Wisconsin has a problem with alcohol. There are effective steps we can take to reduce excessive drinking.

The data is clear: Wisconsin has the highest rate of excessive alcohol consumption in the nation.

Both in Wisconsin and nationwide, deaths with alcohol as an underlying or contributing cause of disease have increased by more than 25% during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, alcohol use causes death in other ways, such as suicide, violence, motor vehicle crashes and falls (especially among the elderly). The number of Wisconsinites who died from alcohol-related falls more than tripled in the last two decades.

Roughly half the deaths due to alcohol are not disease related, yet all alcohol-related deaths are preventable.

And disturbingly, the data show that Black Wisconsinites have higher alcohol-related deaths than the average among Black people nationally. The oversaturation of alcohol outlets, especially in Black neighborhoods, is striking. The data show that there is a direct relationship between alcohol availability and alcohol-related problems such as violence.

Alcopops, also known as flavored malt beverages, which have higher alcohol content and cost less per standard drink than most beer, have made the problem worse. Those who market and sell alcopops often target Black neighborhoods.

A statewide effort to reduce the effects of overconsumption of alcohol

Given this data, the State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse recently released the report, "Moving Forward: Policies and Strategies to Prevent and Reduce Excessive Alcohol Use in Wisconsin." It recommends ways to reduce the billions spent on injuries, chronic health conditions and deaths due to the overconsumption of alcohol.

The report doesn't focus on people who do not drink excessively. But it's a fact: Reducing excessive drinking could save all taxpayers money — more than $650 per person. And it could increase public safety, reduce injuries and reduce alcohol-induced diseases, including cancer.

We also could better protect our children.

When teens drink alcohol, especially if they binge drink, their brain development can be stunted, causing academic problems, loss of interest in hobbies and sports, difficulty with learning and memory, and leaving them vulnerable to assaults, poisonings, motor vehicle crashes and legal issues.

Excessive alcohol use is defined this way:

? Binge drinking (four to five drinks in a single occasion).

? Any drinking while pregnant.

? Heavy drinking (more than one drink for women; more than two drinks a day for men).

? Underage drinking.

There are effective ways to reduce excessive alcohol use research has shown, and everyone can play a role in making Wisconsin safer and healthier. Civic organizations, health care systems, local and state government, and others can all take steps to help Wisconsin thrive.

Hosting an event? There is no need to provide alcoholic beverages, but if you do, provide fewer. Municipalities could operate semi-annual alcohol age compliance checks in every town, village and city in our state to discourage the sale of alcohol to kids. State government could fund prevention efforts and law enforcement to reduce kids’ access to alcohol.

The state council, through its prevention committee, worked with a group composed of experts and people who have experienced loss and harm from alcohol to develop recommendations that support the goal of reducing heavy drinking, binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths.

The workgroup was charged with identifying barriers to reducing alcohol consumption. Members discussed possible recommendations, new research and data that showed the most harmful alcohol-related problems. They heard from representatives of the alcohol industry.

One of the hallmarks of the report is its focus on primary prevention. It doesn’t include more penalties for operating a vehicle while intoxicated but does show ways to stop the over-serving of alcohol at its source. The report also recommends screenings and brief interventions to identify people at risk of developing an alcohol-use disorder and providing the support needed to help them reduce or stop drinking before it escalates.

Other top recommendations from the report:

? Raising the price of alcohol, which could reduce youth, binge and heavy drinking.

? Reducing the density of alcohol outlets.

? Compliance checks to help enforce the drinking age.

? Banning alcohol advertising from municipal property

? Avoiding encouragement of excessive alcohol consumption at celebrations and fundraisers

These recommendations challenge Wisconsin’s drinking culture.

Wisconsin has allowed additional alcohol licenses; increased hours of sale; increased access to alcohol such as takeaway drinks; and the state lacks sufficient enforcement resources.

Generally, Wisconsin policies related to alcohol sales over the past decade have focused on increasing availability and accessibility to alcohol under the false assumption that the alcohol beverage industry was an economic driver.

Wisconsin, meantime, has dedicated almost no state resources to reduce excessive alcohol use.

Unfortunately, the data show that the cost of excessive alcohol use to the state far exceeds the money collected through alcohol taxes. For example, the cost of binge drinking alone, including costs to health care, government and lost productivity, is more than 60 times the alcohol tax revenue collected.

Wisconsin is a local control state, but without sufficient financial support from the state government, municipalities are stymied. Municipalities issue nearly all alcohol licenses and have the authority to police them. But while some municipalities have put a great deal of effort into reducing excessive alcohol use, many report they do not have enough resources to conduct semiannual alcohol age compliance checks and enforce other policies.

The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that it exists. The second is creating solutions. The state council's alcohol prevention workgroup provides a roadmap for those solutions and offers hope for Wisconsin. Let’s make these changes.

About the state council and its report

Maureen Busalacchi chaired the alcohol prevention workgroup, which developed a wide range of policies and practices that could help reduce excessive alcohol use in Wisconsin. Alcohol impacts much of the work done at the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. By bringing the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project to the CIC, communities have effective tools they can use to change their alcohol environment and reduce excessive drinking.

The recommendations from the State Council on Alcohol and other Drug Abuse were voted and agreed upon by council members; they were not necessarily endorsed by their employers. This advisory council is part of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and its members are appointed by the governor and represent state agencies, the Legislature, treatment providers, consumers and citizens.

Maureen Busalacchi is director of the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project within the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's alcohol problem: State should take steps to limit drinking