues, societal stigma, and addiction. The global economic downturn is devastating lives and some people find solace in alcohol, that's why consumption is increasing.
There is also an increase in the rate of suicide. And for me an increase in alcohol consumption is far better than increase in suicide.
During the pandemic, some were treated with alcohol, as it is commonly believed that any cold can be cured by alcohol. But for some reason, many people forget that alcohol destroys the liver very much; hence, we saw so many deaths that were attributed to COVID, although these were the consequences of alcohol.
The same thing is happening now. People get away from reality with the help of alcohol, but the degradation of the personality, which gradually occurs, inevitably leads to a lack of morality. Those crimes, which have become more frequent, are unlikely to be committed while sober. In times of economic downturn, I do not believe that people with weak minds can be persuaded that alcohol is harmful and returned to positive thinking. The more the situation in the world worsens, the more people will drink alcohol, mistakenly thinking that it calms them down.
The same thing is happening now. People get away from reality with the help of alcohol, but the degradation of the personality, which gradually occurs, inevitably leads to a lack of morality. Those crimes, which have become more frequent, are unlikely to be committed while sober. In times of economic downturn, I do not believe that people with weak minds can be persuaded that alcohol is harmful and returned to positive thinking. The more the situation in the world worsens, the more people will drink alcohol, mistakenly thinking that it calms them down.
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NEW YORK (AP) — The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30% in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new government data.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already said the overall number of such deaths rose in 2020 and 2021. Two reports from the CDC this week provided further details on which groups have the highest death rates and which states are seeing the largest numbers.
“Alcohol is often overlooked” as a public health problem, said Marissa Esser, who leads the CDC’s alcohol program. “But it is a leading preventable cause of death.”
A report released Friday focused on more than a dozen kinds of “alcohol-induced” deaths that were wholly blamed on drinking. Examples include alcohol-caused liver or pancreas failure, alcohol poisoning, withdrawal and certain other diseases. There were more than 52,000 such deaths last year, up from 39,000 in 2019.
The rate of such deaths had been increasing in the two decades before the pandemic, by 7% or less each year.
In 2020, they rose 26%, to about 13 deaths per 100,000 Americans. That’s the highest rate recorded in at least 40 years, said the study’s lead author, Merianne Spencer.
Such deaths are 2 1/2 times more common in men than in women, but rose for both in 2020, the study found. The rate continued to be highest for people ages 55 to 64, but rose dramatically for certain other groups, including jumping 42% among women ages 35 to 44.
The second report, published earlier this week in JAMA Network Open, looked at a wider range of deaths that could be linked to drinking, such as motor vehicle accidents, suicides, falls and cancers.
More than 140,000 of that broader category of alcohol-related deaths occur annually, based on data from 2015 to 2019, the researchers said. CDC researchers say about 82,000 of those deaths are from drinking too much over a long period of time and 58,000 from causes tied to acute intoxication.
The study found that as many as 1 in 8 deaths among U.S. adults ages 20 to 64 were alcohol-related deaths. New Mexico was the state with the highest percentage of alcohol-related deaths, 22%. Mississippi had the lowest, 9%
Excessive drinking is associated with chronic dangers such as liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is a factor in as many as one-third of serious falls among the elderly.
It’s also a risk to others through drunken driving or alcohol-fueled violence. Surveys suggest that more than half the alcohol sold in the U.S. is consumed during binge drinking episodes.
Even before the pandemic, U.S. alcohol consumption was trending up, and Americans were drinking more than when Prohibition was enacted. But deaths may have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began for several reasons, including people with alcohol-related illnesses may have had more trouble getting medical care, Esser said.
She added that the research points to a need to look at steps to reduce alcohol consumption, including increasing alcohol taxes and enacting measures that limit where people can buy beer, wine and liquor.
Image link: https://i.ibb.co/cJB8SX8/alcohol-fatality.jpg
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
https://apnews.com/article/alcohol-death-toll-rising-pandemic-c25878b044f46b1cd275a8e2738148a5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already said the overall number of such deaths rose in 2020 and 2021. Two reports from the CDC this week provided further details on which groups have the highest death rates and which states are seeing the largest numbers.
“Alcohol is often overlooked” as a public health problem, said Marissa Esser, who leads the CDC’s alcohol program. “But it is a leading preventable cause of death.”
