New Mexico Has The Highest Rate For Alcohol-Related Deaths In The Country

New Mexico leads the United States in the rate of alcohol-related deaths according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable death and has an economic impact of nearly $250 billion in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and legal expenses. 

The report found there was an average of 93,296 alcohol-attributable deaths between 2011-2015, with an average annual age-adjusted alcohol-attributable death rate of 27.4 per 100,000 people.

The state with the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths was New Mexico, which had a rate that was nearly twice the U.S. average, with 52.3 deaths per 100,000 people. The lowest was in New Jersey, which had a rate of 20.3 per 100,000 people.

The CDC suggested raising alcohol taxes, and regulating and limiting the number of stores that sell alcohol to reduce the number of deaths.

Officials in New Mexico said they are working to reduce the number of alcohol-related deaths, which is tough in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Not only are we fighting to reverse life-threatening alcohol use, we are also fighting a stress-inducing pandemic that is contributing to increased alcohol consumption. We must use every tool available to reduce alcohol-related death and years of potential life lost due to excessive alcohol use,” New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel said.

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