Don’t shoot the messenger, but baby boomers are drinking at alarming levels.

This week alone, baby boomers received new warnings about alcohol as alcohol-related deaths of people over 50 rose. The number of deaths attributed solely to alcohol has increased by 45% since 2001, according to a report released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While this study was done in the UK, baby boomers in the US fare no better. One in eight Americans has an alcohol-related disorder, according to a study published in August 2017 in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Psychiatry. While the survey showed that alcohol-related disorders increased in the US population as a whole, some of the steepest increases were among baby boomers. For example, high-risk alcohol use increased 65.2 percent and alcoholism increased 106.7 percent among those 65 and older over the past decade.

By 2020, the number of people receiving treatment for substance abuse problems is expected to double in Europe and triple in the US, among those over 50 years of age.

This is bad news for baby boomers, as alcohol is linked to more than 60 diseases, including heart disease, liver disease, cancer, and dementia.

WHY DO BABY BOOMS DRINK TOO MUCH?

We were the generation famous for drinking a martini or Manhattan after work, as often shown on the TV show Madmen. But is there more to this growing problem of alcohol abuse? Probably.

Recent studies report that baby boomers, especially those in their 50s and 60s, are statistically the unhappiest age group. Many boomers face stressful events such as declining health, parenting teens, looming college enrollment, adult children moving home, caring for aging parents, menopause, bereavement, and death. Social isolation.

Add to that financial stress. According to studies, baby boomers are more concerned about retirement security than any other age group. Many boomers confess they didn’t save enough money for retirement and head into their golden years with mortgage and credit card debt.

All this worry, stress, and depression can easily trigger alcohol abuse if left unchecked.

Another factor can be traced back to the disappointment of our generation that expected a better world. “What does alcohol mean to our generation?” asks Christina Fraser, a relationship counselor at Coupleworks and a baby boomer herself. “We drink to fill a void. Our parents had a job, retired, and dropped dead two years later. They worked hard and had fewer opportunities. Baby boomers were promised a world full of possibilities. Instead, we are seeing that world of close”.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED TO DRINK IN EXCESS?

Baby boomers who love wine on the dot may be surprised to hear what is considered excessive drinking. Drinking in moderation is one drink a day for women and 2 drinks a day for men. So maybe you’re thinking that you don’t drink every day, especially on weekends.

Do the math. Women are considered “heavy drinkers” if they have eight or more drinks a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Men can be 14.

A standard “drink,” by the way, isn’t that big wine glass filled to the brim, a huge frosty mug, or a giant Hurricane glass. The CDC says that one drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. If you serve more than these standard serving sizes, it counts toward more than one drink.

While studies show that moderate alcohol consumption can be part of a healthy lifestyle for many people, those benefits quickly turn into health risks. These dangers include an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and liver disease.

In fact, hot on the heels of the new study warning baby boomers to stop binge drinking comes another statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) that “even light drinking increases cancer risk.” ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said alcohol has long been a known human carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent, within the medical community.

Moderate drinkers almost double the risk of cancer of the mouth and throat and more than double the risk of cancer of the esophagus compared to non-drinkers. They also face elevated risks of laryngeal cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer.

The risk to heavy drinkers is much higher and frankly sobering (excuse the pun). Heavy drinkers face approximately five times the risk of mouth and throat cancer and squamous cell esophageal cancer as non-drinkers, nearly three times the risk of laryngeal cancer, twice the risk of liver cancer, as well as a higher risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. cancer.

WAYS TO REDUCE

So we baby boomers have been warned. How can we reduce alcohol consumption?

Reduce the number of days you drink alcohol. In fact, you may want to abstain for a week or a month to see how you feel physically and emotionally without alcohol in your life.

Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink at one time. If you normally drink two glasses of wine, do that instead.

If you are drinking too much, avoid people, places, things, and certain activities that make you want to drink. For example, baby boomers love to splurge on dining out, but this luxury often leads people to drink more. If this is the case, consider going out to dinner less often.

Find healthy alternatives to cope with stress, loneliness, or anger. For example, if you are tempted to have a drink, take a walk, garden, or take a long bubble bath.

Experts say that alcohol abuse among older people is not a problem that will just go away on its own. This new data should serve as a wake-up call to all baby boomers to take a look at their drinking habits.

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