Secondhand drinking
Bottom Line: Best that I’m aware of it’s not possible to breathe in second hand booze but as it turns out the impact has the potential to take a different but similar toll to secondhand smoke. A new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs showed that secondhand drinking consequences are real and perhaps far more pervasive than second hand smoke these days.
A study of nearly 9,000 adults studied the effects of alcohol on others. It measured whether someone had a negative outcome with alcohol consumed by someone else within the prior twelve months.The answer for more than 1 in 5 of us (22%) was yes – we've been impacted by “secondhand drinking”. By the numbers...
- 53 million – total Americans who’re victims of someone else drinking in the past year
- Top forms of impact – 1. Harassment 2. Property damage 3. Physical confrontation 4. Auto incident 5. Financial problems
Approximately 160 million Americans drink alcohol. What this research shows us is that during the course of a year just under a third of Americans become victims of someone else losing an element of control that causes harm as a result. Based on consumption levels nearly 40% of Americans who drink alcohol, drink to excess, according to a separate National Epidemiologic Survey. What this demonstrates is that a majority of those who drink to excess do cause harm to others when they do. Not the most fun story heading into the Independence Day weekend but maybe an important one to consider.