Alcohol is the
number 1 drug problem
in America.
Click on the clock
to see the
numbers add up
Alcohol Statistics:

  • Each year, a typical young person in the United States is
    inundated with more than 1,000 commercials for beer
    and wine coolers in addition to several thousand fictional
    drinking incidents on television.

  • Alcohol is involved in 50% of all driving fatalities.

  • In the United States, every 30 minutes, someone is killed
    in an alcohol related traffic accident.

  • Over 15 million Americans are dependent on alcohol.
    500,000 are between the age of 9 and 12.

  • Each year the liquor industry spends almost $2 billion
    dollars on advertising and encouraging the consumption
    of alcoholic beverages.

  • Americans spend over $90 billion dollars on alcohol
    each year.

  • On average, Americans may consume over 25 gallons of
    beer, 2 gallons of wine, and 1.5 gallons of distilled spirits
    each year.

  • Pregnant women who drink are feeding alcohol to their
    babies. Unfortunately the underdeveloped liver of the
    baby can only burn alcohol at half the rate of its mother,
    so the alcohol stays in the baby's system twice as long.

  • Each year, students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol. That
    is more than they spend on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice,
    coffee, or books combined.

  • 56% of students in grade 5 to 12 say that alcohol
    advertising encourages them to drink.

  • 6.6% of employees in full time jobs report heavy
    drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks per
    occasion on five or more days in the past 30 days.

  • The highest percentage of heavy drinkers (12.2%) is
    found among unemployed adults between the age of 26
    to 34.

  • Up to 40% of all industrial fatalities and 47% of industrial
    injuries can be linked to alcohol consumption and
    alcoholism.

  • In 2000, almost 7 million persons age 12 to 20 were
    binge drinkers. That means about one in five persons
    under the legal drinking age were binge drinkers.

  • The 2001 survey shows 25 million (one in ten)
    Americans surveyed reported driving under the influence
    of alcohol. This report is nearly three million more than
    the previous year. Among young adults age 18 to 25
    years, almost 23% drove under the influence of alcohol.

  • Drunk driving is proving to be even deadlier than what
    we previously knew. The latest death statistics released
    by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    (NHTSA), using a new method of calculation, shows that
    17,488 people where killed in alcohol related traffic
    accidents last year. This report represents nearly 800
    more people were killed than the previous year.

  • 43% of Americans have been exposed to alcoholism in
    their families.

  • Nearly 1 out of 4 Americans admitted to hospitals have
    alcohol problems or are undiagnosed alcoholics being
    diagnosed for alcohol related consequences.

  • Alcohol and alcohol related problems are costing the
    American economy at least $100 million in health care
    and loss of productivity every year.

  • Four in ten criminal offenders report alcohol as a factor
    in violence.

  • Among spouse violence victims, three out of four
    incidents were reported to have involved alcohol use by
    the offender.

  • In 1996, local law enforcement agencies made an
    estimated 1,467,300 arrests nationwide for driving under
    the influence of alcohol.

    [Source: Narconon website]
The number of drug arrests,
imprisonments, and costs to
pay for this insane policy
increases every second.
www.drugsense.org
2
3
4
5
HOME
NEXT
The Drug fLaws.com
analysis of the drug laws by dennis mcbride
HOME