This initiative Alcohol During Pregnancy includes policies that reduce the affordability, availability, and acceptability of alcohol, particularly in the heaviest-drinking countries, mitigating the effects of alcohol consumption on public health. This emphasizes the importance of protecting policy-making processes from industry interference that aims to delay or weaken public health measures that would reduce alcohol consumption. Despite progress in reducing alcohol consumption and related harms, the Region continues to face significant challenges, including high rates of alcohol-related deaths, particularly from cancer. The EU is the heaviest-drinking area globally, with 7 of the 10 countries with the highest per-capita alcohol consumption located within the EU.

Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits

Drinking alcohol is a health risk regardless of the amount. There are 230 different types of diseases where alcohol has a significant role. The harmful use of alcohol results in the death of 2.6 million people annually.

Health risks of alcohol use

• Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder.
• Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain.
• Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption level and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population.

Around 1 in every 3 deaths in men and 1 in every 5 deaths in women between 30 and 40 years of age were due to alcohol. Every day, around 2191 people die from alcohol-related causes in the Region. The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption and the highest burden of alcohol-related harm in the world.

Medical Professionals

If you already drink at low levels and continue to drink, risks for these issues appear to be low. It means on days when a person does drink, women do not have more than one drink and men do not have more than two drinks. Moderate alcohol use may not mean the same thing in research studies or among health agencies. Here’s a closer look at alcohol and health. While the risk is low for moderate intake, the risk goes up as the amount you drink goes up. Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol

An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help. Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. The most cost-effective interventions are at the focus of WHO-led SAFER initiative aimed at providing support for Member States in reducing the harmful use of alcohol.

For men, heavy drinking means more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week. For women, more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week is heavy drinking. Heavy drinking, including binge drinking, is a high-risk activity. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. It also causes harm to the well-being and health of people around the drinker.

It is the alcohol that causes harm, not the beverage

Although it is well established that alcohol can cause cancer, this fact is still not widely known to the public in most countries. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.

Can homes, schools and digital platforms drive young people’s alcohol consumption?

WHO has identified that the most cost-effective actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, enforcing restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising, and restrictions on the physical availability of retailed alcohol. Surrogate and illegally produced alcohols can bring an extra health risk from toxic contaminants. Alcohol as an immunosuppressant increases the risk of communicable diseases, including tuberculosis and HIV. In this context, it is easy to overlook or discount the health and social damage caused or contributed to by drinking. When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons. In the United States, people younger than age 21 are not legally able to drink alcohol.

General facts about alcohol

• Around 1 in every 3 deaths in men and 1 in every 5 deaths in women between 30 and 40 years of age were due to alcohol.
• It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
• WHO has identified that the most cost-effective actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, enforcing restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising, and restrictions on the physical availability of retailed alcohol.
• The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption and the highest burden of alcohol-related harm in the world.

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But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. Alcohol use may begin in the teens, but alcohol use disorder occurs more frequently in the 20s and 30s, though it can start at any age. This may result in craving alcohol to try to restore good feelings or reduce negative ones. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help.

Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption level and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population. In the EU, cancer is the leading cause of death – with a steadily increasing incidence rate – and the majority of all alcohol-attributable deaths are due to different types of cancers. However, latest available data indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are caused by “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week.

Alcohol use disorder

You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Tackling the harmful effects of alcohol locally in the city of Tarumã, Brazil

Heavy drinking also may result in alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Binge drinking is behavior that raises blood alcohol levels to 0.08%. The definition of heavy drinking is based on a person’s sex. In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes. And drinking raises the risk of problems in the digestive system. For example, it may be used to define the risk of illness or injury based on the number of drinks a person has in a week.

Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 4.7% of the global burden of disease. Drinking moderately if you’re otherwise healthy may be a risk you’re willing to take. During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems. Heavy drinking also has been linked to intentional injuries, such as suicide, as well as accidental injury and death. That usually means four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men. As consumption goes up, the risk goes up for these cancers.

The European framework for action on alcohol, 2022–2025, adopted by all 53 Member States, uses the latest evidence to address alcohol-related harms through comprehensive, evidence-based policies and collaborative efforts. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive substance linked to over 200 diseases and conditions, including 7 types of cancer. “So, when we talk about possible so-called safer levels of alcohol consumption or about its protective effects, we are ignoring the bigger picture of alcohol harm in our Region and the world. Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization, as harms from a given amount and pattern of drinking are higher for poorer drinkers and their families than for richer drinkers in any given society.