65,000 are addicted

The popular drug alcohol causes hundreds of deaths every year

65,000 Upper Austrians are addicted to the legal substance. This has serious consequences for public welfare and traffic. A "Krone" investigation shows: Men are three times as likely to be addicted and 50-59-year-olds are particularly badly affected. An addiction expert warns against going cold turkey.

Cannabis - the green herb is currently the talk of the town due to its legalization by the German Federal Council. There is talk of fatal consequences for health, society and road safety. However, one drug is usually ignored that already causes great suffering, countless accidents and hundreds of deaths every year from acute intoxication or the various long-term effects: alcohol.

Men more frequently affected
Around 65,000 Upper Austrians are alcoholics - around five percent of the state's population need the substance to cope with everyday life. Three times as many men as women are affected: 7.5 percent of all men are addicted, compared to just 2.5 percent of women. One in ten Austrians over the age of 15 will develop alcoholism in the course of their lives. Alcohol dependence is most pronounced in the 50-59 age group, while alcohol poisoning is most common among 16 and 17-year-olds - see chart below.

Alcohol in Upper Austria.(Bild: stock.adobe, Krone KREATIV)

In the previous year, 4731 drunk drivers were literally taken off the road in Upper Austria alone. In 2022, 484 accidents were caused under the influence of alcohol. As a result, 654 people were injured and two were even killed, according to the accident statistics of the state of Upper Austria.

Terrible damage
"Long-term heavy alcohol consumption usually has serious consequences: massive disorders in the digestive tract, cancers from the mouth to the intestines, Korsakov's dementia and, of course, severe liver damage," reports Thomas Labacher, Head of Addiction Support at pro mente Upper Austria. "For pregnant women or their unborn children, every sip of alcohol is too much!"

Alcohol is tolerated in our society and is available everywhere. We learn to drink alcohol at an early age - but often not how to deal with it properly.

Thomas Labacher, Suchthilfe pro mente

"Cold turkey is life-threatening"
There are counseling centers for alcoholics in each of the 18 districts and statutory cities in our province. "You should go to these if you notice that your alcohol consumption is getting out of hand," advises Labacher. "You should listen to your body and never try to drink your problems away!"

According to the expert, however, serious cases cannot avoid medically supervised withdrawal therapy, because: "Cold turkey withdrawal is extremely life-threatening!"