The report based on data from 2019, the latest statistics available, estimates that 2.6 million deaths in the world that year are attributed to alcohol consumption and that men represent almost three quarters of the deaths.
“Substance use seriously harms a person’s health, increases the risk of chronic diseases, mental health problems and unfortunately causes millions of preventable deaths,” said WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
The WHO highlighted that there has been “some reduction in alcohol consumption and related harms worldwide since 2010”, but that the social consequences and burden on health systems “remains unacceptably high”.
The report reveals that young people are disproportionately affected and that the most affected group, which corresponds to 13% of deaths, is people between 20 and 39 years old.
Cancer and traffic accidents
Alcohol consumption is linked to diseases such as cirrhosis and some cancers.
Of the total deaths attributable to alcohol in 2019, 474,000 were due to cardiovascular diseases and 401,000 to different types of cancer.
In addition, 724,000 deaths were recorded due to injuries, either due to traffic accidents or self-mutilation, the WHO indicated.
Dependence on this substance also makes people more susceptible to catching infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV or pneumonia.
Globally, an estimated 209 million people suffered from alcohol dependence in 2019, 3.7% of the world’s population.
The region with the highest per capita consumption rate is Europe, followed by the Americas.
Stigma and discrimination
Respondents who reported consuming alcohol reported consuming 27 grams per day, on average, which is equivalent to two glasses of wine. 38% of drinkers declared that in the last month they consumed alcohol in large quantities on one or two occasions.
At a global level, 23.5% of young people between 15 and 19 years old define themselves as habitual drinkers, a figure that reaches 45% in Europe and almost 44% in the American countries.
The WHO urged to improve access to quality programs to treat dependence.
“Stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the effectiveness of treatments contribute to these gaps in treatment provision,” Vladimir Poznyak, head of the WHO’s division of alcohol, drugs and addictive behaviour, told reporters. .
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FOUNTAIN: With information from AFP
