Deaths directly tied to alcohol overconsumption are killing Americans at a record rate, federal health officials warn.
Last year, more than 30, 700 Americans died from alcohol-induced causes, including alcohol poisoning and cirrhosis, both of which are primarily caused by alcohol use, say the Centers for Disease Control officials in a news report.
This means that in 2014, there were 9.6 deaths from these causes per 100,000 people, an increase of 37 percent since 2002, according to the
Washington Post.
This tally excluded deaths caused by drunk driving, alcohol-related accidents or drinking-fueled homicides; if these had been included, they would have pushed the total up to about 90,000 people, the article said.
According to the report, this number of deaths related directly to alcohol in 2014 (30,722) outstripped those caused by overdoses of prescription painkillers and heroin (28,647), two problems that public health experts have been focusing on.
Experts say that the increase could be partly because the number of Americans who drink rose by a small, but significant, level, particularly among women.
The percent of women drinking monthly or more rose from 47.9 in 2002 to 51.9 in 2014. In addition, the percentage of women reporting binge drinking – which is defined as five or more drinks on at least one occasion – rose from 15.7 to 17.4 percent over the same period, the article says.
The article also noted that the population of older Americans is growing, and the risk of death from cirrhosis increases with age.