CDC Details Alcohol Related Deaths

According to a new government report, alcohol is responsible for about 88,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. The study was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC report includes fatalities due to drunk drivers and more than 50 other alcohol-related causes of death.

The research focused on eleven States, including California for a period from 2006 to 2010. According to the report, the statistics "highlight the ongoing public health impact of excessive drinking in the United States."

The report suggests that the casualty figures could be reduced by implementing policies that make alcohol more expensive and that reduce the geographic density of liquor stores and other outlets that sell alcohol. The researchers also recommended that retailers be held responsible for the damage that ensues after selling alcohol to minors or to people who are already intoxicated.

As a DUI defense attorney with over sixteen years of experience specializing in defending DUI cases in Los Angeles, I am often retained by clients who have significant problems with alcohol. Although I try my best to help guide clients toward sobriety and to involve clients in treatment, I have known five clients to die from alcohol related illness prior to the resolution of their cases.

Independent of the consequences of a DUI conviction, alcoholism can have a devastating effect on the family and businesses of alcoholics. Clients often do not appreciate it when I raise the issue with them. Many people are in complete denial. Before anyone can begin to address the detrimental effects of alcohol to health, family and work, acceptance of the problem is the first step. Sometimes an arrest for DUI can be a "wake up call" and a catalyst for change in people's lives. I have had clients who have come to realize that a DUI arrest was a turning point leading them to a more sober and healthier life.

If you have been arrested for a DUI, you are probably focused on the need to "get off." But sometimes the arrest can be turned into a positive and be an opportunity to "get better" instead.