Alcohol Awareness Month: Rethink Your Drink CDC

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, an opportunity to update your knowledge about the adverse effects of alcohol misuse on health and society. It is also a good time to talk to teens about drinking and to equip them with the knowledge to handle situations involving alcohol. Even teens who would not normally be tempted to drink alcohol may be drawn in by certain social situations, so don’t assume they have all the facts they need to resist peer pressure. Parents and trusted adults can play a meaningful role in shaping youth’s attitudes toward drinking. Alcohol Awareness Month is a public health program organized by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence as a way of increasing outreach and education regarding the dangers of alcoholism and issues related to alcohol.

Full of educational events across the week, NDAFW will focus on educating teens and families on the myths of substance abuse and addiction with the help on industry experts. If you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself, it’s time to rethink the role that alcohol plays in your life. NIAAA has some interactive resources to help you examine your drinking patterns further and, if needed, recognize and search for quality care. The NCADD encourages people to participate by wearing red ribbons, talking with kids and teens about alcohol, hosting dry parties, having conversations with friends and family about drinking, and having an alcohol-free weekend. Programs like Alcohol Awareness Month exist to ensure that families and communities have the resources, information, and options available to control the crisis of alcoholism. Alcohol Awareness Month is dedicated to increasing public knowledge about the dangers of alcohol and the effects and causes of alcohol use disorder.

Parents and other adults can make a difference in helping teens make the right decisions when it comes to alcohol and preventing underage drinking. Another strong start is to understand your key function as a role model when it comes to alcohol. Adolescents are less likely to drink heavily when the adults in their life demonstrate responsible behavior regarding their own alcohol use and when they live in homes where parents/guardians have specific rules against drinking at a young age. The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator can help you recognize and find high quality treatment for alcohol use disorder. If you drink excessively, seek medical help to plan a safe recovery as sudden abstinence can be life threatening. NIAAA’s Rethinking Drinking can help you assess your drinking habits and provides information to help you cut back or stop drinking.

  1. During Alcohol Awareness Month, you can also find information across the NIAAA website to learn more about NIAAA-supported research and initiatives.
  2. In addition, for adults, the Rethinking Drinking website features interactive calculators as well as tips and strategies to cut down or quit drinking.
  3. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
  4. Binge drinking is when blood alcohol concentration comes to 0,08 g/dL, which happens when a man drinks five glasses and a woman drinks four in about two hours.
  5. Share what your coalition is doing for Alcohol Awareness Month this month on CADCA’s Facebook page.

Binge drinking puts people at risk for many short- and long-term outcomes in addition to cancer, such as injuries, violence, and stroke. Most of us are familiar with the link between some lifestyle behaviors and cancer—like smoking or physical inactivity. But some people may be surprised that alcohol consumption is also a risk factor for cancer, and that these lifestyle factors combined contribute to as much as 40% of cancers. Given that half of U.S. adults drink alcohol, it’s important to understand how alcohol use increases the risk of cancer.

The program was started in April 1987 with the intention of targeting college-aged students who might be drinking too much as part of their newfound freedom. It has since become a national movement to draw more attention to the causes and effects of alcoholism as well as how to help families and communities deal with drinking problems. In addition, for adults, the Rethinking Drinking website features interactive calculators as well as tips and strategies to cut down or quit drinking. The Alcohol Treatment Navigator walks individuals through the process of finding treatment options and recovery resources. In addition, the Rethinking Drinking website features interactive calculators as well as tips and strategies to cut down or quit drinking.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

All types of alcoholic drinks, including red and white wine, beer, cocktails, and liquor, are linked with cancer. These numbers suggest that problematic alcohol use continues to plague our society, and awareness about addiction and its harmful effects on our lives, is necessary in order to protect our loved ones and selves. Recognizing that you want to change your relationship with alcohol is a big step, and it can be overwhelming to think about the next steps, such as treatment. Even if there aren’t local events, there are several ways you can participate in raising awareness.

Why National Alcohol Awareness Month Is Important

Long-term, excessive drinking of alcohol can gravely affect your health and leads to chronic diseases including high blood pressure, liver disease, digestive problems, and even cancer. Each month we highlight National https://sober-house.net/ Health Observances (NHOs) that align with our mission to improve health in the United States. In April, we’re raising awareness about minority health, alcohol awareness, and celebrating public health.

Alcohol & Your Health

I also encourage you to take a close look at Rethinking Drinking and the Alcohol Treatment Navigator to learn more about AUD and how to find quality care to address it. Its primary goal is increasing public awareness and education about alcohol and alcohol use disorder (AUD), formerly known as “alcoholism”. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) underage drinking prevention campaign, ‘Talk. They Hear You,’  has talking points and tools for coalitions, parents and caregivers so they can start talking to their children early—as early as 9 years old—about the dangers of alcohol.

Alcohol can affect the normal functions of the cells in your body, causing them to grow out of control into a cancer tumor. Drinking alcohol raises your risk of getting at least six different types of cancer—mouth and throat, voice box (larynx), can microdosing mushrooms reduce anxiety esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, and breast in women. As I discussed in my previous blog post, NIAAA also has an important new website that can help you navigate the often complicated process of choosing treatment for alcohol problems.