Fact and Fiction during Alcohol Awareness Month
April 2, 2013
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for almost 80,000 deaths each year in the United States, cutting short each of these individuals' lives an average of 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Americans who abuse alcohol put themselves and others at risk for health and workplace hazards, as well as an increase in violence and lost work productivity. Excessive alcohol use caused 1.2 million emergency room visits and 2.7 million physician office visits, for a total economic cost of 3.5 billion in 2006.
Focusing on alcohol statistics can seem overwhelming, but once we understand the impact we can begin to look at alcohol use in a different light and try to do something about it. If we understand what constitutes excessive use and abuse, and what the impact of these can be, we can help others understand and make a difference in our families and our communities.
Because April is Alcohol Awareness month, this is the perfect time to take action. The goal of Alcohol Awareness month is to help raise understanding about alcohol abuse and give individuals the tools to act on a solution to help decrease alcohol consumption in our homes and in the community.
You can make a difference today, by reading this blog, clicking on our resource section under alcohol addiction to review the material there, and spreading what you learned about ways to prevent abuse of alcohol. Draw attention to this issue in your communities and workplaces, and advocate for the importance of working together to make a change.
Alcohol Awareness month provides an opportunity to take action.
- Pay attention to how much alcohol you and your family members and friends drink.
- If you notice someone showing signs of excessive drinking, try to help them to manage how much they drink and make sure they do not drive.
- Talk to your friends about alcohol use when they are not drinking, and try to get them to understand its negative impact on their health and their productivity in school or at work.
- Suggest an alcohol-free weekend during which you plan alternate activities such as hiking or organizing a pick-up sports game.
- Raise awareness of how much alcohol costs our economic system.
- Help a friend find treatment.
- Share the alcohol resources page on the Future Health website.
Get started today.
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