April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Whether you have a drink once a year, once a week, or once a day, it’s important to understand how alcohol can impact you. 

According to NIAAA, more than 140,000 American deaths every year are related to alcohol use. In fact, it’s one of the most common types of preventable deaths. Those living with an alcohol addiction are at risk of about 200 different health problems and injuries.

This month, take a moment to think about your relationship with alcohol. Monitoring your intake, family history, and other factors will help you find or maintain a good balance. Here’s everything to know before taking a sip.

How Much Drinking is Too Much?

Unfortunately, there’s no one right answer to the question of, “How many drinks separates a casual drinker from someone with a problem?” Some people can drink regularly without it affecting their life, and they can simply quit drinking if they want. Others may develop physical and emotional dependence on alcohol after a very short period of time.

However, even moderate drinking can raise your risk of death from various causes, such as several forms of cancer. Health risks increase with the amount of alcohol drink.

The recommended limit for males is 2 standard drinks or less daily or no more than 4 drinks 2 times a week. For women, the recommended limit is 1 standard drink or less per day, and no more than 3 standard drinks 2 times a week.

Signs of alcoholism include:

• Being unable to limit the amount of alcohol you drink. 
• Spending an excessive amount of time finding alcohol, drinking, then recovering.
• Feeling overwhelming urges to drink.
• Not feeling able to face parts of your life without a drink first.
• Knowing that alcohol is causing problems with your life but continuing to drink anyway.
• Drinking in unsafe situations. For example, when driving or swimming.

The Numbers to Know

When you socialize, changes are high there’s alcohol involved. From bars to barbeques, we often associate drinking with partying, meeting new people, or traveling. We also drink at home when we want to relax. For many people, a glass of wine or beer with dinner is a normal and desirable routine. It’s no surprise then, that alcohol abuse impacts a huge number of people.
 

• On average, 140,557 Americans die each year due to alcohol effects. That’s 385 deaths per day.
• Alcohol causes 10% of deaths among people 15 to 49 years old.
• 60% of participants in one study reported drinking more during COVID-19 lockdowns. 
• Men are three times more likely than women to die due to alcohol abuse.

Alcoholism is a Serious Disease That Can Be Fatal

Make no mistake: alcoholism is a disease; the same way diabetes or MS are both diseases. It’s not a character flaw, a lack of willpower, or because you’re a bad person. The astronaut Buzz Aldrin and beloved actor Robin Williams both had drinking problems, and no one would accuse either of them of being weak or evil. In fact, many alcoholics desperately want to quit drinking, but they can’t. It’s a condition that affects both the body and the brain.

If left untreated, alcoholism can have serious health consequences, including:

• Diseases of the liver
• Heart problems
• Diabetes complications
• Erectile dysfunction in men; menstruation issues in women
• Issues with your brain and nervous system that may result in numbness in your hands and feet, dementia, or short-term memory loss.
• Increased risk of many cancers, including mouth, throat, liver, esophagus, colon, and breast cancers. Even moderate drinking can increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Drastically increased risks of birth defects and miscarriage in pregnant people.
• Increased risk of dying or being seriously injured in car accidents, homicide, suicide, and drowning.

Who’s at Highest Risk?

Alcoholism has a genetic component, and it runs in families, but there isn’t a simple pattern to determine who will develop alcohol dependence. According to the latest surveys from the CDC and research on the link between alcoholism and genetics:

• Children of those with alcohol dependence are two to four times more likely to develop a drinking problem — but fewer than half go on to become alcohol dependent themselves.
• While Mexican Americans are less likely to drink than whites, when they do, they’re at a higher likelihood to drink more or binge drink.
• Similarly, African Americans are less likely to drink at all but are slightly more likely than whites to be binge drinkers.
• Men, in general, are more likely to drink and drink to excess than women are.

Help is Available, and We’re Here for You

Again, alcohol dependence is not a moral defect — it’s a serious health problem that requires a serious solution. If you have questions about alcohol use or need referrals to treatment programs, talk to your doctor or contact Behavioral Health Services at (855) 425-1777. Even if you’ve tried before to quit drinking, the right care, support, and treatment can make all the difference.