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Alcohol Kills 1 Person Every 9 5 Seconds – How Can It Also Be Healthy?

by | Stop Drinking Alcohol | 18 comments

Did you know that alcohol kills one person every 9.5 seconds?

Today I want to talk about how many people are killed every day, every hour.

One person is killed every 9.5 seconds because of alcohol.

It’s just ridiculous.

That’s 5.9% of total deaths in the world every single year caused by alcohol.

7.6% of total deaths of all males caused by alcohol and 4% of all females caused by alcohol.

It’s about 3.3 million people I think, from the last count from the WHO.

5 million for cigarettes.

The two biggest drugs on this planet – alcohol and cigarettes – are both legal drugs and they both kill 8.3 million people worldwide every single year.

8.3 million people.

That’s ridiculous, right?

So in this video I want to look at this from 3 different perspectives: from the personal cost to you, from the cost to our children, to the future of the human race and the cost to society in general.

First of all from your perspective, this is the only body you’ve got.

When you hear the 3.3 million people, or 1 person dies every 9.5 seconds…9 ½ seconds have gone by, this video is five minutes gone so far.

Do the maths, how many people have died?

More than 45 people have died since I first started making this video, since I first started talking.

Another person has just died.

I know it doesn’t’ work like that, but think about it from that perspective.

When you think about that, you think how many people are actually dying all the time throughout the world because they’re putting poison into their body.

What does that make you think about your own body?

I’ve done a video about this recently.

If you were given a car at the beginning of your life and they said to you ‘’this is the car that you’re going to have from the beginning of your life till the day you die.

You’d look after the fucking thing, wouldn’t you?

You’d do your best to make sure that it was kept clean, that you waxed it, changed the oil and the filters, and you did all the maintenance work that you needed to do.

They’d teach you in school about this kind of stuff.

You’d go into any school as you’re growing up and they’d have your history your geography and your car maintenance.

Maybe they wouldn’t but I assume that they would.

If that was the way things were run, that would be the way that the system would want to help you do this.

It’s a metaphorical thing.

This is all you have, though.

You’ve got this one body and that’s all you have to take through life, so it’s your responsibility to look after it.

It should be your number 1 priority in life, your education.

Educate yourself on ways to keep your body fit and healthy in the future.

Nobody learns these things but practise these things every single day.

But we don’t do that.

When I’m talking about death, when we speak about death from alcoholism, I’m not talking about just the death from alcoholism.

If you die from drinking alcohol, that death is not a pretty death.

You might die in your sleep, fair enough.

You might die when you’re in a coma, you might die in a car crash because of your drinking, if you’re stupid enough to get behind the wheels of a car.

I’m talking about the lead up to that death, it’s not going to be pretty.

Talking about a chronic disease when you’ve got a problem like drinking alcohol.

When you consistently and persistently put mouthful after mouthful of this toxin into your body, it infests everything.

It gets into different corners of your body, from your toes right up to your hair or no hair.

There’s no part of your physical self or mental self that this poison doesn’t get into.

When they talk about death from alcohol, they talk about the cause, like they can pin it down.

Cirrhosis of the liver, definitely caused by the alcohol.

Cancer of the throat, they can pin this down to alcohol.

There are so many things that they can say were caused by alcohol.

But what happens if you die from something else, from pneumonia because your lungs are weakened.

It’s not going to be from a whole host of other things, you could smoke, drink, pick up a bad diet or a lifestyle that is always drinking lots of alcohol.

If you don’t care about your life or one aspect of your life, how the fuck are you going to care about your life in other aspects?

I do know people like that who are very fit, very healthy, they look after their bodies, make sure that they look great on the outside and they go ‘I can’t eat this, I can’t eat that’, and then they go back to the pub and get knackered, putting the poison into their body, and it defeats all purposes.

In general, if you’ve got a heavy drinking problem, you could say ‘I do watch my diet, I do try and get exercise’, but you do also waste your time and your money and your thoughts on this drinking, so you could be doing other things with your life.

I’m not saying that you have to put other things into looking after yourself, but it should be a priority for you.

Getting back to the point, there are 3.3 million people that they can directly attribute the cause to alcohol.

There are also a lot of people who die, you can’t put it on alcohol.

