A new CDC report on alcohol poisoning deaths in the US was covered by at least two major US newspapers and by several wires and online sources. All sources feature quotes from one or more CDC officials. USA Today (1/7, Painter) reports that a new report from the CDC indicates that approximately six times per day, “someone in the USA dies of alcohol poisoning after drinking too much in a single binge.” Ileana Arias, the CDC’s deputy principal director, said, “Alcohol poisoning is caused by consuming a very large amount of alcohol in a very short amount of time.” Arias added, “The more your drink, the more you are at risk.”
According to the New York Times (1/7, A12, Tavernise, Subscription Publication), this “report is the first in a decade by the” CDC “to tally alcohol poisonings for the entire American population. Most previous analyses looked at certain groups, in particular young people.” The CDC “found that an average of 2,221 people died of alcohol poisoning annually between 2010 and 2012.” The agency “described death from alcohol poisoning as ‘a bigger problem than previously thought,’ but said it was impossible to tell whether the death rate had risen because researchers had changed how they track the data in recent years.”
— “Report: Binge drinking kills 6 a day – and most are men,” Kim Painter, USA Today, January 6, 2015.