Alcohol-Related Death Facts

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2015 | By Jay Schwartz

About 75,000 Americans died of alcohol-related causes in 2007, and about 40,000 of those deaths were caused by injuries, according to the "Healthy People 2010" report produced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Alcohol "plays a role" in at least 50 percent of traffic deaths, about half of murders and about 25 percent of suicides, reports "An Invitation to Health," a textbook for college students.

Harsher drunk-driving laws and Americans' more responsible drinking behavior have caused the number of deaths caused by alcohol-related injuries to decline, the "Healthy People" report states. In 1998, 5.3 out of 100,000 Americans passed away after drinking-related car accidents. By 2007, the death rate had declined to 4.8 out of 100,000. The report concludes that about 350 fewer Americans would die annually if all 50 states took away the driver's licenses of citizens with drunken driving convictions. As of 2010, 40 states do.

Younger people's less permissive attitude toward drinking alcohol could mean that the number of alcohol-related traffic deaths will continue to decline, according to the "Healthy People 2010" report. In 1998, 19 percent of high school seniors didn't drink, but 32 percent reported that they had binged on alcohol. In 2007, 27 percent of seniors were nondrinkers, and 26 percent had binged. In addition, a lower percentage of 2007 students than 1998 students said they rode in a car with a driver who was drinking.

Heavy drinkers, people who imbibe more than two glasses of alcohol daily, have a higher mortality rate than lighter drinkers and nondrinkers, but alcohol affects people differently. Injuries, including car accidents, are the No. 1 alcohol-related cause of death among teenagers and young adults. Cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis are the No. 1 alcohol-related causes of death among people older than 50, according to "An Invitation to Health."

Long-term drinking causes deaths by raising blood pressure, increasing the risk of several cancers, weakening the heart, destroying the liver, and damaging the brain, cells and the pancreas, according to "An Invitation to Health." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Deaths for 2006" report says that more than 13,000 Americans died of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis because of alcohol in 2006. Approximately another 9,000 Americans died of other long-term alcohol-related diseases, including alcohol poisoning, cardiomyopathy, gastritis, nervous system degeneration and pancreatitis.

Alcohol also saves lives, according to a April 28, 2009, report by the National Institutes of Health. In 2005, 26,000 deaths from diabetes, ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke were "averted by current alcohol use" in the United States, the report states. The same report says the saved lives were "outweighed" by the 90,000 Americans who died of alcohol-related causes. Alcohol, though, ranked far behind other "preventable causes of death," including smoking (467,000 deaths annually), high blood pressure (395,000), obesity (216,000), physical inactivity (191,000) and high dietary salt (102,000).