If you’re in a car crash and there’s no alcohol in your system then they can’t say you died of alcohol.

But you might have been on that way, you might be heading in that direction.

Alcohol is an insipid, gradual process of destruction that goes on inside your body.

It’s not that you drink alcohol, like if you drank a cup of bleach, that would kill you fairly quickly, alcohol doesn’t do that.

If you drank 4 alcohol in its normal state, that would kill you fairly quickly as well.

I hate having bleach in my water.

We smell the bleach off the tap water that comes through and I can’t drink it.

I think it’s just one of those things that become an accumulated damage.

I’ve got no proof of that.

I’m just saying that if you weren’t drinking alcohol, if you weren’t spending the money and the time that you spend on drinking alcohol, how could you have improved your life?

You could have added another 10 years to your life, and not only those 10 years that’s quantity, but you could’ve improved the quality of your whole life.

You start dying from alcohol caused consequences, that’s not going to be a pretty end to your life.

I’m not talking about the end few minutes, I’m talking about the end few years.

I quit when I was 46 and I quit for a variety of reasons, but one of the reasons was because I was just feeling like crap all the time.

And I was waking up after a big drinking session half way through the night and being shit scared that I was going to die of a heart attack.

Like my body would just be showing all the signs and symptoms and my heart would be pounding inside my body.

I wouldn’t be able to breathe properly, my stomach would be killing me, I got pains in my side and I just felt like shit all of the time.

It wasn’t a good feeling.

When you’re lying there at 3 in the morning and you get those feelings, that’s really scary stuff.

That’s as close as I wanted to get to that kind of stuff.

As soon as I started feeling that, I was like ‘yeah, fuck this. This is not life at all’.

So what I’m saying is that at 46, I’m out now every day, walking, I eat properly.

I’m only eating more healthy now because I stopped drinking, because I stopped wasting my time on that, because I uncovered and unmasked all of the other symptoms that were in my life that were also contributing to those crappy feelings.

I could do something about them, and I started thinking about that.

On one side of it, once you start taking the alcohol out of the equation, you start to think about other areas of your life that are doing you harm.

I definitely, 100% know that I’ve added many years to my life by doing this.

Now if you believe in fate, you might say that my fate was to get run over by a truck when I’m 62, that’s not going to change.

I don’t know, I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.

You can only deal with what you have control over.

I’m in control of none of that stuff.

What I want to do is, the life that I have, I want to enjoy it.

That’s what I’m doing now, I’m enjoying my life, I’m enjoying every single moment.

Every breath that I take is not laboured anymore, except when I’m walking up those big hills, but that’s natural.

Look, let’s move this on because the video is getting long.

So the next thing that I want to talk about is the cost of our alcohol drinking on society in general, on our children, on our youth.

25% of all deaths worldwide between the ages of 20 and 39, one-quarter of all deaths between 20-year-olds and 39-year-olds is caused by alcohol.

25%, that’s massive.

And that’s a fucking bad mark on our society in general, and us as people, that we are the ones that passed down this encouragement.

It doesn’t have to be out in the open that you’re encouraging your children ‘go on, have a sip of this’’ although many of us do; but we do innocently albeit, encourage our children to drink alcohol and take up a drug habit which kills 3.3 million people every single year, which kills 25% of young people between the ages of 20 and 39.

That’s a fact, a statistic, I’ll put it down below in the post and you can see the statistics yourself.

It’s on the WHO.

25% of 20 to 39 year olds die.

We talk about kids dying from illegal drugs.

It’s a drop in the ocean compared to how many deaths are caused by alcohol.

And it’s all down to us.

It’s down to how we educate our children at home, what influences we give them when they’re in our house, when they’re growing up, and education in schools.

It’s all down to that.

Which brings me to the third part, and that’s society in general.

Alcohol advertising just idolizes drinking, makes it sexy, makes it appear to be healthy.

All the alcohol companies come out and say ‘’drink responsibly’’, same as the gambling companies that come out.

There’s a gambler when we watch football, in the middle of the match at half time.

The guy comes on, a famous British actor, and he says ‘’I bet this and I bet that. I bet responsibly’’.

It’s all bullshit.

They know what’s happening behind the scenes.

They want people to become addicted to gambling or to alcohol.

