Chances And Choices: Alcohol Addiction Statistics

Drug and alcohol addiction are becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States. The line of celebrities entering and leaving rehab (often several times) seems endless. Additionally, young people are exposed to more than 1,000 beer and wine commercials on television each year. They also see several thousand incidents where drinking is fictional and glamorized. As daily stressors increase in people's lives, combined with the easy availability of alcohol offering a quick fix, more and more people are turning to the bottle to blot out their problems. Addiction statistics are staggering and a somber wake up call that something needs to change.nnIt is estimated that more than 15 million Americans are alcohol dependent. This does not just mean that they drink; it means that they can not get through the day without a drink. Of that 15 million, 500,000 of those alcohol addicts are between the ages of 9 and 12. This is due, in part, to the nearly $2 billion advertising dollars that the liquor industry spends each year to encourage alcohol consumption. Americans readily respond to this encouragement by spending more than $90 billion dollars on alcohol each year.nnDrinking and driving is a deadly combination. Everyone knows that is it dangerous and can kill, but apparently those facts are widely ignored because in 50% of all driving fatalities, alcohol is involved. It is estimated that in the United States alone, someone is killed in a traffic accident with alcohol as a component every 30 minutes.nnOne of the worst parts of the way that alcohol is freely promoted is its effect on our young people. Students each year spend $5.5 billion on alcohol. This is more than they spend on sodas, tea, coffee or books combined. 56% of children in grades 5 through 12 report that the advertising by alcohol companies encourages them to drink.nnOn the job addiction can be devastating. 6.6% of employees who hold full time jobs report that they drink heavily. This means that they drink five or more drinks per event or on five or more days in the previous 30 days. But what is truly disheartening is that 12.2% of heavy drinkers as defined here (this is the highest percentage) are the unemployed adults who are between the ages of 26 and 34.nnIt should also be noted here one of the most frightening statistics yet. In the year 2000, nearly 7 million people were binge drinkers. The thing that is most striking about this group is that they ranged in age from 12 to 20 years of age. This means that one in five people who are under the legal drinking age were binge drinkers.nnIn America, alcohol is the number one drug problem. Addiction statistics show that 43% of Americans have had to deal with alcoholism in their families. The list goes on and on, but the message is clear. Alcohol can begin a vicious cycle of addiction with dire consequences. The alcoholic hurts friends, family and themselves. There is no upside to addiction to alcohol.