Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits

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. Harmful use of alcohol is accountable for 6,9 % and 2.0% of the global burden of disease for males and females respectively. Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 4.7% of the global burden of disease.

Alcohol consumption contributes to 2.6 million deaths each year globally as well as to the disabilities and poor health of millions of people. In some situations, the risk of drinking any amount of alcohol is high. For men, heavy drinking means more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week. For women, more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week is heavy drinking.

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The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” explains Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe. “We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. Early intervention can prevent alcohol-related problems in teens.

The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption and the highest burden of alcohol-related harm in the world. This manual is written to help primary health care workers – physicians, nurses, community health workers, and others – to deal with persons whose alcohol… “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. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.

Symptoms

Heavy drinking, including binge drinking, is a high-risk activity. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. It also causes harm to the well-being and health of people around the drinker. The European framework for action on alcohol, 2022–2025, adopted by all 53 Member States, uses the latest evidence to address alcohol-related harms through comprehensive, evidence-based policies and collaborative efforts. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive substance linked to over 200 diseases and conditions, including 7 types of cancer.

The technical package for the SAFER initiative focuses on five key alcohol policy interventions that are based on accumulated evidence of their impact… 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. Landmark public health decisions by WHO on essential medicines for alcohol use disorders Although it is well established that alcohol can cause cancer, this fact is still not widely known to the public in most countries. 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. Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption level and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population.

Restricting alcohol availability in practice: evidence from selected countries

In 2019, the worldwide total consumption was equal to 5.5 litres of pure alcohol per person 15 years and older. There are 230 different types of diseases where alcohol has a significant role. Explore a world of health data The SAFER initiative, launched globally in 2018, supports the implementation of high-impact strategies across the European Region. The WHO European Region has been proactive in addressing the harm caused by alcohol through several key initiatives and frameworks.

• Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years.
• Binge drinking is behavior that raises blood alcohol levels to 0.08%.
• The SAFER initiative, launched globally in 2018, supports the implementation of high-impact strategies across the European Region.
• 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.
• If you already drink at low levels and continue to drink, risks for these issues appear to be low.
• This may result in craving alcohol to try to restore good feelings or reduce negative ones.

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• It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
• 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.
• This initiative includes policies that reduce the affordability, availability, and acceptability of alcohol, particularly in the heaviest-drinking countries, mitigating the effects of alcohol consumption on public health.
• Heavy drinking, including binge drinking, is a high-risk activity.

As consumption goes up, the risk goes up for these cancers. If you already drink at low levels and continue to drink, risks for these issues appear to be low. 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.

In many of today’s societies, alcoholic beverages are a routine part of the social landscape for many in the population. Alcohol is a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties. You’ll soon start receiving the latest Mayo Clinic health information you requested in your inbox. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, we will only use your protected health information as outlined in our Notice of Privacy Practices. Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health.

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Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking.

In addition, enforcing drink driving countermeasures and securing access to screening, brief interventions, and treatment are effective and ethically sound interventions. 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. Disadvantaged and especially vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization. This is particularly true for those in social environments with high visibility and societal influence, nationally and internationally, where alcohol frequently accompanies socializing.

South-East Asia Regional workshop to address the challenges of illicit tobacco trade and unrecorded alcohol,…

Be sure to ask your healthcare professional about what’s right for your health and safety. When taking care of children, avoid alcohol. Health agencies outside the U.S. may define one drink differently. Knowing your personal risk based on your habits can help you make the best decision for you. People who choose not to drink make that choice for the same reasons. More on alcohol

Drinking moderately if you’re otherwise healthy may be a risk you’re willing to take. 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. That usually means four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men.

Alcohol

In the United States, moderate drinking for healthy adults is different for men and women. The evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults is still being studied. Many people drink alcohol as a personal preference, during social activities, or as a part of cultural and religious practices.

To combat this, WHO advocates for transparency in policy development, the exclusion of the alcohol industry from policy discussions, and the implementation of regulations to limit the industry’s influence on public health. A critical aspect of the Region’s approach is addressing the commercial determinants of health, particularly the influence of the alcohol industry on public health policy. The Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders presents a comprehensive overview of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related…

The definition of heavy drinking Alcohol and Pain is based on a person’s sex. In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes. And drinking raises the risk of problems in the digestive system. 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.