Americans Drinking More Now Than Just Before Prohibition
2020-01-17
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1One hundred years ago today, a ban on making and selling alcoholic drinks in the United States went into effect.
2The law, passed by Congress, became the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on January 17, 1920.
3This constitutional ban on alcohol lasted until 1933.
4It is a period known as "Prohibition."
5But now, Americans are drinking more alcohol than when Prohibition became the law of the land.
6In fact, the rate has been rising for 20 years.
7That information is based on federal health records.
8Those statistics confirm a rise in the amount of alcohol being consumed per person nationwide.
9They also show increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking.
10Not all the news is bad, however.
11Drinking among American teenagers is down.
12And there are signs that many people are taking alcohol seriously.
13For example, some are following the "Dry January" movement, deciding to not drink any alcohol during the month of January.
14But overall, public health experts say the U.S. population has a drinking problem.
15"Consumption has been going up. Harms (from alcohol) have been going up," said Tim Naimi, a doctor and alcohol researcher at Boston University.
16"And there's not been a policy response to match it."
17In 1934, one year after Prohibition ended, alcohol consumption was less than four liters a year per person.
18It has been up and down since then.
19The highest point was in the 1970s and 1980s.
20That is when U.S. alcohol consumption was over 10 liters per person.
21Rates went down during the 1980s, with growing attention to deaths from drunken driving.
22In addition, Congress passed a law raising the drinking age to 21.
23But rates began climbing in the 1990s.
24Studies have linked extreme drinking to liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease.
25Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects.
26And health officials say alcohol is partly to blame for as many as one-third of serious falls among older adults.
27It is also a risk to others when people drive drunk or are involved in violence fueled by drinking.
28And research suggests that more than half of the alcohol sold in the United States is consumed during times of binge drinking.
29That is when people consume many alcoholic drinks in a short period of time.
30More than 88,000 Americans die each year from too much drinking.
31The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that number is higher than the opioid-related deaths reported in the current drug overdose crisis.
32This month, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released a separate study on alcohol-related deaths.
33Researchers examined death certificates - documents that list cause of death - from over 20 years to search for links to alcohol.
34The numbers were lower, at a little under 73,000, in 2017.
35The researchers said death certificates can be incomplete, and their number is likely lower than the real number.
36Other researchers said the more important finding was that the number of alcohol-related deaths had doubled since 1999 and the death rate had risen 50 percent.
37Aaron White was the study's lead researcher.
38He said some or much of that increase may be related to the increasingly deadly drugs used in the opioid epidemic.
39This is because many people drink while taking drugs.
40Men make up about three-fourths of alcohol-related deaths.
41But drinking among women - especially binge drinking - has been a major driver of the increases in alcohol statistics.
42White's study found that the female death rate jumped 85 percent, while the male rate rose about half that.
43The highest alcohol-related death rates for women were among those ages 55 to 74, the study found.
44But increases were also noted in younger women.
45Other research has found that binge drinking is increasing most among women.
46I'm Bryan Lynn.
47And I'm Anne Ball.
1One hundred years ago today, a ban on making and selling alcoholic drinks in the United States went into effect. The law, passed by Congress, became the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on January 17, 1920. 2This constitutional ban on alcohol lasted until 1933. It is a period known as "Prohibition." 3But now, Americans are drinking more alcohol than when Prohibition became the law of the land. In fact, the rate has been rising for 20 years. 4That information is based on federal health records. Those statistics confirm a rise in the amount of alcohol being consumed per person nationwide. They also show increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking. 5Not all the news is bad, however. Drinking among American teenagers is down. And there are signs that many people are taking alcohol seriously. For example, some are following the "Dry January" movement, deciding to not drink any alcohol during the month of January. 6But overall, public health experts say the U.S. population has a drinking problem. 7"Consumption has been going up. Harms (from alcohol) have been going up," said Tim Naimi, a doctor and alcohol researcher at Boston University. "And there's not been a policy response to match it." 8Alcohol consumption rates 9In 1934, one year after Prohibition ended, alcohol consumption was less than four liters a year per person. It has been up and down since then. The highest point was in the 1970s and 1980s. That is when U.S. alcohol consumption was over 10 liters per person. 10Rates went down during the 1980s, with growing attention to deaths from drunken driving. In addition, Congress passed a law raising the drinking age to 21. 11But rates began climbing in the 1990s. 12Studies have linked extreme drinking to liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is partly to blame for as many as one-third of serious falls among older adults. 13It is also a risk to others when people drive drunk or are involved in violence fueled by drinking. And research suggests that more than half of the alcohol sold in the United States is consumed during times of binge drinking. That is when people consume many alcoholic drinks in a short period of time. 14More than 88,000 Americans die each year from too much drinking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that number is higher than the opioid-related deaths reported in the current drug overdose crisis. 15Alcohol-related deaths 16This month, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released a separate study on alcohol-related deaths. Researchers examined death certificates - documents that list cause of death - from over 20 years to search for links to alcohol. The numbers were lower, at a little under 73,000, in 2017. The researchers said death certificates can be incomplete, and their number is likely lower than the real number. 17Other researchers said the more important finding was that the number of alcohol-related deaths had doubled since 1999 and the death rate had risen 50 percent. 18Aaron White was the study's lead researcher. He said some or much of that increase may be related to the increasingly deadly drugs used in the opioid epidemic. This is because many people drink while taking drugs. 19Men make up about three-fourths of alcohol-related deaths. But drinking among women - especially binge drinking - has been a major driver of the increases in alcohol statistics. 20White's study found that the female death rate jumped 85 percent, while the male rate rose about half that. The highest alcohol-related death rates for women were among those ages 55 to 74, the study found. But increases were also noted in younger women. 21Other research has found that binge drinking is increasing most among women. 22I'm Bryan Lynn. 23And I'm Anne Ball. 24The Associated Press reported this story. Anne Ball adapted the story for VOA Learning English. 25We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 26_________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28alcoholic - adj. of, containing or caused by alcohol 29per - preposition. for each 30consume - v. to eat or drink something 31overall - adv. with everyone or everything included 32statistic - n.a number that represents a piece of information (such as information about how often something is done, how common something is, etc.) 33response - n. something that is said or written as an answer to something 34teenager - n. someone who is between 13 and 19 years old 35match - v. to go well with someone or something 36stillbirth - n. the birth of a dead baby 37defect - n. a problem or fault that makes something or someone not perfect 38opioid - n. a chemical drug that had addictive properties and physical effects