STAT+: Alcohol is wreaking havoc on U.S. public health. American society looks the other way
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Alcohol kills nearly 500 Americans daily and causes more deaths than all infectious diseases combined.
- Alcohol‑related emergency visits nearly doubled between 2003 and 2022, reflecting a sharp rise in injuries and health crises.
- Excessive drinking costs the U.S. over $240 billion annually, outpacing the nation’s total medical debt, while alcohol tax revenue has declined for decades.
- Trump administration has taken no decisive action on the crisis, even as the Biden‑era Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s Jan 2025 report highlighted alcohol’s link to cancer.
Why it matters: American families lose lives and face $240 bn in health costs; taxpayers shoulder the burden while the alcohol industry gains profits and political favors under the Trump administration.
