America's hidden alcohol epidemic: data reveals high cost

Mr. Lev’s report examines Americans’ deadly hostility toward addiction drugs, substandard care provided in prisons and jails, changes in the supply and consumption of illegal drugs, debates over harm reduction, and recent innovations in addiction medicine. You can contact him on Signal (levfacher.51).

STAT’s multi-part series “The Deadliest Drug” focuses on the invisible epidemic of excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol kills more Americans each year than all illegal drugs combined, yet alcohol receives little attention from health officials, industry leaders, and the public. STAT reporters Isabella Cueto and Lev Fascher examined the human toll of the epidemic and the complex causes, from the personal to the political, of America’s deadliest substance use crisis. STAT data editor J. Emory Parker amplified many of the findings with data-rich graphs.

These graphs capture the damage, new risks, changes in usage, and economic impact in America’s relationship with alcohol.

Alcohol-related adverse events, including emergency room visits, have skyrocketed in recent decades. U.S. emergency rooms will record about 5.4 million alcohol-related visits in 2022, and in many states, alcohol-related hospitalizations are lower than hospitalizations for other substances, such as opioids.

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