It appears that the awakening of independence and free and rational thought that challenged the established order, and ultimately led to the downfall of European absolutism, was perhaps the New World's greatest contribution in the Columbian Exchange.
An estimated 88,0009 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women9) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States.10. In 2014, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 9,967 deaths (31 percent of overall driving fatalities).11.
The lowest alcohol-related death rate among the 11 states was in Utah (22.4 deaths per 100,000 people) and the highest was in New Mexico (50.9 deaths per 100,000 people). Senior citizens who were at least 65 years old had the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, at about 60.3 per 100,000 people.