Alcoholism comes with some very basic facts. This illness afflicts almost 14 million people nationwide which equates to basically one in every 10 adults. Alcoholism even kills nearly 20,000 Americans yearly, both directly and as a result of alcohol-related incidents and conditions.
Nearly one-third of people diagnosed with psychotic disorders show a history of alcoholism and alcohol-dependency. Clearly this disease is devastating in its scope and impact. It is a strain on the public health system and a trauma for countless families nationwide…
However, even these staggering numbers may be an actual understatement of the true damage inflicted by alcoholism. A new international study has found that the cancer risk associated with heavy alcohol consumption has long been under reported and may rival even the risks posed by smoking. The study, conducted by the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, was recently published in The Lancet Oncology journal.
Based on the results of the study, researchers have concluded that excessive drinking and alcohol dependency can significantly raise the risk of a host of cancers, including those of the breast, colon, esophagus, larynx, liver, and mouth. There may even be an association between alcohol consumption and lung and pancreatic cancer, although the findings of the study were not entirely conclusive on those two forms.
You may have heard of other recent studies that had suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may result in a reduced risk of heart disease. Given these prior studies, the cancer study’s findings caused mild controversy among some in the medical community. The differences between the two studies are clear, the current study reflects only the consequences of heavy, long-term drinking such as that associated with alcoholism. Moderate drinking - defined as two glasses of wine daily - by non-alcoholic adults continues to be recommended by some doctors.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that alcoholism causes more than 320,000 deaths per year in the industrialized world, approximately 185,000 in men and 142,000 in women. In developing countries, where rates of alcoholism among the population can be higher, alcohol has been blamed for more than 1.5 million deaths in men and 300,000 in women every year.
The crisis of alcohol consumption has been deemed particularly severe by public health officials in central and eastern Europe, where financial problems and the affordability of highly-concentrated alcohols such as vodka have resulted in near-epidemic proportions of alcoholism.
Some research has suggested that the increase in head and neck cancers in eastern European countries may be partially attributed to rising rates of alcoholism.
For those who believe they may be suffering from alcohol dependency, the 24-hour Alcohol Treatment Referral Hotline can be reached at 1-800-ALCOHOL. For a guide to local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and other treatment options, sufferers are also encouraged to contact their physician.
