Federal study indicates alcohol abuse is dropping. Were recent “Public Crisis” warnings incorrect?

The Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) issued a statement late yesterday that said articles about Alcohol abuse becoming a public health crisis were incorrect. DISCUS attached a copy of the following chart.

 

Wine Industry Insight located the original document and have published the graph, below. The data in the SAMHSA paper offer more context and appear to support DISCUS’s position. The distilled spirits industry seems to stand alone in alcohol/health issues especially after the Wine Institute abandoned its health education program more than a decade ago.

 

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration