TheWorld Health Organization announced this week that alcohol use causes almost 4 percent of deaths around the world. This is more deaths than caused by AIDS,tuberculosis or violence.
The World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations, released their "Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health" which said that approximately 2.5 million people die every year from causes connected to alcohol.
"The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world's leading risk factor for death among males aged 15 to 59," reads the WHO report.
Binge drinking is on the rise around the world, especially in countries like Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Kazakhstan.
"Worldwide, about 11 percent of drinkers have weekly heavy episodic drinking occasions, with men outnumbering women by four to one. Men consistently engage in hazardous drinking at much higher levels than women in all regions," the report said.
This is the World Health Organization's first report on alcohol consumption in seven years. Alcohol use has been directly linked to liver cirrhosis, epilepsy, poisonings, violence, car accidents, and cancer of the liver, breast, colorectum and larynx.
"Six or seven years ago we didn't have strong evidence of a causal relationship between drinking and breast cancer. Now we do," said Vladimir Poznyak, the head of the World Health Organization's substance abuse unit. Poznyak is responsible for the report.
Last May, the health ministers from the World Health Organization's 193 member states agreed to fight global binge drinking through higher taxes on alcohol sales, as well as tighter marketing restrictions.
Some countries restrict the marketing of alcohol or on the alcoholic beverage industry's sponsorship of sporting events.
