New Study Reveals Troubling Trend With Alcohol In New Jersey

According to Gallup polls and federal data, Alcohol consumption is down by four percent over the last five years, and binge-drinking rates have decreased by three percent across the United States.

For the first time in over 100 years, the majority of Americans surveyed believe that "Moderate Alcohol Consumption" is bad for an individual's health (53 percent). One major reason for the changes in alcohol consumption is that Gen Z prefers Cannabis over alcohol as their preferred recreational substance (69 percent).

Over the last three years, New Jersey has seen an 8.4 percent decrease in adults consuming alcohol. But while NJ had fewer consumers of alcohol, the state is actually seen an increase in alcohol releated incidents.

New Jersey named one of the worst states for Alcohol-Impaired Accidents

A new study released by Lantana Recovery reveals that alcohol-related fatalities have risen in New Jersey even though consumption of alcohol is down around the state. NJ is one of the top ten worst states in these categories.

New Jersey saw a 29.06% surge in alcohol-impaired road fatalities, the 10th highest in the United States over the last 10 years. Also, NJ's alcohol-induced death rate rose by 19.61 percent over the last decade, the highest increase in the country.

But considering New Jersey has major decreases in adults consuming alcohol, these increases in alcohol-related fatalities has to be concerning. Also, New Jersey is in the bottom ten in the United States for the number of alcohol-related addiction treatments.

Only 10 percent of alcohol drinkers qualify for the condition known as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), so not every heavy drinker is actually someone who has an addiction. This reality can explain why so few New Jersey residents are in alcohol treatment in comparison with the high rates of alcohol-related fatalities.