According to a new report by the world health organization,over 3 million people died from alcohol consumption in 2016,equating to 1 in 20 deaths globally.
More than 75% of these deaths were among men, says the report, published on Friday.
The largest cause of deaths, 28% was due to injuries. This was followed by 21% of deaths due to digestive disorders and 19% due to cardiovascular diseases. The remaining causes of death were infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders and other health conditions attributable to drinking alcohol.
“The alcohol consumption level continues to be very high,all countries can do much more to reduce the health and social costs of the harmful use of alcohol” said Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, WHO’s Management of Substance Abuse coordinator.
Alcohol consumption was also found to cause more than 5% of the global disease burden and reported to be a causal factor in over 200 disease and injury conditions.
An estimated 237 million men and 46 million women worldwide are affected by disorders due to alcohol consumption, with the European region most affected, followed by the Americas.
Though 95% of countries impose taxes on alcohol, WHO expects more actions to be undertaken by countries, adding that fewer than half of them use other price strategies such as banning below-cost selling or volume discounts.
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