WHO: Alcohol kills 1 person every 10 seconds
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Alcohol killed or contributed to the deaths of more than 3.3 million people in 2012, according to a new report from the World Health Organization. The report, released Monday, added that alcohol is blamed for one death every 10 seconds.
"More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption," Dr. Oleg Chestnov, a WHO official, said in a statement. There's "no room for complacency."
Alcohol kills more men than women, and increases the risk of contracting dangerous illnesses like cancer. Perhaps more interestingly, in countries where alcohol consumption has been typically low, like China or India, boozing has increased in tandem with wealth.
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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