ISTANBUL (Bernama-Anadolu): Alcohol is responsible for one in three deaths from injury and violence in the WHO European Region, posing a major threat to public health, particularly during holiday periods when consumption typically rises, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Anadolu Ajansi reported.
According to a new factsheet by WHO/Europe based on 2019 data, nearly 145,000 injury-related deaths in the region were attributable to alcohol, including self-harm, road traffic injuries and falls.
"No other psychoactive substance contributes so heavily to both unintentional and intentional injuries,” the agency said, warning that alcohol remains a particularly dangerous risk factor for young people.
WHO/Europe said the region has the highest alcohol consumption levels globally, with alcohol use causing an estimated 800,000 deaths each year, around one in every 11 deaths.
"Alcohol is a toxic substance that impairs judgement, slows reaction times and promotes risk-taking behaviour,” said Carina Ferreira-Borges, WHO/Europe's regional adviser for alcohol, illicit drugs and prison health, adding that many alcohol-related injuries are preventable.
The report stressed a strong link between alcohol and violence, saying more than 40 per cent of interpersonal violence deaths and over one-third of self-harm deaths in 2019 were alcohol-attributable.
Women and children are disproportionately affected, particularly through intimate partner violence.
Alcohol also poses a serious threat to adolescents and young adults, WHO said, citing heavy episodic drinking as a key factor behind road injuries, drowning, falls and self-harm among younger age groups.
Despite progress in recent decades, sharp inequalities persist across Europe, the report noted.
Eastern European countries see the highest alcohol-related injury death rates, with alcohol linked to more than half of all injury deaths in some countries, compared with less than 20 cent in many Western and Southern states.
WHO also urged governments to strengthen alcohol control policies, including higher taxes, stricter marketing bans, tougher drink-driving enforcement and early screening in health care settings, saying such measures could prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths each year. -- Bernama-Anadolu
