Statistics On Alcohol Abuse In The Military

Reports have suggested that almost 21 percent of the people in military service drink heavily. Sadly and surprisingly, this percentage has not lowered in the last 2 decades. However, the officials are currently determined to change this unpleasant fact for the betterment of health of these professionals.

The drinking levels are at peak among the military professionals who are in between 18 to 25 years of age.

The alcohol abuse costs the Department of Defense (DoD) a whooping amount of $600 million. In addition, DoD spends another $132 million annually to care for the babies born with FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). This syndrome is caused due to the heavy consumption of alcohol by their mothers during the pregnancy period.

The DoD Alcohol Abuse and Tobacco Use Reduction Committee are determined to reduce the heavy alcohol consumption levels of the individuals in military service by at least 5% every year. The focus is to promote the idea of preventing the consumption of alcohol rather than treating alcohol addiction. This is because the treatment programs that are offered are quite expensive and because of this, it does not reach many people. Hence, if heavy drinking habit is curbed, there is no need for people to look for specialists. This is done by educating the professionals on the liability of alcoholism and its adverse effects on health like liver and heart damage, damage to the immune system and the endocrine system and other serious consequences on personal, professional and social interactions.

The other aim of this committee is to establish a centralized tracking system that would collect the details of adverse effects of alcoholic influence like suicides, accidents, domestic violence and crimes.

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Statistics On Alcohol Abuse In The Military

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