Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption in the United States, Iran and Nigeria Essay

According to the United States' National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2018), the prevalence of alcohol use in the United States is 86.4% among individuals aged 18 years and older. However, the prevalence of heavy alcohol use and binge drinking in the United States was estimated to be 26.9% in 2015. This prevalence was found in individuals aged 18 years and above. It was also established that 15.1 million people aged 18 years and over had alcohol use disorder. A higher prevalence of alcohol use disorder was reported among men (9.8 million) than women (5.3 million). The high prevalence of alcohol use in the United States has been attributed to many factors.

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Unlike in the United States, alcohol consumption in Iran is very low. According to the New York Times (2017), at least 10% of the population drink alcohol in the Islamic country. Even though alcohol consumption among Iran's middle class has become normal like in the Western countries, the prevalence is still lower than in Western countries. The lower consumption rates in the general population may be attributed to the fact that Iran is an Islamic country with strict religious laws against alcohol drinking. Nigeria has also reported a relatively high prevalence of alcohol consumption. According to Lasebikan and Ola (2016), the prevalence of lifetime alcohol use in Nigeria is 57.9%. The increasing rates of alcohol drinking in the country have been linked to aggressive marketing activities of leading industry players. Also, alcohol consumption in Nigeria is regarded as part of social activities and, thus, most drinkers consume it unaccompanied (World Health Organization, 2012).

A closer examination of the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the three countries shows that religion is likely to be linked to alcohol consumption. Noteworthy, the need to adhere to strict religious teachings (e.g. in Islamic faith) is the primary reason why the rates of alcohol consumption are the lowest in Iran when compared to the United States and Nigeria. Also, the fact that about 50% of the Nigerians practice Islam may be the reason why Nigeria has a relatively lower rate of alcohol drinking compared to the United States.

Alcohol awareness programs are also available in these countries. For instance, in the United States, alcohol awareness is spearheaded by programs such as Fathers Against Drunk Driving, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (DUILawyer, 2018). These programs have been welcomed by many people and have positively impacted towards decreased alcohol consumption. The problem of addiction in the three countries can be treated by using a combination of behavioral treatments (e.g. counselling), medications, and mutual-support groups.

Bar Charts

The bar chart below compares the total populations of the United States, Iran and Nigeria. As it can be seen in Figure 1 below, United States has the highest population of 325 million, followed by Nigeria at about 110 million, and lastly, Iran at approximately 81 million. Figure 2 below shows a bar chart representing alcohol consumption rates in the United States, Iran, and Nigeria. The highest rate of alcoholism is found in the United States, followed by Nigeria, and, lastly, Iran.

References

DUILawyer (2018). Alcohol awareness programs in the united states. Retrieved from https://www.sandiegoduiattorneynow.com/alcohol-awareness-programs/

Lasebikan, V. O., & Ola, B. A. (2016). Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use among a sample of Nigerian semirural community dwellers in Nigeria. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jad/2016/2831594/abs/

Lejeune, T. (2017). Census: More Americans have college degrees than ever before [Text]. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-americans-have-college-degrees-than-ever-before

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2018). Alcohol facts and statistics | national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Retrieved from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics

New York Times (2017). Decades after alcohol ban, Iran admits it has a problem. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/world/middleeast/iran-alcohol-rehabilitation.html

WHO (2012). Substance Abuse in Nigeria. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/nigeria.pdf.