Alcohol kills more than AIDS, TB or violence--WHO

United Nation’s World Health Organization revealed on Friday that alcohol is more fatal than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence.

According to the WHO warning, nearly 4 percent of the casualties are caused by alcohol, globally and this is an alarming rate.

“Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries,” informed WHO.

Road accidents, violence, illness, child neglect, absenteeism from job, are some of the common end results of consuming alcohol.

In its ‘Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health’, the health agency has estimated that 2.5 million people died because of alcohol intake, annually.

"The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world's leading risk factor for death among males aged 15-59," stated the report.

Men engage in hazardous drinking more than woman
11 percent of the world population gives in to binge drinking and the heavy drinking occasions occur more in men, than in their female counterparts.

It was found that danger drinking was higher in men and this lead to more deaths among males.

"Six or seven years ago we didn't have strong evidence of a causal relationship between drinking and breast cancer. Now we do," said Vladimir Poznyak, head of WHO's substance abuse unit, who initiated the report.

Moderate drinking advised
It has been found that moderate drinking has a positive impact on stroke and other heart diseases, but heavy drinking episodes lowered this effect.

“One of the most effective ways to curb drinking, especially among young people, is to raise taxes, the report said. Setting age limits for buying and consuming alcohol, and regulating alcohol levels in drivers, also reduces abuse if enforced,” said the report.

Government needs to step up its program to help people give up or resort to moderate drinking, so as to avoid the deaths caused by this slow poison.