The
report, “Health Consequences of Alcohol Use in New York City,” says
alcohol caused 10 percent of all hospitalizations and prompts 78,000 visits to
hospital emergency departments annually — a rate that more than doubled
between 2003 and 2009.
Nearly
half of adult New Yorkers do not drink at all, but behavioral surveys indicate
42 percent of the city’s adult drinkers say they have engaged in binge drinking
— five or more drinks on one occasion — during the previous month, the report
says. Eleven percent define themselves as heavy drinkers — for men an average
of more than two drinks a day and for women who average more than one.
Of the
estimated 1,537 New York City
alcohol-attributable deaths in 2008, chronic liver disease was the leading
direct cause, accounting for 22 percent of the alcohol-related deaths, while
alcohol contributed to approximately 46 percent of homicides, 30 percent of
deaths from accidents and poisoning and 28 percent of motor vehicle-related
deaths, the report says.
“Excessive
drinking can lead to injuries, violence, and fatal accidents in the short term,
and heart disease, liver disease, cancer and other chronic conditions in the
long-term,” Dr. Thomas Farley, city health commissioner, says in a
statement.
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