UN urges action to curb harmful use of alcohol, reduce drink-related deaths
(February 14, 2011) The harmful consumption of alcohol kills an estimated 2.5 million
people across the world every year, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO)
said in a report unveiled last week, urging governments to implement measures to prevent
drinking habits that damage health and cause other social problems. According to
the Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, released on Friday, harmful alcohol
use is increasingly affecting the younger generations and drinkers in the developing
countries. According to the report, nearly 4 per cent of all deaths globally are
related to alcohol, and most alcohol-related deaths result from injuries, cancer,
cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis. Globally, 6.2 per cent of all male deaths
are related to alcohol, compared to 1.1 per cent of female deaths, the report notes.
Globally, 320,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 die annually from alcohol-related
causes, which represent 9 per cent of all deaths in that age group. WHO recalls
that the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, endorsed by its member
States in May 2010, promotes a range of proven effective measures for reducing alcohol-related
harm. The measures include taxation on alcohol to reduce harmful drinking, decreasing
availability by reducing outlets licensed to sell alcohol, raising age limits for
those buying and using alcohol, and enforcing effective measures to prevent driving
under the influence of alcohol.