AWAKE
You're too smart to be stupid about alcohol! We'll help you figure it out.
TM
Alcohol destroys individuals and communities. Here are some hard facts.
Imagine what we could be, alcohol-free.
The High Cost
of Alcohol
to Our Health
Physical Health
* No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health
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* Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen, along with tobacco, radiation and asbestos.
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* Alcohol is a neurotoxin that disrupts communications of the brain, and negatively affects the functions of brain cells.
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* Alcohol causes at least 7 types of cancer: breast cancer, oral cancer, throat cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, and colorectum cancer.
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* Women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
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* Alcohol use is strongly linked to poor sleep quality: it can lead to insomnia and shorter periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a disrupted circadian rhythm, and snoring.
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Mental health
* People who drink alcohol are more likely to develop mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
The High Cost
of Alcohol
to Society
Preventable Deaths
* Excessive drinking is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and it is also costly. It cost the nation $249 billion in 2010 (the most recent year of data available).
* Excessive alcohol use was responsible for about 178,000 deaths in the US each year during 2020–2021, or just under 500 deaths per day.
* In 2022, 13,524 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths.
*A C.D.C. study estimates that, over five years, one in eight deaths of people ages 20 to 64 occurred because of alcohol-related injuries or illness.
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Violence
*Roughly 40% of inmates who are incarcerated for violent offenses were under the influence of alcohol during the time of their crime.
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* An estimated 37 % of sexual assaults and rapes are committed by offenders who were under the influence of alcohol.
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* An estimated 2/3rd of domestic violence victims report that the perpetrator had been drinking.
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* About 27% of aggravated assaults are committed by individuals who have used alcohol.
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