Alcoholism: The Silent Epidemic

April, being Alcohol Awareness Month, I thought it appropriate to say a few words about alcoholism and alcohol use issues. For the last several years, opiate overdose deaths have made the headlines at the national, state, and local level. And rightfully so. In 2017 there were 1,969 deaths due to opiate overdose in the state of New Jersey. This has resulted in a lot of attention and resources being put into combating the opiate addiction problem.

However, during that same period of time, 1761 individuals died from alcohol related causes. Nationally, alcohol these reached a 35 year high in 2014 with close to 90,000 deaths related to alcohol misuse or alcoholism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These statistics show that in 2014 more people died from alcohol induced causes than from overdoses of prescription painkillers and heroin combined.

Later figures show that the number of deaths caused by alcoholism and alcohol misuse is not significantly different from that of opiate overdose. So why is it that there is not more attention given to the problems around alcohol? One reason, and possibly the biggest reason, is that death from alcohol misuse is gradual and the primary causes of death are often listed as liver disease, throat cancer, pancreatitis, and other alcohol related illnesses. These deaths are not as visible as opiate overdose deaths. Of course, alcohol related accidents are not gradual and we hear of many tragic traffic deaths due to drunk driving, as well as boating accidents, falls, drownings, and other mishaps caused by intoxication. Once again, alcohol is not identified as the fatal cause.

So, alcoholism and alcohol misuse problems are not as visible and as “in-your-face” as opiate overdoses. And I certainly don’t want to take away from the tragedy experienced by families who lose someone suddenly to an opiate overdose. But at the same time we must not ignore or forget the impact that alcoholism and alcohol misuse have on individuals and families.

In speaking with friends and acquaintances it is difficult to find anyone who does not have alcoholism or alcohol misuse somewhere in their immediate or extended family. Both of my grandfathers had alcohol issues and their deaths were related to their alcohol problems. I think there was a statistic years ago that showed that four out of five individuals had alcoholism somewhere in their extended family.

So, in this time of Alcohol Awareness Month, it’s helpful to examine the impact that alcoholism and alcohol misuse has in our society and to begin to focus some attention to this other epidemic.