Alcohol Causes 1 in 20 Deaths Worldwide, WHO Study

It's been clear for some time that alcohol is the single biggest "entry-drug" available in America. The Gateway Drug to all drugs almost 70% of the time.

Here are some findings:

1. Alcohol was the first substance used for over 65 to 68 percent of participants.

2. Following alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were widely used as second and third substances of choice

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported those aged 12 to 20 drink 11 percent of alcohol consumed in the U.S.

4. Those aged 12 to 20 consume over 90 percent of their alcohol in the form of binge drinking

If those don't help, the World Health Organization this week released a damning report about alcohol which said,"

A new report by the World Health Organization pegs global deaths due to alcohol at 3 million in 2016, making alcohol responsible for 1 out of every 20 deaths... 28% of those 3 million alcohol deaths were due to injuries, 21% were from alcohol-related digestive disorders and 19% were cardiovascular. The remaining percentage points are from infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders, and other alcohol-related maladies.

CNN released further details from the WHO report:

• Alcohol consumption was also found to cause more than 5% of the global disease burden and reported to be a causal factor in over 200 disease and injury conditions

• An estimated 237 million men and 46 million women worldwide are affected by disorders due to alcohol consumption, with the European region most affected, followed by the Americas

• More than 75% of these deaths were among men

It is critical to counterpoint such reporting with the number of deaths caused by cannabis:

Zero.

One last fact: Spending on alcohol advertising increased to over $540 million in the U.S. from 1971 to 2011, and those born in the 1990s were the largest group to have tried alcohol before any other substance.