Alcohol: what to know

  • Drinking can be addictive. When someone is unable to stop or control their alcohol use—even when facing serious health, social, or academic consequences—they have an alcohol use disorder that requires treatment. (3)

  • Approximately 14.5 million people age 12 or older had an alcohol use disorder in 2019. (1)

  • Excessive alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of stroke, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, cancer, and other serious health conditions. (1)

  • Drinking can be fatal. When a person has an alcohol overdose, their breathing and heart rate slows down to dangerous levels. Symptoms include confusion, being unconscious, vomiting, seizures, and trouble breathing. Overdosing on alcohol can lead to permanent brain damage or death. (4)

  • Drinking can begin at an early age. Of those who drink underage, 15% began using alcohol before they were 13 years old. (2)

  • Alcohol is a factor in the deaths of approximately 4,300 people under 21 in the US per year. (1)

  • High blood alcohol concentrations place those who drink and those around them at an elevated risk for negative consequences, such as traffic accidents, injury-related deaths, sexual assault, violent crimes, and reduced academic performance. (1)

 

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