Alcohol (beverage)
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Transportation & Substances · CPSC Code 1903
Up 74% over 5 years
The verdict
Alcohol (beverage) carry a danger score of 39/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 293 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 74% over the last five years.
- 39/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 293
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 10.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1903 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 39/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for alcohol (beverage) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume293 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)10.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+74%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Alcohol (beverage) (CPSC product code 1903, in the Transportation & Substances category) generate an estimated 293 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 5,851 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 39/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 74% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2022 (743 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2007 (57 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for alcohol (beverage) is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 5,854 visits across the 20-year NEISS window. The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,852 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 10.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how alcohol (beverage) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 3,398 | 2,454 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3 YOM PRESENTED WITH ALCOHOL INGESTION, ACCIDENTALLY DRANK HALF OF HIS MOTHER'S MIXED ALCOHOL DRINK, LETHARGIC, ETOH 4.9,AT HOME. DX-ALCOHOL INGESTION
4YOF PRESENTS TO ED W/ AMS. HX PROVIDED BY MOTHER AND EMS. CHILD WAS PUT DOWN FOR NAP AROUDN 130 AND STARTED FEEDS AT THAT TIME. CHECKED PT AROUND 330. NOTICED PT OBTUNDED AND NOT RESPONDING. EYES ROLLING BACK IN HEAD. NO HX SEIZURE, DOES HAV HX OF SMA. LATER MOTHER REALIZED CONFUSION IN CHILDS FEED. MOTHER CONCERNED WATER BOTTLE HAD VODKA IN IT. ETOH: 4648 DX: UNINTENTIONAL POISONING BY ALCOHOL
4YOM, WEAKNESS, LETHARGIC, DECREASED URINE OUTPUT BAL 4, UDS+THC DX: THC INTOXICATION
20MOF PRESENTS WITH SLEEPINESS AND ABNORMAL GAIT AFTER PARENTS PICKED HER UP FROM GRANDPARENTS' HOUSE; SUSPICION THAT SHE MAY HAVE ACCIDENTALLY INGESTED SUBSTANCES; BAL: 12; UDS POSITIVE FOR CANNABINOID DX: ALTERED MENTAL STATUS, ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF SUBSTANCE, ALCOHOL INGESTION, ACCIDENTAL MARIJUANA POISONING
3YOF,POSSIBLY DRANK ALCOHOL,TEQUILA,AT PARTY GRANDMA HOUSE,PICKING UP A CUP AN PUT IN MOUTH,NOT SURE IF DRANK ANYTHING+ETOH BA N/A,,DX:INGESTION
2YOM WAS FOUND DRINKING FROM A GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE THAT CONTAINED ALCOHOL, BAC NEGATIVE DX: POSSIBLE ALCOHOL INGESTION
4 YOM DRANK A WATER BOTTLE THAT HAD WINE IN IT. MOM HAD ALSO GIVEN PT 3MG MELATONIN EARLIER. MOM CALLED PCC WHO SAID TO COME TO ED. DX INGESTION
2YOM PRESENTING FOLLOWING A SIP OF EGGNOG CONTAINING WHISKEY. PT WAS SEEN PULLING BACK FROM STRAW OF MUG FILLED W/ EGGNOG + WHISKEY, HALF-FULL REMAINING. BAL NOT TAKEN IN ED, PT IS STABLE AND OK TO DISCHARGE HOME. GIVEN RETURN PRECAUTIONS. ADVISED TO FOLLOW-UP W/ PCP. DX: ACCIDENTAL ALCOHOL INGESTION
2YOF DRANK MOTHER'S LEFTOVER TEQUILA, UNSURE OF AMOUNT AS GLASS WAS FROM LAST NIGHT AND MOM COULDN'T REMEMBER HOW FULL IT WAS BAL NOT AVAILABLE DX: ALCOHOL INGESTION
2YOM ACCIDENTALLY DRANK A FEW SIPS OF ***. BAL LESS THAN 10. DX INGESTION
4MOM WAS AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE WHEN MOM ACCIDENTALLY MIXED FORMULA WITH MOONSHINE INSTEAD OF WATER, HE DRANK ABOUT 2OZ, BAL - NON DETECTED. DX: ACCIDENTAL ALCOHOL INGESTION.
3MOM - MOM ACCIDENTALLY MADE PTS BOTTLE WITH VODKA INSTEAD OF WATER. PT DRANK ABOUT 1/2 AN OUNCE AND REFUSED TO DRINK MORE. ETOH NOT STATED. DX: ALCOHOL INGESTION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to alcohol (beverage) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are alcohol (beverage)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, alcohol (beverage) have a danger score of 39/100 (low risk). An estimated 293 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from alcohol (beverage)?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 5,854 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from alcohol (beverage) increasing or decreasing?
Up 74% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for alcohol (beverage) injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,852 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by alcohol (beverage)?
Of all ER visits involving alcohol (beverage), approximately 10.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (89.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with alcohol (beverage)?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Transportation & Substances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 39/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
