3.3 M died in 2012 due to alcohol consumption – WHO

MANILA, Philippines - The World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the alarm over the “harmful use of alcohol” which killed 3.3 million people globally in 2012.

In its Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014, WHO said alcohol consumption not only leads to dependence but also increases people’s risk of developing more than 200 diseases, including liver cirrhosis, some cancers, tuberculosis and pneumonia.

WHO cautioned that harmful drinking could also lead to violence and 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 non-communicable diseases and mental health.

WHO has urged member-states to develop policies aimed at reducing the harmful use of alcohol.

The report said some countries are already strengthening measures to protect people. These include increasing taxes on alcohol, limiting the availability of alcohol by raising the age limit and regulating the marketing of alcoholic beverages.

“On average every person in the world aged 15 years or older drinks 6.2 liters of pure alcohol per year,” it said.

“But as less than half the population (38.3 percent) actually drinks alcohol, this means that those who do drink consume on average of 17 liters of pure alcohol annually,” it added.

The report also said there is a higher percentage of deaths from alcohol-related causes among men (7.6 percent) than women (4 percent), “though there is evidence that women may be more vulnerable to some alcohol-related health conditions compared to men.”

Researchers expressed concern over the steady increase in alcohol use among women.

“We found that worldwide about 16 percent of drinkers engage in heavy episodic drinking – often referred to as ‘binge-drinking’ – which is the most harmful to health,” said Shekhar Saxena, WHO director for mental health and substance abuse.

“Lower-income groups are more affected by the social and health consequences of alcohol. They often lack quality health care and are less protected by functional family or community networks,” Saxena added.

Globally, Europe has the highest consumption of alcohol per capita with some of its countries having particularly high consumption rates. The report said consumption level is stable over the last five years in the region as well as in Africa and the Americas, though increases have been reported in the Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific regions.