Alcohol responsible for one in 20 deaths worldwide: WHO

Alcohol kills three million people worldwide every year – more than AIDS, violence and road accidents combined, the World Health Organization said Friday, adding that men are particularly vulnerable.

The latest report from the UN Health Agency on Alcohol and Health highlighted that alcohol causes more than one in every 20 deaths worldwide each year, including impaired driving, violence and violence. alcohol abuse.

Men account for more than three quarters of alcohol-related deaths, the report of nearly 500 pages found.

"Too many people, their families and their communities are suffering the consequences of heavy drinking through violence, injuries, mental health issues and diseases such as cancer and accidents

"It is time to intensify actions to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies," he added.

Alcohol consumption is linked to more than 200 health problems, including cirrhosis of the liver and some cancers.

Alcohol abuse also makes people more vulnerable to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, according to the report.

The estimated three million alcohol-related deaths worldwide in 2016 – the latest available statistics – account for 5.3% of all deaths this year.

In comparison, HIV / AIDS was responsible for 1.8% of deaths worldwide that year, road accidents 2.5% and violence of 0.8%, the study showed.

The latest figures are lower than those of the latest WHO report on global consumption of alcohol, published in 2014.

There are "some positive global trends," the agency said, noting the decrease in the prevalence of heavy episodic alcoholism and alcohol-related deaths since 2010.

But he warned that "the overall burden of disease and injury caused by the harmful use of alcohol is excessively high," especially in Europe and the Americas.

Globally, an estimated 237 million men and 46 million women suffer from alcohol-related disorders, according to the WHO.

Alcohol abuse affects nearly 15% of men and 3.5% of women in Europe and 11.5% of men and 5.1% of women in the Americas, he said. .

Total alcohol consumption is unevenly distributed throughout the world, with more than half of the world's population over the age of 15 completely abstaining.

– One beer a day –

On average, the 2.3 billion people currently considered drinkers – meaning they have been drinking alcohol at least once in the past year – consume 33 grams of pure alcohol per day.

That's roughly equivalent to two glasses of wine, a big bottle of beer or two shots of spirits.

Europe has clearly the highest per capita consumption, which, despite a decline of more than 10% since 2010, has again recorded per capita consumption of 10 liters of pure alcohol or more per year.

The WHO has warned that alcohol consumption is also rising in all regions, with the exception of Europe, particularly in Asia, China and India. recording significant increases.

The UN health agency urged countries to do more to combat harmful consumption practices and achieve the goal of reducing global consumption by 10% between 2010 and 2025.

"We would like to see Member States implement creative solutions that will save lives, such as the taxation of alcohol and the restriction of advertising," Tedros said.

The latest available WHO data, dating from 2016, show that three million alcohol-related deaths occurred worldwide – accounting for 5.3% of all deaths that year – with alcohol linked to dozens of diseases.