New CDC data indicate that alcohol-induced deaths surged about 26 percent in the first year of the pandemic, after annual increases of about 7 percent. From 2019 to 2020, deaths from alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis increased 50 percent, deaths from mental and behavioral disorders tied to alcohol use rose 33 percent, and deaths from alcoholic liver disease rose 23 percent. Males accounted for the largest number of alcohol-induced deaths over the study period. However, rates of alcohol-induced deaths for females increased, and the differences between men and women decreased in that time from 3.6 times higher for males than females in 2000 to 2.6 times higher in 2020. (Article here)