April is Alcohol Awareness Month

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – April is recognized as Alcohol Awareness Month. According to MedLinePlus, about 18 million adults have an alcohol use disorder.

This means their drinking causes distress and harm.

AUD is a disease that can cause the cravings for a strong drink, loss of control once you’ve started and feeling anxious and irritable when you are not drinking. According to medical experts at Essentia, the issue is prevalent in Minnesota as the use of alcohol for those with AUD changes the complexion of the brain.

“Alcohol use in general leads to more hospitalizations, more deaths than any other substance by far. At least double that of opioids. So it is incredibly important to talk to patients about this. Because the only way that someone can go about addressing use or decreasing it is one they have to know that they have a problem even exists and to know that help is out there.” said Robert Cole Pueringer, a medical toxicologist for Essentia Health.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that around 750,000 teens between 12 and 17 suffered from alcohol use disorder in 2022.