A Look at Alcoholism

Alcohol users shorten their life spans by 10 to 12 years, according to the First Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health. Other major points in the report, which discusses the problem of alcohol consumption in the United States, are summarized here by Dr. Lindsay R. Curtis.

One-half of all traffic fatalities have significant amounts of alcohol in their blood. Over 28,000 deaths on the highway last year were caused by alcohol.

Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 60 percent of highway deaths are attributable to alcohol as a major cause.

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost our economy over $15 billion per year, with $10 billion of this in lost work time. About 240,000 government employees suffer from alcohol-related problems. One-third of all homicide victims showed significant amounts of alcohol in their blood.

About 9 million (nearly 10 percent) of the 95 million drinkers are alcohol abusers and alcoholic individuals. Most of these (95 to 97 percent) are working and home-making people.

Public intoxication alone accounts for one-third of all arrests. If we include alcohol-related offenses, this climbs to between 40 and 49 percent.

Scientific evidence also implicates alcohol as a producer of damage to the brain, liver, heart, digestive system, and certain endocrine glands.