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Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 2000;284:686.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Sweden has an "astonishingly high" mortality rate from alcohol use that is not disease-related, according to the authors of a new study.

"The sober person does not take the same risks and, to some extent, can avoid dangers and risks," said lead author Anders Eriksson, MD, PhD, of Umeå University. In an analysis of mortality in Sweden that is not related to disease, Eriksson and colleagues found that 29% to 44% of these deaths are associated with alcohol. The study, reported in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that the most common causes of alcohol-related deaths were suicide, falls, traffic injuries, asphyxia, and homicide.

Even though he describes Sweden's alcohol policies as strict, Eriksson expressed concern that they may become more lax in the next few years as Scandinavian countries adopt policies closer to those of European Union nations. For example, he noted, . . . [Full Text of this Article]