Under the Influence: The Epidemic of Excessive Alcohol Use and Its Impact on Heart and Liver Health

Alcohol consumption in the U.S. skyrocketed during the pandemic, but for young people who were coming of age during the lockdown, it was a different kind of exposure to alcohol. Americans’ taste for booze could be slipping, with the percentage of those who say they consume alcohol hitting an 86-year low, according to a recent Gallup poll. Downloadable infographic of recommendations developed by the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project in 2018. One of the strongest predictors of developing an alcohol use disorder is having a close relative with alcoholism. More information about alcohol and cancer risk is available in the Surgeon General’s advisory. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

This has been a sharp reversal from previous recommendations that moderate drinking could offer some protective benefits. Excessive drinkers who are dependent often need specialized or more intensive treatment to change their behavior. People who drink too much, but are not dependent, can still be encouraged to drink less through state and local interventions that increase the price and limit the availability of alcohol. In addition those who are not dependent may be candidates for other clinical interventions, including screening and counseling offered by doctors and other health professionals. Moreover, as societal attitudes continue to shift toward viewing alcoholism as a treatable medical condition rather than a moral failing, we can expect greater openness to seeking help. Encouraging earlier intervention, expanding treatment resources, and promoting evidence-based prevention strategies will be cornerstones of reducing alcohol-related harm for individuals, families, and communities at large.

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Excessive alcohol use is a term used to describe four ways that people drink alcohol that can negatively impact health. The continuation of these trends may hinge on whether recent pronouncements about drinking’s risks are the final word on the subject, similar to how the U.S. surgeon general’s warnings about tobacco in the 1960s marked the start of a long-term decline in smoking. The trajectory of U.S. drinking could also depend on how much doctors, health authorities and policymakers reinforce the message that no amount of alcohol is risk-free. A record-low 24% of drinkers say they had a drink in the past 24 hours, while 40% say it has been more than a week since they last consumed alcohol, the highest percentage since 2000. Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for an average of 88,000 deaths each year, including 1 in 10 deaths among working-age Americans ages 20-64.

Accessibility of Treatment

By highlighting the data behind alcohol use disorders (AUD), this article aims to underscore both the breadth of the problem and the opportunities for meaningful change. Learn more about mental well-being and mental health conditions as well as facts, statistics and the latest evidence-based interventions. Also, among those who did drink in the past week, the concerned group reports having fewer drinks, on average, than the non-concerned group (4.5 drinks vs. 6.4). 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. Excessive alcohol use cost states and the District of Columbia a median of $3.5 billion in 2010, ranging from $488 million in North Dakota to $35 billion in California.

Long-Term Outcomes and Quality of Life

• This puts their drinking rate below that of middle-aged and older adults, although fewer in those groups are also claiming to drink than did so two years ago.
• Of the four ways that people drink excessively, binge drinking is the most common.
• Alcohol remains one of the most widely used – and often misused – substances in the United States.
• A record-low 24% of drinkers say they had a drink in the past 24 hours, while 40% say it has been more than a week since they last consumed alcohol, the highest percentage since 2000.
• As the U.S. faces a loneliness epidemic, throwing a longstanding “social lubricant” like alcohol out the window means people will need to figure out how to connect through other means.

Young adults had already become less likely to report drinking alcohol a decade ago, but that trend has only accelerated, with the rate falling from 59% in 2023 to 50% today. This puts their drinking rate below that of middle-aged and older adults, although fewer in those groups are also claiming to drink than did so two years ago. Using 2023’s 62% as a baseline (because the 2022 reading of 67% is an outlier), the decline in drinking has been more pronounced among women (down 11 percentage points since 2023, to 51%) than among men (down five points, to 57%).

Americans’ drinking habits are shifting amid the medical world’s reappraisal of alcohol’s health effects. After decades of relative steadiness in the proportion of U.S. adults who drink, Gallup has documented three consecutive years of decline in the U.S. drinking rate as research supporting the “no amount of alcohol is safe” message mounts. Compounding the challenge for companies that sell alcohol, drinkers now appear to be dialing back how much they drink, as well.

Teen Drug and Alcohol Use in the US: Statistics

Before 2019, liquor ranked last in popularity, while the proportions preferring wine and beer varied, but with beer usually leading. Communicating about community action becomes easier when you use these infographics designed by the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project (WisAPP).

Want to ensure alcohol doesn’t negatively affect your physical, mental or social health? Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 80% cellphone respondents and 20% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. MCW’s policies, federal and state laws, and regulations prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

• Moreover, as societal attitudes continue to shift toward viewing alcoholism as a treatable medical condition rather than a moral failing, we can expect greater openness to seeking help.
• It’s part of an ongoing decline in drinking among Americans — and seemingly Germans as well — with the steepest drop among young people.
• Middle-aged and older adults’ belief that drinking is bad for health has picked up over the past few readings but still lags young adults’.
• 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.
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Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence: National Statistics

— The percentage of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol has fallen to 54%, the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend. This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time. Alcohol dependence is a chronic medical condition that typically includes a current or past history of excessive drinking, a strong craving for alcohol, continued use despite repeated problems with drinking, and an inability to control alcohol consumption. 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.

NIHCM Foundation supports timely health care journalism that informs efforts to improve the health of Americans and that examines emerging health issues and their implications for cost, quality, and access. As part of our long-standing commitment to supporting the work of journalists covering health, NIHCM Foundation provides up to $500,000 in grants for reporting and journalism education projects each year. Additionally, women are more likely than men to view moderate drinking as unhealthy (60% vs. 47%, respectively), and Democrats (58%) and independents (55%) are more likely than Republicans (44%) to espouse this view. “Pendulums do swing back and forth,” Purinton notes, and it’s just as likely that the next few years will see a shift back toward alcohol consumption as a commitment to sobriety. The best-case scenario is the current decline in drinking represents a broader movement toward healthy living. The worst case, he says, is “a pendulum swing toward nihilism” where, amid chaotic economic and political circumstances, people drift toward heavy drinking.

Binge drinking, by the numbers

The survey includes a wide range of questions on substance use, including current drinking, binge drinking, average alcohol consumption, and symptoms of alcohol dependence. Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 88,000 deaths in the U.S. each year (including about 3,700 deaths from alcohol dependence), and cost the U.S. $223.5 billion in 2006. These deaths were due to health effects from drinking too much over time, such as breast cancer, liver the cost of excessive alcohol use infographics online media alcohol disease, and heart disease; and health effects from drinking too much in a short period of time, such as violence, alcohol poisoning, and motor vehicle crashes. The study found that nearly 1 in 3 adults is an excessive drinker, and most of them binge drink, usually on multiple occasions. About 10 percent of binge drinkers are alcohol dependent, while 30 percent of people who binge frequently (10 or more times a month) are alcohol dependent.