In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. For example, it may be used to define the risk of illness or injury based on the number of drinks a person has in a week. Rates of current drinking were highest among 15–19-year-olds in the European region (45.9%) followed by the Americas (43.9%). Total alcohol per capita consumption in the world population decreased slightly from 5.7 litres in 2010 to 5.5 litres in 2019.

  • Heavy drinking also has been linked to intentional injuries, such as suicide, as well as accidental injury and death.
  • Although it is well established that alcohol can cause cancer, this fact is still not widely known to the public in most countries.
  • In many of today’s societies, alcoholic beverages are a routine part of the social landscape for many in the population.
  • During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems.

Regional Office for Europe

Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years. When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons.

If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider. Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.

This emphasizes the importance of protecting policy-making processes from industry interference that aims to delay or weaken public health measures that would reduce alcohol consumption. To combat this, WHO advocates for transparency in policy development, the exclusion of the alcohol industry from policy discussions, and the implementation of regulations to limit the industry’s influence on public health. Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems. This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.

Risks of moderate alcohol use

Notably, 2 million of alcohol and 0.4 million of drug-attributable deaths were among men. Most of the 145 countries that reported data did not have a specific budget line or data on governmental expenditures for treatment of substance use disorders. Although mutual help and peer support groups are useful resources for people with substance use disorders, almost half of responding countries reported that they do not offer such support groups for substance use disorders. Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems.

The death rates due to alcohol consumption per litre of alcohol consumed are highest in low-income countries and lowest in high-income countries. Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem. An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help. If you’re concerned about someone who drinks too much, ask a professional experienced in alcohol treatment for advice on how to approach that person.

It is the alcohol that causes harm, not the beverage

In the EU, cancer is the leading cause of death – with a steadily increasing incidence rate – and the majority of all alcohol-attributable deaths are due to different types of cancers. Both the volume of lifetime alcohol use and a combination of context, frequency of alcohol consumption and amount consumed per occasion increase the risk of the wide range of health and social harms. The risks increase largely in a dose-dependent manner with the volume of alcohol consumed and with frequency of drinking, and exponentially with the amount consumed on a single occasion.

Can homes, schools and digital platforms drive young people’s alcohol consumption?

“To build a healthier, more equitable society, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol consumption and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable.” The risk of developing cancer increases substantially the more alcohol is consumed. However, latest available data indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are caused by “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week. This drinking pattern is responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancers in women, with the highest burden observed in countries of the European Union (EU).

Actions for progress

  • The SAFER initiative, launched globally in 2018, supports the implementation of high-impact strategies across the European Region.
  • Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking.
  • This is particularly true for those in social environments with high visibility and societal influence, nationally and internationally, where alcohol frequently accompanies socializing.
  • This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function.
  • “To build a healthier, more equitable society, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol consumption and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable.”

In the United States, moderate drinking for healthy adults is different for men and women. It means on days when a person does drink, women do not have more than one drink and men do not have more than two drinks. Stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the efficacy of treatment contribute to these critical gaps in treatment provision, as well as the continued low prioritization of substance use disorders by health and development agencies. In 2019, 38% of current drinkers had engaged in heavy episodic drinking, defined as consuming at least 60g of pure alcohol on one or more occasions in the preceding month – roughly equivalent to 4 or 5 glasses of wine, bottles of beer or servings of spirits. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death.

The report shows an estimated 400 million people lived with alcohol use disorders globally. WHO works with Member States and partners to prevent and reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority. The 2010 WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and the 2022 WHO Global action plan are the most comprehensive international alcohol policy documents, endorsed by WHO Member States, that provides guidance on reducing the harmful use of alcohol at all levels.

Alcohol is a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties. In many of today’s societies, alcoholic beverages are a routine part of the social landscape for many in the population. This is particularly true for those in social environments with high visibility and societal influence, nationally and internationally, where alcohol frequently accompanies socializing.

Over 3 million annual deaths due to alcohol and drug use, majority among men

In this context, it is easy to overlook or discount the health and social damage caused or contributed to by drinking. Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior. Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization, as harms from a given amount and pattern of drinking are higher for poorer drinkers and their families than for richer drinkers in any given society. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.

The technical package for the SAFER initiative focuses on five key alcohol policy interventions that are based on accumulated evidence of their impact… The global SAFER initiative is a partnership between WHO, UNIATF, UNDP and civil society organizations to advocate for and facilitate alcohol use disorder signs implementation of the most cost-effective interventions to reduce alcohol related harm. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.

This regional workshop was planned to address the challenges of illicit tobacco trade and unrecorded alcohol consumption in the countries of the Region…. For women, more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week is heavy drinking. For men, heavy drinking means more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week. In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes. In general, a healthy diet and physical activity have much greater health benefits than alcohol and have been more extensively studied.