Orignal post on PRBuzz.com
April 2017's thirty-first observance of Alcohol Awareness Month is the first since the U.S. Surgeon General signaled a shift in alcohol policy. The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health marks the first time the office took on the health impact of alcohol use in a manner similar to the way the same office took on tobacco smoke in 1964. Award-winning alcohol and health writer, Scott Stevens, says, “All alcohol use impacts health, healthcare costs, and the economy. It's not just about impaired driving or the disease of alcoholism anymore. The dialogue on this drug is changing from what it does for the drinker, to what it does to the drinker.”
Stevens released I can't see the forest with all these damn trees in the way: The health consequences of alcohol December 2, immediately after the Surgeon General's “unprecedented” report. “Alcohol use is a cost driver for the health system because more long-term health consequences from moderate drinking are coming to light… while more ‘benefits’ of 'responsible' drinking are being debunked,” Stevens says. “I’ve championed this theme since my first book in 2010 and in each of the two books that followed.”
Among the scientific findings on alcohol use:
The carcinogen alcohol causes eight types of cancer. It is the only dietary link to increased breast cancer risk and the second-leading cause of oral cancers.
...Stroke risk doubles immediately on a single drink and remains elevated two hours later.
...Heart disease is not prevented by alcohol: It is caused by and worsened by alcohol use.
...Plus 60 more pages on the evidence-based health fallout from so-called moderate use.
Twenty-to-forty percent of hospital resources go to treating alcohol-related complications according to the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD). The economy takes a $250 billion annual hit from alcohol costs, mostly lost productivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Stevens adds, “It's easy to see what causes the problems, is the problem. Alcohol's consequences aren't just for hard drinkers and certainly aren't limited to alcoholism or drinking and driving.This is a drug, a toxin, and a carcinogen in any amount. People routinely complain about healthcare costs and sagging productivity… over a beer or a shot. They’re not seeing the forest. Just the trees.”
The book is available at Amazon, other online and bricks-and-mortar booksellers, and the author's website www.alcohologist.com. It is the second release by the author in the past year, preceded by an educational DVD series, The A-Files: Alcohol A-Z.
Each of Stevens's three books includes a chapter on the health fallout of drinking alcohol. “It's not about discouraging drinking, except for the alcoholic. It's about making informed decisions about using alcohol based on evidence-based science. Informed decisions don't come from observational studies and wishful thinking.”
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About the Author
The noted journalist on alcoholism is a founding influencer of the world's largest medical portal, HealthTap.com. His books on the disease include 2010's What the Early Worm Gets, 2012's Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, which earned finalist honors in the Indie Book Awards and USA Best Books Awards in 2013, and Adding Fire to the Fuel, a 2015 USA Best Books Awards Finalist and 2016 Book Excellence Award winner. He also created the Alcohology mobile app.
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