According to a recent report, alcohol consumption was answerable for 2.6 million deaths worldwide by the World Health OrganizationAn extra 0.6 million are resulting from the consumption of psychoactive drugs.
Together, these figures accounted for 4.7% of all deaths worldwide.
Young people aged between 20 and 39, especially men, were most affected, accounting for 2 million of those deaths, most of them in Europe and Africa.
And although there was some decline in alcohol-related deaths since 2010, recently released figures – representing 145 countries from 2019 – show a persistent, deadly problem, and “the overall number of deaths due to alcohol consumption remains unacceptably high,” the reportwhich was released in June.
Worldwide, an estimated 400 million people or 7% of the world population aged between 15 and
older, living with alcohol use disorders, defined by The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as “a problematic pattern of alcohol consumption that results in clinically significant impairment or distress.” An estimated 209 million (3.7% of the world’s adult population) are actually living with Alcohol dependence.
The specific causes of death were wide-ranging and based on 31 health conditions that were scientifically linked to alcohol consumption.
The situation is comparable with the consumption of psychoactive drugs, that are defined by the WHO as substances that may alter “consciousness, mood or thought processes”. These include nicotine,
Opioids, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines and other stimulants, hallucinogens, hypnotics and
Sedatives and psychoactive inhalants.
“Substance use severely harms individual health, increases the risk of chronic disease and mental illness, and tragically leads to millions of preventable deaths each year. It places a heavy burden on families and communities and increases the risk of accidents, injuries and violence,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in a press release on the findings. “To build healthier, fairer societies, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol use and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable.”
Of all of the deaths attributable to alcohol in 2019, an estimated 1.6 million were resulting from non-communicable diseases, including 474,000 deaths from heart problems and 401,000 from cancer, in response to the report.
In addition, 724,000 deaths were resulting from injuries, including road traffic accidents, self-harm and “interpersonal violence”, while one other 284,000 deaths were resulting from communicable diseases resembling HIV, as alcohol consumption has been shown to extend the chance of transmission resulting from the upper risk of unprotected sex.
Causes of death related to drug use include stroke and coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, violence, suicide and cancer.
Finally, the WHO report underlines the undeniable fact that access to quality treatment for
Treatment for drug use disorders remains to be largely limited or unaffordable for many who need it most. “This affects almost half
“One billion people worldwide live with alcohol or substance abuse disorders,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus states within the report, pointing to “stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the effectiveness of treatment” as persistent aspects.
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