Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Alcohol-associated mortality is disproportionately high among young people, and approximately 30 years of life are lost per alcohol-associated death — or, in the aggregate, 2.3 million years of potential life lost in 2001 in the United States. Excess consumption of alcohol is associated with both short-term and long-term liver damage, several types of cancer, unintentional injuries both in the workplace and on the road, domestic and social violence, broken marriages, and damaged social and family relationships.


    http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/360/26/2758