With the holidays comes more opportunities than at any other time of the year to gather with friends and family ... and drink alcohol. And it turns out, the people of Louisiana are doing that in droves, even when it's not the holiday season.
Universal Drugstore surveyed the alcohol, cigarette and drug habits of Americans state by state and Louisiana came in with very high numbers for excessive drinkers with 22% – which is over 1.02 million residents.
Overall, the study ranked Louisiana fourth nationwide for smoking, drinking, illicit drug users, and e-cigarettes.
Also, more than 881, 600 Louisiana residents are addicted to smoking. Separately, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute recently released its 2023 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report, which found Lafourche Parish reported 24% of adults excessively drinking, a percentage higher than any other parish in the state.
The study found Livingston Parish and a handful of others reported 23% excessive drinking from adults, while others reported 22%.
Across the United States, around 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, ranging from smoking and excessive drinking to vaping and drugs, according to Universal Drugstore. "These addictions are responsible for thousands of deaths every year, and only around 10% of people receive the treatment they need," the group reported.
Colorado, Montana and Alaska had the highest -- ie., worst -- combined addiction scores; Get the full state-by-state report HERE.
And note that alcohol abuse isn't just a lifestyle concern, it's deadly. The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics found 140,557 Americans die from the effects of alcohol in an average year.