Why Christians Need a Better Debate About Alcohol

The Story: About 1 in 20 deaths around the world result from harmful use of alcohol, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO). This represents more than 5 percent of the global disease burden. What can Christians do about this epidemic?

The Background: The WHO’s global status report on alcohol and health 2018 looks at alcohol consumption and the disease burden attributable to alcohol worldwide, as well as what countries are doing to reduce this burden.

As the report notes, despite some positive global trends in the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and number of alcohol-related deaths since 2010, the overall burden of disease and injuries caused by the harmful use of alcohol is unacceptably high, particularly in the Americas and Europe.

An estimated 237 million men and 46 million women suffer from alcohol-use disorders, with the highest prevalence among men and women in the European region (14.8 percent and 3.5 percent) and the Americas (11.5 percent and 5.1 percent). Alcohol-use disorders are more common in high-income countries.

Of all deaths attributable to alcohol, 28 percent were due to injuries, such as those from traffic crashes, self-harm, and interpersonal violence; 21 percent due to digestive disorders; 19 percent due to cardiovascular diseases; and the remainder due to infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders and other health conditions.

“Far too many people, their families, and communities suffer the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol through violence, injuries, mental health problems and diseases like cancer and stroke,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO. “It’s time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies.” Read More

The harmful use of alcohol is far too common in the student population of the university town in which I live. Unfortunately drinking and even drinking to excess is seen as a rite of passage. There has been at least one alcohol-related death this year. The student in question consumed a large quantity of alcohol in a very short period of time at a fraternity party, lost consciousness, and died. Sexual assaults, sexually transmitted diseases, and unplanned pregnancies, in which the consumption of alcohol is a factor, are also a problem.

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