Alcohol Abuse In Alaska

As we were first introduced to the Alaska Eskimo I noticed that there were no particular references in their early history about the use of alcohol or any other type of sinful treat, outside of tobacco. This is also, of course, relevant with the arrival of the Russians. This is quite interesting to me anyway. Alcohol is a big part of any culture, especially when we read about the beginnings.

Alcoholic beverages have been used by most cultures through most of their history. Now as with the typical outlook on alcohol in general, historically there were negative consequences associated with it. That doesn’t make it any less important to discuss than anything else. I guess where ever mankind has come together there has been a need for an escape

In 1996, the most recent year for which data are available, alcohol consumption in Alaska was 2.63 gallons per person1; only eight States had higher rates, many of which are attributable to cross-border alcohol sales (Williams et al. 1998). Alaska’s consumption rate has been among the highest in the Nation in each year for which statistics exist. Although heavy alcohol use in Alaska is not restricted to Alaska Natives, alcohol abuse and its consequences are disproportionately high among this group, which constitutes approximately 15.7 percent of Alaska’s total population (Alaska Department of Labor 1996). One theory to explain the high rates of alcohol use among this special population faults the rapid industrialization that has taken place in Alaska. For many Alaska Natives, conflicts involving cultural identity as well as behavioral and lifestyle problems have resulted from adjusting to the rapid cultural changes. Since the late 1980s, Alaska has been among the five States with the highest annual rates of child abuse, accidental death, assaults, rape, and suicide, all of which have been linked to alcohol abuse. For example, 25 percent of all deaths in Alaska are alcohol-related (Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. More recently, of the 192 Native deaths (from any cause) that occurred in rural Alaska between 1990 and 1993, 128 (66.6 percent) were found to be alcohol related, the deceased had a blood alcohol concentration. In addition, Alaska Native men and women exceed other ethnic groups in Alaska with respect to alcohol-related problem behaviors, such as arrests for driving while intoxicated, alcohol-related accidents and injuries from automobile crashes, fishing-related accidents, and other causes of