About 24,000 Annual Deaths in Mexico are Linked to Alcohol

In wake of the National Day Against the Harmful Use of Alcoholic Drinks, the National Commission Against Addictions (CONADIC) announced that it is strengthening research on the consequences of alcohol consumption. CONADIC is also working to reinforce the awareness campaigns about the risks of drinking alcohol.   

“Alcohol dependence affects your physical and mental health, causing problems with family, friends, and at school and/or work,” said CONADIC.

Alcohol is the fifth most addictive substance and the most consumed legal drug in Mexico, as seven out of every 10 Mexicans have consumed at least one alcoholic drink in their lives, according to CONADIC. 

To face this problem, CONADIC has implemented actions to prevent vulnerable groups from coming in contact with alcohol. Meanwhile, strategies are being implemented to educate on the consequences of its consumption. CONADIC is also boosting attention and research to reduce alcohol consumption.

Mexico’s government has also implemented policies to address this problem. "Today the government has assumed a different narrative, clear, consistent and attached to the best interest of protecting health above any vested interest,” said Gady Zabicky, National Commissioner Against Addictions. 

On July 5, 2019, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, presented a strategy to reduce drug consumption that has reached over 25 million people by 2022. “The priority of this administration is to build public policies that benefit historically vulnerable people and communities, based on knowledge of their different realities and respect for their human rights,” said Marcos Cantero, Minister of the General Health Council

Globally, there are 3 million deaths linked to the harmful consumption of alcohol each year, representing 5.3 percent of all deaths. Mexico is seventh worldwide in deaths caused by traffic accidents linked to alcohol consumption, which represents about 24,000 annual deaths or about 55 people deaths each day. Most of those deaths are of individuals between 10 and 29 years old. 

“Accidents which involve young people occur mainly on weekends, especially from Thursday to Sunday, at dawn, and with the highest percentage of deaths linked to pedestrians, followed by vehicle occupants, motorcyclists and cyclists,” said Paola Olmos Rojas, Director of Injury Prevention, Technical Ministry of the National Council for Accident Prevention.

Globally, over 13.5 percent of total deaths of people aged between 20 and 39 years old are attributable to alcohol.