Alcohol Awareness Month

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. Every April the National Council for Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence (NCADD) sponsors Alcohol Awareness Month to increase awareness and
understanding of the causes and treatment of the nation’s #1 public health problem:
alcoholism. The theme this year is “Changing Attitudes: It’s not a ‘rite of passage.’” The target
audience is youth and their parents.

Most American adults consume alcohol at least once in their lifetime. Among them, an
estimated 29% will develop Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) at some point in their lives. The
following are some more statistics to help us better understand the impact alcohol abuse is
having in the United States.

− 9.7% of Americans aged 12 years and older had Alcohol Use Disorder in 2024.
− 22.0% of people aged 21 years and older reported binge drinking in the last 30 days; this
is a 7.2% decline between 2023 and 2024.
− Every day, approximately 488 Americans die as a result of excessive alcohol use.
− 49.7% of deaths from excessive alcohol use occur among adults aged 35 to 64.
− Alcohol causes 25.4% of deaths among 20- to 34-year-olds.
− Alcohol causes 17.5% of deaths among 35- to 49-year-olds.
− Worldwide, up to 2.6 million people die every year as a result of alcohol abuse.
− Alcohol-related deaths account for approximately 4.7% of the world’s deaths.
− Men are more than 3 times as likely as women to die as a consequence of alcohol
abuse.

− The World Health Organization (WHO) has determined excessive alcohol use is
responsible for 6.9% of disease among males and 2.0% among females.
− Collectively, it is estimated that Americans lose approximately 4 million years of
potential life due to excessive drinking.

Economists as well as healthcare and addiction specialists agree that the pandemic and
quarantines of 2020 had a significant impact on nationwide alcohol consumption. The following
are some data points gathered from that time.

− Online liquor sales rose 262% year-over-year (YoY) in the first 3 weeks of March 2020,
coinciding with most state-wide lockdowns.
− Liquor store sales increased by 54% YoY during that same time period.
− Between March and mid-April 2020, online alcohol sales were up 234% YOY, while
liquor store sales rose 21%.

− In a Johns Hopkins-University of Maryland-Baltimore survey, 60.1% of participants
report drinking more alcohol after March 1, 2020.
− 34.1% report binge drinking at least once and 7.0% report extreme binge drinking.
− 45.7% report increased stress as a reason for their increased drinking.
− Other reasons for increased drinking include increased alcohol availability (34.4%) and
boredom (30.1%).

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has identified an emerging
trend that it has labeled “High-Intensity Drinking.” High-Intensity Drinking (HID) is defined as
consuming alcohol at levels at least twice the binge drinking threshold for one’s gender.
Due to its status as an emerging trend, peer-reviewed studies are limited. Available data
indicates HID is common among binge drinkers and that it is typically associated with special
occasions such as 21st birthdays, holidays, and sporting events. HID is associated with negative
consequences, such as injury, aggression, and mental distress.

An important part of Alcohol Awareness Month is choosing an Alcohol-Free weekend during the
month of April. The intent is to stop drinking from Friday through Monday and then gauge the
effect of the alcohol-free days. If your body has become used to the continual presence of
alcohol, suddenly stopping can cause physical effects, such as sweating, nausea, headaches,
and trouble sleeping. If it was difficult to manage 72 hours without drinking, that struggle could
signal a dependence on alcohol that should be more closely examined. If you are having trouble
with your three-day alcohol-free test, we urge you to contact your medical provider to learn
more about alcoholism and its early symptoms.

If you are in crisis and need help right now, help is available 24/7 at the 988 Suicide and Crisis
Lifeline. For questions and to book appointments, write to us on our website or call us at (585)
442-6960.