COLLIER COUNTY, Fla - Alcohol abuse is a serious matter. It is severe because of a disturbing trend University of Michigan researchers found.
"We really need to have as much attention on that as other illicit drug use," Nancy Dauphinais said. Dauphinais is the chief operator at the David Lawrence Center in Collier county.
She said alcohol abuse is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States.
"We forget alcohol kills more individuals than opioid disorders," she added.
The University of Michigan found a spike in liver disease deaths. The researchers found young adults were the hardest hit.
Dauphinais said a lot of our perception on alcohol is because of the ads we see all the time.
"The advertisements we see are for happy drinking," she said. "We don't see the same message about the fallout for chronic alcoholism," she added.
The Centers for Disease Control said women should drink no more than 1 drink per day. The organization also said females shouldn't consume no more than 7 drinks in a week. The CDC said they shouldn't have no more than 4 drinks on one occasion.
Men should drink no more than 2 drinks per day and 14 drinks per week. Their limit is no more than 5 drinks on one occasion.
"When you start to exceed that you're in risky territory," Dauphinais said.
She wants younger people to pay attention to the CDC numbers.
"The teen brain has a pretty good functioning gas pedal, but that break pedal isn't functioning as well," she said.
The important thing is to look out for warning signs for alcohol abuse. People should worry about changes in behavior and a lack of care in hygiene.
"it is important for people to hear the message. Even though treatment can be scary treatment works and help is out there," she said.
