America’s alcohol crisis: Researchers warn 8% of population now has a drinking problem – and only the British drink more
More Australians have taken cannabis, ecstasy and amphetamine-type drugs in the last 12 months than elsewhere in the world
More than 12% of British people have an alcohol disorder, compared with nearly 8% of people in the US and almost 4% of Australians
Alcohol and tobacco are the most widely used substances worldwide
Experts: Smoking and alcoholism causes the most deaths each year
Source: Daily Mail
By Madlen Davies and Mark Prigg
1 June 2015
Almost 8 per cent of Americans have a drinking problem, researchers have warned.
It puts the US far above an estimated 4.9% of the world’s adult population (240 million people) suffer from alcohol use disorder (7.8% of men and 1.5% of women), the world’s first comprehensive report on global addictions revealed.
The shocking report also found 68.9 per cent of in the US drank alcohol at least once a year.
Overall, the report found Britons have one of the biggest problems with smoking and alcohol, while Australians take the most illegal drugs.
The report, from the University of Adelaide, is the first time that global data on the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use, and gambling, has been presented in a single compilation.
It said globally alcohol caused an estimated 257 disability-adjusted life years lost per 100 000 population.
However, the US drinking pales in comparison the the UK, where more than 12% of people suffer alcohol problems.
Overall, the report found Britons have one of the biggest problems with smoking and alcohol, while Australians take the most illegal drugs.
The report, from the University of Adelaide, is the first time that global data on the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use, and gambling, has been presented in a single compilation.
It found that 10.3 per cent of Australians smoke cannabis at least once in a 12-month period, compared to 5-7 per cent of people in the UK.
Around 3 per cent use ecstasy compared to 1.1 to 1.7 per cent of people in the UK.
And 2.1 per cent of Australians use amphetamine-type drugs at least once in a 12-month period, compared to 1.1 to 1.7 per cent of people in the UK, the researchers found.
Unsurprisingly, the report revealed that alcohol and tobacco are the most widely-used vices across the globe.
Approximately 84 per cent of Australians drink alcohol at least once in a 12-month period, compared to 83.9 per cent in the UK and 68.9 per cent in the US.
However, the UK leads the way with alcohol abuse problems.
The study found that 12.1 per cent of people in the UK are considered to have an alcohol use disorder, compared to 7.8 per cent in the US and 3.7 per cent of Australians.
Britons also smoke more, with 22 per cent admitting to the habit, compared with 20 per cent of Australians.
Researchers did not provide information on US rates of illegal drug taking and smoking.
The study’s lead author, Linda Gowing, an associate professor at the University of Adelaide, said alcohol and tobacco cause the most deaths around the world every year.
She said: ‘The report found alcohol and tobacco are the most common addictions in most countries and they are also the most harmful.
‘Around 11 per cent of deaths in males and 6 per cent of deaths in females are linked to tobacco each year globally.
‘Alcoholism is associated with a range of health issues and takes years off someone’s life,’ she says.
It is important that this data is used to reduce the impact of alcohol abuse and tobacco smoking, she added.
She said: ‘This data is highly valuable and can be used to guide policy-makers and researchers in planning responses to addictions world-wide.
The research, published in the journal Addiction, also found that around 43 per cent of adults globally (approximately 2.1 billion people) drink alcohol.
Yet there is considerable regional variation, from 9.8 per cent in central, southern and western Asia to 88.2 per cent in western Europe.
Meanwhile approximately 22.5 per cent of adults globally smoke tobacco, equating to approximately 1 billion people.
The figures again vary geographically, but less so with alcohol.
While there is regional variation, the extent of this variation is less than is the case with alcohol.
The prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults ranges from an average of 13 per cent in Africa, the Caribbean, central and northern America to 29.5 per cent in Oceania.
Women were less likely to smoke than men, with just seven per cent lighting up compared to 32 per cent of men.