Drinking Less Has Health Benefits
This year, Alcohol Awareness Month occurs in an era where drinking rates are at their lowest in 90 years. Only 54% of U.S. adults said they consume alcohol in a Gallup poll last summer, down from around 70% in the late 1970’s. We can see the possible impact of good prevention at work, as young adults—who have grown up with school programming—drink less than middle-aged adults, at 50% and 56%, respectively.
This news makes sense—it comes at a time when the risks of alcohol use have been clarified and redefined for the public, most recently when outgoing Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory recommending cancer warning labels be placed on alcohol.
90’s Misinformation
In the 1990’s, flawed information was offered on a fateful episode of the television show 60 Minutes. In it, a charismatic French alcohol researcher, who comes from an influential wine-making family, stated that “the consumption of alcohol” explained lower rates of cardiovascular disease in France, and mused that red wine was likely the most beneficial. The month after the episode aired, red wine sales in the U.S. rose 44%, and the myth was born.
We now know that taking even one standard drink per day increases the risk for seven types of cancer, and causes around 20,000 cancer deaths per year (US).
Giving Your Body a Break
This Alcohol Awareness Month, know that every time you don’t drink alcohol, you are giving your body a break. Your liver does not have to break ethanol down into the toxin acetaldehyde, which will not accumulate in the cells of your mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, or bowel, causing cancer; nor will it damage your stem cells, or increase your estrogen levels, putting you at risk for breast cancer.
Follow the lead of our young people. Lower your risk for cancer or an alcohol use disorder. Let’s turn three consecutive years of alcohol use decline into four, and increase our overall health and well-being!
Local Resources
Compass Mark offers information & referral to those who live or work in Chester, Lancaster, or Lebanon Counties, PA around alcohol and other drug issues. Our team provides customized referrals, explanation of costs, and advocacy for those struggling to navigate on their own, including loved ones.
Find us at (717) 299-2831 | info@compassmark.org | Webchat at compassmark.org