A report released Friday focused on more than a dozen kinds of “alcohol-induced” deaths that were wholly blamed on drinking. Examples include alcohol-caused liver or pancreas failure, alcohol poisoning, withdrawal and certain other diseases. There were more than 52,000 such deaths last year, up from 39,000 in 2019.
The rate of such deaths had been increasing in the two decades before the pandemic, by 7% or less each year.
In 2020, they rose 26%, to about 13 deaths per 100,000 Americans. That’s the highest rate recorded in at least 40 years, said the study’s lead author, Merianne Spencer.
Such deaths are 2 1/2 times more common in men than in women, but rose for both in 2020, the study found. The rate continued to be highest for people ages 55 to 64, but rose dramatically for certain other groups, including jumping 42% among women ages 35 to 44.
The second report, published earlier this week in JAMA Network Open, looked at a wider range of deaths that could be linked to drinking, such as motor vehicle accidents, suicides, falls and cancers.
More than 140,000 of that broader category of alcohol-related deaths occur annually, based on data from 2015 to 2019, the researchers said. CDC researchers say about 82,000 of those deaths are from drinking too much over a long period of time and 58,000 from causes tied to acute intoxication.
The study found that as many as 1 in 8 deaths among U.S. adults ages 20 to 64 were alcohol-related deaths. New Mexico was the state with the highest percentage of alcohol-related deaths, 22%. Mississippi had the lowest, 9%
Excessive drinking is associated with chronic dangers such as liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is a factor in as many as one-third of serious falls among the elderly.
It’s also a risk to others through drunken driving or alcohol-fueled violence. Surveys suggest that more than half the alcohol sold in the U.S. is consumed during binge drinking episodes.
Even before the pandemic, U.S. alcohol consumption was trending up, and Americans were drinking more than when Prohibition was enacted. But deaths may have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began for several reasons, including people with alcohol-related illnesses may have had more trouble getting medical care, Esser said.
She added that the research points to a need to look at steps to reduce alcohol consumption, including increasing alcohol taxes and enacting measures that limit where people can buy beer, wine and liquor.
Image link: https://i.ibb.co/cJB8SX8/alcohol-fatality.jpg
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
https://apnews.com/article/alcohol-death-toll-rising-pandemic-c25878b044f46b1cd275a8e2738148a5
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Sad.
With euthanasia not being a publicly available option. It appears alcohol is becoming a popular alternative. Can't recall if news claiming amazon sold suicide kits was true. But there was a news story making the rounds recently:
Quote
A parents' lawsuit accuses Amazon of selling suicide kits to teenagers
Amazon is facing a lawsuit accusing it of selling so-called suicide kits, brought by the families of two teenagers who bought a deadly chemical on the company's website and later used it to take their own lives.
The parents of 16-year-old Kristine Jónsson of Ohio and the parents of 17-year-old Ethan McCarthy of West Virginia say the retail giant assisted in the deaths of the two minors by selling them sodium nitrite, a food preservative that is fatal at high levels of purity.
The complaint filed in California state court in September claims Amazon recommended that customers who purchased the chemical also buy a scale to measure the correct dose, an anti-vomiting drug and Amazon's edition of a handbook on assisted suicide.
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/09/1127686507/amazon-suicide-teenagers-poison
Amazon is facing a lawsuit accusing it of selling so-called suicide kits, brought by the families of two teenagers who bought a deadly chemical on the company's website and later used it to take their own lives.
The parents of 16-year-old Kristine Jónsson of Ohio and the parents of 17-year-old Ethan McCarthy of West Virginia say the retail giant assisted in the deaths of the two minors by selling them sodium nitrite, a food preservative that is fatal at high levels of purity.
The complaint filed in California state court in September claims Amazon recommended that customers who purchased the chemical also buy a scale to measure the correct dose, an anti-vomiting drug and Amazon's edition of a handbook on assisted suicide.
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/09/1127686507/amazon-suicide-teenagers-poison
Other news articles published recently claimed that american life expectancy had declined as much as 5 years in a 12 month period.
During the 2008 economic crisis, cases of crime, overdose, violence and suicide rose dramatically. It would appear similar trends are rising post 2020 pandemic era.
People need hope and to think positively more now than in times of peace. People need something to look forward to.
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