Alcohol is consumed by an overwhelming majority of the U.S. population, and 55 percent of the world’s population has consumed alcohol (World Health Organization [WHO] 2011). Per capita consumption varies greatly by country. For example, the most recent figures from the WHO (2011) indicate that among people ages 15 and older, per capita annual alcohol consumption was 11 liters in Russia and 8.5 liters in the United States, with much lower consumption levels reported in parts of Asia and northern Africa. Although modest alcohol consumption is associated with health (e.g., cardiovascular) benefits, according to the WHO, 2.5 million people die each year from the harmful effects of alcohol (http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/facts/en/). In the United States, nearly 80,000 people die annually from the short- and long-term consequences of alcohol use (Mokdad et al. 2004). Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol dependence, which affects 12.5 percent of people in the United States across their lifetime (Hasin et al. 2007). Thus, the health effects of alcohol consumption remain a public health priority that needs to be studied from all angles, including improving prevention and treatment, while also examining basic biological underpinnings.
