Via Reader Mike L. comes this nanny article telling us how youngins are drinking themselves to death:
An estimated 1 in 5 deaths of people ages 20 to 49 were attributable to excessive alcohol use in the United States, according to the study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open. For people ages 20 to 64, drinking-related deaths accounted for 1 in 8, the study said. The percentage of deaths attributed to alcohol use varied state by state, but nationally it’s a leading cause of preventable death, said lead study author Dr. Marissa Esser, lwho leads the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s alcohol program.
Researchers took national and state mortality data from 2015 to 2019 and looked at deaths either fully or partially attributable to excessive drinking. Those causes of death included vehicle accidents, alcohol poisoning and other health impacts, such as liver disease, Esser said. The data showed that the deaths fully attributable to alcohol have risen in the past decade, Esser added.
Umm yeah. Notice how when you add the 50-64 age group’s numbers, the incidence drops from 1 on 5 to 1 in 8 — which should your clue right there that the BULLSHIT STATISTICS bell is clanging loudly.
Ever wondered why beer company commercials tend to show young people drinking at picnics, beach parties, watching the game on TV and so on, and not old farts like me huddling over a pint in a dark pub?
It’s because the 20-49 age group accounts for most booze sales (from memory, it’s about 70% although that’s an old number). Also, youngins (especially young men) are most likely to do stupid stuff, especially when drunk (“Hold my beer!”) and so it’s small wonder that the death rate is high. Remembering my own misspent youth and narrow escapes, I’m amazed it isn’t higher.
Also from the article is another little snippet which makes me reach for the gin bottle:
“I’m not surprised at the numbers,” said David Jernigan, a professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University. “This is a conservative estimate.”
Health law and -policy? Allow me to bring in a guest speaker for comment:
It’s all neo-prohibitionism, masquerading (as always) under the mantle of caring.
Fuck off, the lot of you.
