Approximately 14 million people in the US are dependent on alcohol and every year 105,000 people die due to alcoholism, as per Emory University researchers. Alcohol addiction kills people and also causes various illnesses and injuries. With the high healthcare costs, the burden due to alcoholism is nearly $400 Billion every year.

Alcoholism also affects the quality of family life for the person. If parents are alcoholics, even the children become prone to alcoholism. Alcohol addiction causes people to break the laws and go to prison. People also abuse their children and loved ones as a result. Women, who drink regularly, are likely to have babies that are exposed to fetal alcohol syndrome.

The number of cases for drunken driving cases is staggering in the United States. Most of the fatalities seen in trauma centers and are hospitals are due to deaths caused by drunken driving. In the age group of 20 and above, alcohol caused fifty percent of the accidents. The misuse of alcohol causes 70 percent deaths like accidents, fire and drowning.

Other than accidents and tragedies alcohol also causes liver problems. When children start drinking from a young age their liver is prone to damage at a young age. Alcohol has several toxins that can cause damage to the liver. Also when it is combined with some medications like acetaminophen it can cause permanent liver damage, as per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The liver treats alcohol as a toxin and works hard to remove it from the body. Excessive drinking for a few days can cause the accumulation of fat inside the liver. However, by quitting alcohol, the same condition can be turned around and reversed. People who have been drinking for several days are prone to alcohol hepatitis and liver inflammation. Some of the symptoms of this condition are loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, jaundice, mental confusion, and abdominal pain. Researchers also indicate that alcoholism can lead to cirrhosis that causes scar tissue in the liver and stops it from metabolizing properly. 

Nearly seventy percent of the patients with alcohol hepatitis have been diagnosed with cirrhosis. Even after quitting alcohol a person is at the risk of developing cirrhosis. In the year 2000, alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis was the twelfth leading cause of deaths. Women are at a higher risk of developing this disease even by consuming small amounts. Smoking along with drinking will increase the risk of liver diseases at a young age.

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