This is Annie Grace and you're listening to this naked mind podcast where without judgment,

pain or rules, we explore the role of alcohol in our lives and culture.

Hi friends, this is Annie Grace answering questions. I am the author of this naked mind and I am coming to you today with a question from Collette.

She says, I want to know why as a society we continue to hold up alcohol almost as an idol despite it being such a dangerous addictive and life destroying poison.

The research is there, why can't government or health professionals or scientists, etc. present it for what it is, much like what's happened with tobacco and cigarettes.

It simply is it simply the power of the profit or the alcohol companies or the ad agencies, what is it and why is it that we still hold alcohol up as this idol when it is so dangerous.

Well, I think that's a really good question and I think there's a lot that goes into it. First of all, I mean, let's just establish how truly dangerous it is.

Like if you look at deaths per week, right? So if you look at all illegal drug overdoses every week, illegal drug overdoses, 327 people are killed in the United States per week.

That statistic as of last year and all prescription drug overdoses more people actually die these days from prescription drugs, then illegal drugs.

It's 442 people per week. Alcohol related deaths are 1,692 people per week from alcohol and that's according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Alcohol is actually the World Health Organization recently said that it is surpassed AIDS as the number one killer for men ages 15 to 59 and it is one of the world's number one leading preventable causes of death.

And then if you look at the knock on effect, you know, we're just talking about these these are the individuals who are drinking you look at the knock on effect and it's horrific.

I mean, over 50% of car accidents involve alcohol one in 10 drivers on on the road every night and weekend are drunk 75% of child deaths resulting from abuse have alcohol involved.

And if you are looking at men who are convicted of child abuse, there are 10 times more likely to be alcoholics than not.

So yes, alcohol is horrific and I mean, there's just no denying it.

CNN published an article last week, you can see it on my Facebook page about the fact that there is not actually any benefit to moderate drinking and any amount of alcohol is dangerous.

And that is again, just saying that we've held this substance up somehow as something that it really truly isn't.

And I think the answer comes from a few areas when I was writing my book, this naked mind, my editor, she was she's in her late 20s.

And I initially wrote the book and I didn't include a chapter on all the dangers of alcohol to the body to the mind to society because I thought, okay, everybody knows that.

You know, I'm almost 38 years old and I kind of knew it was always dangerous and she wrote me back shoes.

Annie, you know, you're starting with the pre-supposition that I believe that alcohol is harmful.

And actually, I don't, I think my friends and I all think that it's pretty good for you.

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