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Dying for a Drink

The 17 jobs where you're most likely to become an alcoholic

Business Insider sorted through 11 million US death certificates – and found the professions most likely to die of alcoholism.

THERE’S A PERCEPTION out there that barmen know how to handle their drink better than the rest of us, because they’re around it every day.

They don’t: bartenders are 2.33 times more likely to die from alcoholism than average.

Business Insider sorted through a database of 11 million death certificates, sorted by cause of death and occupation, compiled by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

It turns out that other occupations that people associate with alcohol, like sailors and musicians, really do have elevated mortality rates. Plenty of jobs involving manual labour also make this list.

The numbers listed in the article refer to white men in occupations with a sample size greater than 2,300 deaths on record in the US.

The 17 jobs where you're most likely to become an alcoholic
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  • 1 - Bartenders - 2.33 times the average

  • 2 - Cobblers/show machine operators - 2.00 times the average

  • 3 - Roofers - 1.87 times the average

  • 4 - Painters - 1.85 times the average

  • 5 - Cooks/chefs - 1.77 times the average

  • 6 - Sailors/seafarers - 1.75 times the average

  • 7 - Blocklayers/Construction labourers - 1.72 times the average

  • 8 - Drywall installers - 1.71 times the average

  • 9 - Musicians - 1.65 times the average

  • 10 - Concrete finishers - 1.65 times the average

  • 11 - Amusement Park attendant - 1.61 times the average

  • 12 - Farmers - 1.59 times the average

  • 13 - Surveyors - 1.51 times the average

  • 14 - Gardeners - 1.5 times the average

  • 15 - Carpet installers - 1.5 times the average

  • 16 - Advertisers - 1.47 times the average

  • 17 - Binmen - 1.45 times the average

Business Insider were told by NIOSH that data could not be accurately compared across demographics, so it was not possible to compile stats for females or for people of other ethnicities.

Published with permission from
Business Insider
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