Question  What is the estimated proportion of deaths among US adults aged 20 to 64 years attributable to excessive alcohol consumption, and are there differences by sex, age, and US state? Findings  The estimates in this cross-sectional study of 694 660 mean deaths per year between 2015 and 2019 suggest that excessive alcohol consumption accounted for 12.9% of total deaths among adults aged 20 to 64 years and 20.3% of deaths among adults aged 20 to 49 years.

Meaning  These findings suggest that an estimated 1 in 8 deaths among adults aged 20 to 64 years were attributable to excessive alcohol use

A landmark CDC study documented that people with 4 or more ACEs had 1.8 times the risk of being a HEAVY alcoholic and that if all child maltreatment was eliminated it would have the potential of preventing 25% of all alcohol use disorder. Now the commercial beverage industry is making this self-destructive path more attractive.

Sales of new, attractive, convenient hard seltzers and ready-to-drink canned cocktails were valued at nearly $10 billion in 2021 are expected to grow by double digits in coming years. And in a major shift, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have debuted alcoholic products in the U.S. market. In February, Monster Beverage, a maker of energy drinks, began rolling out its first line of alcoholic drinks called The Beast Unleashed. As alcohol-related deaths in America reach record highs, regulators and public health experts are voicing concern that the new class of drinks and the expanding industry could alter how people buy and drink alcohol. Some also expressed worry that the convenience of the new products could reverse the long-term decline in alcohol consumption by young people. And recent studies show that consuming even one alcoholic drink a day increases a person’s risk of cancer and heart disease.