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The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is launching a campaign against alcohol abuse. Over 5 percent of the adult population in Korea, or some 1.8 million people, are estimated to have a drinking problem.
The ministry will post online advice on cutting down alcohol consumption from the end of this month, and promises an award of W3 million (US$1=W1,134) to the person making the best one-minute video clip on how to reduce alcohol intake and create a healthy drinking culture.
The ministry commissioned Seoul National University¡¯s College of Medicine to conduct a sample survey of 7,972 people in 12 areas including Songpa-gu in Seoul, Chuncheon in Gangwon Province and Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, on mental health from June 2006 to August 2007. The results, released in December last year, revealed that among 31.83 million adults aged between 18 and 64, 1.8 million people, or 5.6 percent, suffer from alcohol-related disorders.
Socio-economic loss from excessive drinking in Korea amounts to an estimated W20.99 trillion, 2.9 percent of total GDP, if taking account of medical costs, alcoholic beverage purchased, and loss of potential income from premature death. The number of alcohol-related deaths in 2006 was 4,491, meaning 12.3 people died from alcohol every day, and 9.2 out of 100,000 deaths were alcohol-related.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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