Suicide on the Rocks –
January 17, 2020 – Their research indicates that alcohol is even deadlier than illicit drugs, including opioids, which claimed the lives of about 70,000 in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarettes, however, remain America’s No. 1 killer with more than 480,000 dying each year due to smoking-related illness.
That study wasn’t the only sobering evidence of America’s growing problem. Researchers at the CDC revealed this week a 12% increase in binge drinking over a six year period ending in 2017, according to data pulled from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The CDC totaled the annual number of drinks consumed by adult binge drinkers — meaning those who regularly have four or more alcoholic beverages during one occasion — and found the average number had jumped from 472 in 2011 to 529 in 2017.
