Behind the Numbers: Alcohol is Killing More People Than Fentanyl

Several years ago I wrote a piece about how alcohol was killing more people annually than opioids asking why we weren’t giving alcohol the same attention. The Opioid Epidemic grabbed the headline and rightly so. According to provisional data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 107,000 people died of a drug overdose in the 12 months ending August 2022[i]. Around 81,000 of those died from an opioid overdose,[ii] a nearly tenfold increase over the 8,000 people who overdosed in 1999.[iii]

These opioid-related deaths have skyrocketed because of Fentanyl – which now contaminates almost every substance, but still killed fewer individuals last year than alcohol-related deaths.

Yet, more people died from alcohol use in 2022.

Alcohol caused approximately 140,000 deaths each year in the U.S. from the years 2015 to 2019[iv], and the death rate has skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic, with deaths directly attributable to alcohol increasing 26% in 2020 alone[v]. Why isn’t alcohol getting more attention? It is quickly emerging as a leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. An estimated one in five deaths of people ages 20 to 49 is attributable to excessive alcohol use[vi]!

In large part, alcohol doesn’t attract consistent attention as a killer because it’s legal, easily available and socially acceptable. In fact, it’s so deeply ingrained in our culture that not drinking in some circumstances can be perceived as out of the ordinary. For example, many people don’t think twice about “letting loose” and drinking on the weekends. “It’s not a big deal. I don’t drink every day,” we hear people say, even during treatment for alcohol use disorder. However, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), created a web site entitled Rethinking Drinking to highlight the extent of misperceptions about what constitutes “low-risk” vs. “high-risk” alcohol consumption. In fact, more than three drinks in a day or more than seven drinks per week for women and four drinks per day or 14 drinks per week for men are considered “high-risk,” and these patterns can be detrimental both in the short and long-term.

Make no mistake, we are in the midst of an alcohol epidemic. Social drinking has increased dramatically since the early 1990s, accompanied by a similar increase in problem drinking and alcohol use disorder, especially among women and minorities. The alcohol-related death rate for women increased 85% from 2007 to 2017[vii], and women represented the largest increase in death rates in the wake of the pandemic, led by a 42% increase in deaths among women ages 35 to 44[viii]! This may have started with the idea that a glass of wine a day was good for your heart, but we’re clearly way beyond that.

Why alcohol is a killer

Society isn’t totally immune to the dangers of alcohol. Many people are aware that heavy drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, heart disease, brain damage, cirrhosis (a liver disease) or other life-threatening conditions. Accidents and violence related to alcohol use are also regularly reported. However, many people may not realize that the damage done by alcohol is subtle, immediate, and may not be recognized as a contributing factor to other serious health issues. This includes:

Doctors often overlook alcohol as a contributing factor to an illness, such as congestive heart failure or atrial fibrillation. This approach to healthcare is slowly beginning to change as more healthcare professionals are trained to understand the signs and symptoms of substance use disorders and best practices in addiction treatment. However, we still have a long way to go before insurance companies recognize and provide coverage for substance use disorders on par with other chronic diseases.

As with any disease, the best way to diminish the number of people impacted by alcohol use disorder is through education and prevention. We need clear and consistent communication that if you drink more, you will die younger. There’s no debating the facts. Consuming more than seven drinks a week will reduce your life expectancy by six months. More than 14 drinks a week shortens your life by two years.

We are living in a time of unprecedented communication throughout the world. I hope we can leverage online and social culture to loudly broadcast the joy of experiencing milestones without champagne, showcase good times in the company of friends without booze and support each other in finding alternative approaches to leading healthy and fulfilling lives.

[i] Source: Whitehouse.gov, [ii] Source: JAMA, [iii] Source: Statista.com, [iv] Source: CDC.gov, [v] Source: NIAAA.NIH.gov, [vi] Source: CNN, [vii] Source: USA TODAY, [viii] Source: NBC News