The World Health Organization just released a new report on the effects of alcohol. Society continues to underestimate the role of alcohol in health and social problems. This report claims that alcohol plays a role in 3 million deaths worldwide every year, 5.3% of all deaths and 7.2% of all premature deaths. The harmful use of alcohol is also present in many mental and behavioral disorders that lead to a reduction in quality of life for all. For example, half the people in prison were drinking when they commited the crime that landed them in the cell. We even now are still underappreciating and underreporting the role of alcohol even when it is starinus in the face, such as the behaviors that led to the Brett Kavanaugh events and underlie the #Metoo movement. When it comes to alcohol, we seem to be asleep at the wheel. The question is, what to do about it and what is the role of the state vs. individual responsibility?
WHO: Global status report on alcohol and health 2018
The Guardian: Alcohol causes one in 20 deaths worldwide, says WHO
Why we need to solve our alcohol problem to solve our crime problem