Alcohol-Related Deaths in Oregon Jump 30 Percent Since 2021

One of the methods of dealing with Oregon's rapidly increasing alcohol death rate, says the report, is to increase alcohol prices.

   The study says 8 Oregon residents die each day due to alcohol

Oregon recently held an alcohol policy summit, during which data was examined and officials tried to come up with what they believe will be solutions to the increasing problem.

 The report says 3,027 Oregonians died from alcohol-related issues in 2022, the data shows since 2021, the percentage of these deaths has grown 30 percent. It also says it's the third-leading cause of death in the state, and those deaths have increased 47 percent over the last ten years.

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  The report indicates binge drinking is a major reason for the increase. Officials say there are differences between alcohol addiction (alcoholism) and binge drinking. A binge drinker may not be addicted, but binge drinking can be nearly as hard on the body.

Binge drinking, according to officials, is when a male adult consumes 5 or more drinks, and a female 4 or more in a two-hour period.  When the alcohol consumed by a person raises their Blood Alcohol Content, or BAC, above .08 in two hours or less, it's considered a binge. Binge drinking with adults is rising sharply, but dropping steadily among Oregon teens.

The group Oregon Recovers has released a 12-step plan they say can greatly help curb the issue, both it and state officials recommend one of the steps be raising the price of alcohol.

According to Officials, a recent study claims that 6 in ten Oregon residents believe raising alcohol prices would help the problem.