I’m only talking about alcohol here, you know what I mean.

Our society, we’re screwed when we can ignore 3.3 million deaths a year on this, and 5 million on cigarettes.

If we can ignore the fact that a number of our young people are dying every single year as a result of drinking alcohol.

I couldn’t believe it when I read that, I thought there was a misprint or something, I thought it couldn’t be that much.

The thing is, it’s our responsibility.

I couldn’t give a fuck what the government do, they’re just greedy.

Bunch of greedy bastards who are in with these alcohol companies and they just want to get as much money in as they possibly can.

They have no interest or show no interest in educating people against drinking alcohol except where it’s like ‘don’t drink and drive’.

But, it’s not even listed as a drug.

That’s how much of a shit they give.

They refuse to even acknowledge that alcohol is a drug, so it’s not called a drug, it’s called a beverage or whatever the fuck it’s called.

It’s not called a drug but it should be.

It’s going to go that way, I think, because of the way cigarettes have gone.

Cigarettes now in some countries, I’m not sure if Ireland are the first country that are completely doing away with cigarette branding on boxes.

The box has to be the same.

There’s got to be a specific shape for all cigarette boxes, all cigarette boxes are supposed to be the same, all boxes have got to be without any branding on them whatsoever, so they can’t advertise themselves in that way.

Cigarette companies are still giving out theirs, you know?

These are death sticks, cancer sticks.

My mum used to call them coughing nails in two different areas.

When my dad was coughing and hacking up his guts when he was smoking cigarettes, she’d say ‘look, stop smoking the coughing nails’.

You can imagine the same situation as them putting up a liver, a cirrhotic liver on the side of a posh wine bottle that cost $200 or was coming up in auction for many thousands of dollars.

Could you imagine that?

And on the side of this bottle, instead of a pretty picture of grapes, they’ve got a cirrhotic liver and a big health warning that says ‘alcohol can kill. Alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol causes over 200 different conditions. Alcohol is the cause of 3.3 million people dying every year. Alcohol is the cause of a quarter of our young people being killed every year’, imagine if they put that out there.

That’s why there are a lot of rich people who don’t want this to happen.

So fuck the government.

It’s not up to them to do it.

It’s up to us every single day, to quit drinking yourself and don’t encourage your children to do it.

That’s how we change society, by doing it on an individual level.

No big changes were ever made on a government level because they don’t want to stir up the shit.

It all boils down to an individual, to individual people, individual actions. That’s what we have to do here.

I don’t know how long this video is now, so I’m going to stop it because it’s getting a bit long.

One person every 9.5 seconds is killed through alcohol.

25% of all our young people between 20 and 39 die from drinking alcohol.

ALCOHOL IS PROBABLY THE EASIEST DRUG TO ABUSE, BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL IS THERE. IT’S LEGAL AND IT’S AVAILABLE.

Until next time…
Onwards and Upwards!

18 Comments

  1. Jerry

    Great video! I’m convinced my grandchildren will grow up in a world where alcohol is considered and managed by society (in the US at least) much like cigarettes are today, and even more restricted and frowned upon. First, we need to legislate away the advertisement of alcoholic beverages and showing the consumption of in movies and television. We need to stop the glamorization and marketing of alcoholic beverages, like we did cigarettes, and then more. But unless we stop the glamorization of “drinking” and the huge marketing efforts to consumers by corporations, we’ll not make much progress via other efforts.

    Thanks again for all of your videos and podcasts!

    Reply
  2. Kirk Henry

    Hey there, I love you content. I listen to you so much I feel like I know you and look forward to listening to you. I’ve been on the fence about getting serious about quitting but I’m going to give it a shot starting today. I’ve been drinking for 30 years and really want to stop and get healthy. With that being said, do you have a way to donate without recurring billing? Thanks for what you do.

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      No worries Kirk. Yes, you can buy one of the books, audiobooks, or courses…I very much appreciate all the support

      Reply
  3. Bengt Van Rosmalen

    25% of all our young people between 20 and 39 die from drinking alcohol.
    That’s shocking. My kid is 11 years old now. I just quit drinking alcohol for ever (I’m 46). So I still have time to show you can live a good life without alcohol and hope to keep him out of these horrible statistics.

    Onwards and Upwards.

