ETOH is a drug and alcohol industry acronym for the word ethanol. Ethanol is the major ingredient of alcoholic beverages. it is also referred to as grain alcohol. So, ETOH is an acronym meaning alcohol (ethyl alcohol, or ethanol).
ETOH is used as shorthand to mean alcohol. It is used most commonly within the alcohol rehabilitation industry. It is also used in other areas of the medical world, especially hospitals.
ETOH has other applications as well. For example, some hospitals, med technicians and medical facilities. It would seem to have been developed as a way of disguising the word alcohol to keep the fact that a person had been drinking from being disclosed.
Drinking can have unintended and even tragic consequences. In the United Sates, alcohol consumption leads to more than 100,000 deaths each year from alcohol-related injuries and illnesses. As a former paramedic and nurse, and more recently a trauma surgeon and community law enforcement officer, I have seen the results of alcohol use and abuse at close range.
- Approximately 14 million Americans-7.4 percent of the population -meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism
- More than one-half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism
- Approximately one in four children younger than 18 years old in the United States is exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family
The adult U.S. population (aged 18 and over) is current drinkers who have consumed at least 12 drinks in the preceding year. Although most people who drink do so safely, the minority who consume alcohol heavily produce an impact that ripples outward to encompass their families, friends, and communities. The following statistics give a glimpse of the magnitude of problem drinking:
- Approximately 14 million Americans-7.4 percent of the population -meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism.
- More than one-half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism.
- Approximately one in four children younger than 18 years old in the United States is exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family.
Approximately one fifth (20.5 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey. Although the number of current drinkers increased between 2000 and 2001, the number of those reporting
binge drinking did not change significantly.
- Heavy drinking was reported by 5.7 percent of the population
According to a recent Massachusetts General Hospital report, of the 108 million annual visits to U.S. emergency rooms, 7.6 million--three times the previous estimate--are alcohol-related.
- Among people ages 21-22, 85 percent of men and 76 percent of women have used alcohol within the last 30 days
- 55 percent of men ages 21-22 and 33 percent of women ages 19-20 drank five or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks
- People ages 18-29 have the highest rates of past-year alcohol abuse and dependence
