STAT Launches Investigative Series on U.S. Alcohol Epidemic

STAT published 'The Deadliest Drug' on May 12, 2026, an investigative series documenting America's alcohol epidemic. Alcohol causes 178,000 deaths annually in the United States, nearly 500 per day, with economic costs exceeding $240 billion. Emergency department visits nearly doubled between 2003 and 2022. The series documents failures across medical, public health, industry, and government systems based on interviews with over 100 experts.

Alcohol epidemic scale

• ▪Alcohol causes more deaths in a typical year than every infectious disease combined in the United States
• ▪Roughly one-third of the 178,000 annual alcohol deaths are from causes like car crashes and alcohol poisoning
• ▪STAT's investigation is based on interviews with more than 100 researchers, public health experts, doctors, patients, industry insiders, and lawmakers
• ▪STAT launched an investigative series on the U.S. alcohol epidemic on May 12, 2026
• ▪Alcohol deaths remain far above 2019 levels as of May 2026
• ▪Two-thirds of the 178,000 annual alcohol deaths are from cancer, heart disease, liver failure, and other chronic conditions that result from sustained heavy drinking
• ▪Drinking-related deaths surged by 16% during the pandemic
• ▪Alcohol-related injuries, disease, and fatalities spiked starting in 2020
• ▪Alcohol-related emergency department visits nearly doubled in the United States between 2003 and 2022
• ▪Over twice as many Americans consumed alcohol in 2024 than used tobacco products, according to federal estimates
• ▪178,000 deaths occur each year from alcohol in the United States

Trump administration policy failures

• ▪The Trump administration has slashed efforts to understand alcohol addiction and prevent more of it as of May 2026
• ▪The Trump administration has loosened guidelines on drinking as of May 2026
• ▪Biden-era Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a report in January 2025 highlighting alcohol's links to cancer
• ▪President Trump's older brother, Fred Jr., died at the age of 42 from a heart attack caused by alcohol addiction
• ▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the first health secretary in open recovery from alcohol addiction

Alcohol industry influence

• ▪The $240 billion annual economic costs of excessive alcohol use exceed every American's medical debt combined
• ▪The economic costs of excessive alcohol use top $240 billion annually in the United States

Public health system shortcomings

• ▪Jenny Wilson is an emergency physician in downtown Reno, Nevada
• ▪Researchers have estimated that if Americans who drink consumed only one alcoholic beverage per day, it could avert 17,450 cases of cancer each year