Prevention & Wellness Supports
Page Navigation
Return to Headlines
Eye Opening Facts
- Alcohol is a factor in:
60% of fatal burn injuries, drownings and homicides
50% of severe trauma injuries and sexual assault
40% of fatal motor vehicle crashes, suicides, and fatal falls
- Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined. More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. die each year – about 4.65 a day – as a result of alcohol-related injuries. 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year from alcohol - related poisoning, and other injuries such as falls and drownings.
- Nearly 15 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Fewer than 25% of those who need treatment get it in a given year.
- Alcohol is implicated in the deaths of some 85,000 Americans every year, making it the nation’s third leading cause of preventable death after smoking and obesity.
- Alcohol-related problems cost the U.S. economy an estimated $400 billion per year in lost productivity and earnings due to illness, death, and crime.
- People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared to those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.
- Heavy drinkers have a greater risk of:
Liver and heart disease
Sleep disorders
Depression
Stroke
Several types of cancer