Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Harmful use of alcohol is accountable for 6,9 % and 2.0% of the global burden of disease for males and females respectively. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 20 to 39 years, accounting for 13% of all deaths in this age group.
Alcohol use disorder
Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. In the United States, people younger than age 21 are not legally able to drink alcohol. Manuals for the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and the ASSIST-linked brief interventionsThe ASSIST package, which…
Symptoms
- Both the volume of lifetime alcohol use and a combination of context, frequency of alcohol consumption and amount consumed per occasion increase the risk of the wide range of health and social harms.
- Here, over 200 million people in the Region are at risk of developing alcohol-attributable cancer.
- But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions.
- In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes.
In 2019, the worldwide total consumption was equal to 5.5 litres of pure alcohol per person 15 years and older. Unrecorded consumption accounts for 21% of the worldwide total consumption. In 2022, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, with support from the European Commission, initiated the Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION), which is contributing to delivering on the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
It is the alcohol that causes harm, not the beverage
The Global alcohol action plan 2022–2030, endorsed by WHO Member States, aims to reduce the harmful use of alcohol through effective, evidence-based strategies at national, regional and global levels. “So, when we talk about possible so-called safer levels of alcohol consumption or about its protective effects, we are ignoring the bigger picture of alcohol harm in our Region and the world. Although it is well established that alcohol can cause cancer, this fact is still not widely known to the public in most countries.
The Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH) is an essential tool for assessing and monitoring the health situation and trends related to alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm, and policy responses in countries. The harmful use of alcohol results in the death of 2.6 million people annually. There are 230 different types of diseases where alcohol has a significant role. It also causes harm to the well-being and health of people around the drinker.
WHO response in the WHO European Region
But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. For example, it may be used to define the risk of illness or injury based on the number of drinks a person has in a week. Rates of current drinking were highest among 15–19-year-olds in the European region (45.9%) followed by the Americas (43.9%). Total alcohol per capita consumption in the world population decreased slightly from 5.7 litres in 2010 to 5.5 litres in 2019. The highest levels of per capita consumption in 2019 were observed in the WHO European Region (9.2 litres) and the Region of Americas (7.5 litres). The SAFER initiative, launched globally in 2018, supports the implementation of high-impact strategies across the European Region.
Noncommunicable diseases progress monitor 2025
In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes. In general, a healthy diet and physical activity have much greater health benefits than alcohol and have been more extensively studied. In the United States, moderate drinking for healthy adults is different for men and women. It means on days when a person does drink, women do not have more than one drink and men do not have more than two drinks.
Stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the efficacy of treatment contribute to these critical gaps in treatment provision, as well as the continued low prioritization of substance use disorders by health and development agencies. In 2019, 38% of current drinkers had engaged in heavy episodic drinking, defined as consuming at least 60g of pure alcohol on one or more occasions in the preceding month – roughly equivalent to 4 or 5 glasses of wine, bottles of beer or servings of spirits. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death.
- A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death.
- The global SAFER initiative is a partnership between WHO, UNIATF, UNDP and civil society organizations to advocate for and facilitate implementation of the most cost-effective interventions to reduce alcohol related harm.
- The 2010 WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and the 2022 WHO Global action plan are the most comprehensive international alcohol policy documents, endorsed by WHO Member States, that provides guidance on reducing the harmful use of alcohol at all levels.
- But good evidence shows that drinking high amounts of alcohol are clearly linked to health problems.
Ethanol (alcohol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer. Alcohol as an intoxicant affects a wide range of structures and processes in the central nervous system and increases the risk for intentional and unintentional injuries and adverse social consequences. Alcohol has considerable toxic effects on the digestive and cardiovascular systems.
This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function. Drinking moderately if you’re otherwise healthy may be a risk you’re willing to take. But heavy drinking carries a much higher risk even for those without other health concerns. Be sure to ask your healthcare professional about what’s right for your health and safety. That usually means four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
The EU is the heaviest-drinking area globally, with 7 of the 10 countries with the highest per-capita alcohol consumption located within the EU. Despite progress in reducing alcohol consumption and related harms, the Region continues to face significant challenges, including high rates of alcohol-related deaths, particularly from cancer. The report highlights the urgent need to accelerate actions globally towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.5 by 2030 by reducing alcohol and drug consumption and improving access to quality treatment for substance use disorders. The Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders presents a comprehensive overview of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related… WHO has identified that the most cost-effective actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, enforcing restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising, and restrictions on the physical availability of retailed alcohol.
Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization, as harms from a given amount and pattern of drinking are higher for poorer drinkers and their families than for richer drinkers in any given society. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.
When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons. During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems. Heavy drinking also has been linked to intentional injuries, such as suicide, as well as accidental injury and death. This manual is written to help primary health care workers – physicians, nurses, community health workers, and others – to deal with persons whose alcohol… This comprehensive report details the full extent of the way that alcohol is being marketed across national borders – often by digital means –…
In the EU, cancer is the leading cause of death – with a steadily increasing incidence rate – and the majority of all alcohol-attributable deaths are due to different types of cancers. Both the volume of lifetime alcohol use and a combination of context, alcohol effects on lung health frequency of alcohol consumption and amount consumed per occasion increase the risk of the wide range of health and social harms. The risks increase largely in a dose-dependent manner with the volume of alcohol consumed and with frequency of drinking, and exponentially with the amount consumed on a single occasion. Surrogate and illegally produced alcohols can bring an extra health risk from toxic contaminants.
The report shows an estimated 400 million people lived with alcohol use disorders globally. WHO works with Member States and partners to prevent and reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority. The 2010 WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and the 2022 WHO Global action plan are the most comprehensive international alcohol policy documents, endorsed by WHO Member States, that provides guidance on reducing the harmful use of alcohol at all levels. “To build a healthier, more equitable society, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol consumption and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable.”
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