WASHINGTON – There’s a certain booze that lands people in the emergency room most often, according to a new study.
The beers Bud Light, Budweiser, Steel Reserve, Colt 45 and Bud Ice were consumed in the highest quantities by emergency room patients, according to the study from researchers at The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Three of the top five beer labels are malt liquors, which contain more alcohol than regular beer.
The study found that many of the injuries that resulted in someone ending up in the ER were alcohol-related and due to heavy drinking.
“Recent studies reveal that nearly a third of injury visits to Level I trauma centers were alcohol-related and frequently a result of heavy drinking,” lead study author David Jernigan said in a news release. “Understanding the relationship between alcohol brands and their connection to injury may help guide policy makers in considering taxation and physical availability of different types of alcohol given the harms associated with them.”
In response, researchers say the government could limit the availability of malt liquor. Also, beer purchases could be taxed higher based on the amount of alcohol they contain, researchers recommend.
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