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GENEVA — Consumption of alcohol was a causal factor in 3.3 million deaths worldwide in 2012, according to the World Health Organization.
Monday, the WHO called on governments to help reduce the number of deaths caused by alcohol. It said alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing more than 200 diseases and can also lead to violence and other injuries.
“More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption,” said Oleg Chestnov, WHO assistant director-general for noncommunicable diseases and mental health, in a statement. “The report clearly shows that there is no room for complacency when it comes to reducing the harmful use of alcohol.”
A report detailing the alcohol consumption and relevant government policies of all 194 WHO member states was released in conjunction with the call to action. The report found 5.1 percent of the global burden of disease and injury is attributed to alcohol and that alcohol consumption can cause death and disability early in life, with 25 percent of the deaths of people ages 20-39-years-old being alcohol related.
The report clearly shows that there is no room for complacency when it comes to reducing the harmful use of alcohol.
–Oleg Chestnov
The diseases associated with alcohol consumption include liver cirrhosis and some cancers, researchers said. People who consume alcohol can also be more vulnerable to infectious diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia, as well as mental and behavioral disorders, according to the report.
"Alcohol is a psychoactive substance with dependence-producing properties that has been widely used in many cultures for centuries," the WHO alcohol fact sheet states. "The harmful use of alcohol causes a large disease, social and economic burden in societies."
The European region has the highest consumption of alcohol per capita, researchers found. Globally, persons age 15 or older on average drinks 6.2 litres of alcohol per year, but because only 38.3 percent of the population drinks alcohol, researchers said those who do consume alcohol take in an average of 17 litres of pure alcohol in a year.
More men died from alcohol-related causes than women, according to the report. In 2012, 7.6 percent of men's deaths were alcohol-realted, compared to 4 percent for women.
The WHO recommended governments do more to prevent alcohol-related deaths by developing national alcohol policies, creating national awareness-raising activities and offering prevention and treatment services.