    Thanks Kevin, for yhe good work you’re doing.

    Bengt

    Reply
  4. Will H

    Hi Kevin

    Thank you for the powerful video and message. I could not believe that number either.
    I just passed the 90 day mark on Saturday and your message only reinforces my commitment to the journey. Big thank you for the continued motivation.

    Take care,

    Will.

    Reply
  5. Gary

    One of your best Kevin. Right from the gut. Sword and shield …

    Reply
  6. Lazlo Kovacs

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for the podcast – I’ve been enjoying listening to them.

    I just had to point out that the WHO statistic does not mean that 25% of the population of 20-39 year olds are dying – that is obviously ridiculous!

    What it means is that of the people in that age bracket who died, 25% of those deaths could be attributed to alcohol.

    While tragic, I don’t find this statistic particularly surprising because people in that age bracket are generally healthier, so are less likely to die from the illnesses that kill older people.

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      Of course it’s 25% of those who have died. Many of the deaths are through accident, fights, and so on, fuelled by alcohol. I’d suggest that most of the rest are from alcohol poisoning. It’s no less shocking.

      Reply
  7. Adam Crittenden

    Hi Kevin,
    Congratualtons on your efforts to help us with alcohol. Your honesty is so cool and makes your advice so awesome.
    I just want to say something. I read about your goals today… U want to educate people about the evils of drinking. That’s great!!! But I also read somewhere that u feel a bit awkward about facing audiences and taking on a pubkic speaking role.
    Mate that means u have to do it!
    Your greatest success lies in overcoming your greatest fears.
    Imagine the good you could do if you were able to become a competent public speaker! You could do presentations at schools and beyond.
    Do it Kevin…. u have a heart of gold and the purpose of a lion.
    I really love your work, u are 100 per cent genuine and I can tell by your videos that you possess what it takes to be a great public speaker.
    Onwards and upwards.

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      Thanks Adam. I will do some public speaking when the right opportunity comes up. It’s difficult for me living in Spain. Although there are many expats here, not that many to have an audience. So, I would have to travel abroad. Not something I want to do just yet. I do really appreciate your comments though.

      Reply
  8. Valerie G

    Hi Kevin,

    I just started following you and listening to
    You’re podcast and watching you’re videos. I
    Realized that I was drinking out of loneliness,
    I have friends and family but I got very good
    at hiding my drinking. My dad was an alcoholic
    It was sad to see him die so young he was only 52
    The age I’ll be in a couple of weeks.. I realized wow
    That’s young ! I think about him a lot,, because
    He really was a good Dad when he could be.. but anyway
    I’ve stopped for about 12 days ,, I did one week ,
    And I drank on the 7th day of the challenge and then I started
    Again and I drank on the 6th day of the challenge.. I’m not
    Beating myself up over it,,, I see the difference in my face
    When I drink my face gets all swollen and when I don’t I wake
    Up looking refreshed and pretty good,, anyway I just wanted to say thank you so very much for all you do. I am committed to stop
    Keep up the good work Kevin! Thanks a bunch !

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      I wish you the best of luck Valerie… It’s never easy to lose a parent… My father was almost 84 when he died. He’s gone a year. And I miss him terribly. How sad that your father died so young. That is the way that I saw myself going if I hadn’t stopped when I did. I wish you the best of luck with your challenge 🙂

      Reply
  9. Andy Stuart

    Hi Kevin
    Another excellent video, i have really enjoyed watching these for the last few weeks. Without doubt the most inspirational alcohol awareness advice i have ever come across and i completely agree with Adams comments above.

    Reply
  10. Lisa

    Hey Kevin,

    Appreciation so much for all your videos. This one is just brilliant. Right up there. Hits home. Something everyone needs to see. Made me cry. Just crazy statistics. Onwards and upwards for us.

    Kindest Regards

    Reply
  11. Steven Cherry

    I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing supporting information and the wonderful videos, keep it up you are changing people’s lives for the better. Not to mention the serious gravity of how you tell people the truth. Thank you Kevin!

    Reply
  12. Robert

    Great video Kevin, they should have this on a continuous feed outside all alcohol selling venues , can you imagine the outrage? Keep up the good work ??. Regards. Robert Somogyi

    Reply

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