Drinking and Driving - fast facts
- It was estimated that 6,507 Canadians died in 1995 due to alcohol consumption. The largest number of alcohol-related deaths stemmed from impaired-driving accidents. - It was estimated that 82,014 Canadians were admitted to hospital because of alcohol misuse in 1995. The greatest number of hospitalizations were for alcoholic psychosis, alcohol dependence syndrome or alcohol abuse (19,744 in total), non-motor vehicle accidents (19,412), and motor vehicle accidents (9,591). - It was estimated that in 1995, 1,144 motor vehicle fatalities were attributable to alcohol. - Non-motor vehicle accidents accounted for 12.2% of alcohol-related deaths, but 23.7% of alcohol-related hospital admissions. These figures include victims who were killed or injured as a result of others’ intoxication. - Motor vehicle accidents accounted for 17.6% of alcoholattributed deaths, but only 11.7% of hospital admissions. - In 1995, alcohol-related illnesses, accidents and intentional harms accounted for 3.1% of total mortality, 5.4% of total years of potential life lost, and 2.7% of hospital admissions in Canada

- Less than one-fifth (18.5%) of alcohol-related deaths in 1995 were due to chronic conditions. - Accidents and other acute causes accounted for nearly half (47.1%) of all alcohol-attributed deaths and well over half (107,554 or 62.5%) of potential years of life lost. - In 1995/96, 349 men and 193 women per 100,000 were hospitalized in Canada due to alcohol. - Alcohol-attributed hospitalizations accounted for 3.9% (51,765) of all hospitalizations for men and 1.6% (29,181) of all hospitalizations for women. - Accidental falls (16,720), alcohol dependence syndrome (11,709) and motor vehicle accidents (9,378) accounted for almost half of all alcohol-attributed hospitalizations. - In a 2002 survey of Canadians aged 15 and older, symptoms of alcohol dependence were reported three times more often (2.6%) than symptoms of illicit drug dependence (0.8%). - Alcohol dependency was reported by 7% of Canadians (excluding the territories) aged 15-24, compared to 2% of those aged 25-64. Information care of www.madd.ca