Definition of alcoholic
The Medical News Today describe “An alcoholic is a man or a woman who suffers from alcoholism - they have a distinct physical desire to consume alcohol beyond their capacity to control it, regardless of all rules of common sense.”
statistics of alcohol abuse
- A canadian study found that alcohol is a factor in 1 in 25 deaths worldwide.
- 5,000 people under age 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning.
- More than 190,000 people under age 21 visited an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries in 2008 alone.
- More than 23 million people over the age of 12 are addicted to alcohol and other drugs affecting millions more people…..parents, family members, friends and neighbors.
- Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in Canada.
- More than 2,700 children are born each year with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- A recent study of 481 Quebec students in grades 5 and 6 showed that 50% of boys and 35% of girls under the age of 12 had already tried alcohol; among this group, the first drink was usually around the age of 9.
- As kids get older, they drink more. By age 15, half of teens have had at least one drink. By age 18, more than 70% of teens have had at least one drink.
- On average, young people have about 5 drinks on a single occasion, which can be considered binge drinking.
- Research shows that brain development continues well into a person’s twenties. Alcohol can affect this development, and contribute to a range of problems.