(WASHINGTON POST)  Christopher Ingraham December 22, 2015 — This drug kills more than heroin and painkillers combined, and it’s perfectly legal.

Alcohol is killing Americans at a rate not seen in at least 35 years, according to new federal data. Last year, more than 30,700 Americans died from alcohol-induced causes, including alcohol poisoning and cirrhosis, which is primarily caused by alcohol use.

In 2014, there were 9.6 deaths from these alcohol-induced causes per 100,000 people, an increase of 37 percent since 2002.

Source: Americans are drinking themselves to death at record rates – The Washington Post