It is involved in half of all fatal traffic accidents, fire deaths, drowning, arrests, murders, and incidents of child abuse and other violence in the home. About 10 million Americans and 600,000 Canadians are alcoholics. One teenager in five and an increasing number of the elderly are drinkers. It ranks after heart disease and cancer as a major killer. The use of beverage alcohol varies by countries.
Some Muslim nations ban alcohol.
In Europe, alcohol consumption is very common. In the US, two out of every three persons over the age of 15 drinks on occasion. Ten percent of all drinkers become alcoholics. It should be noted that alcohol itself is odorless and tasteless. This is why some alcoholics drink vodka, because it is made from potatoes and cannot be detected on the drinker's breath.