Ninetieth anniversary of AA approaching

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) will bring together tens of thousands of members and guests from around the world July 3–6 for its International Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to mark the Fellowship’s 90th anniversary.
Founded in 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous is a program of recovery that has changed countless lives and is committed to making its program of recovery available to anyone who reaches out for help with a drinking problem. It’s likely all of us either knows someone who has a drinking problem, or is a recovering alcoholic. The term AA is as woven into the fabric of our society as any acronym has ever been.
As the anniversary of AA approaches, we plan to run an article on AA that will both tell what the program encompasses and talk about the real impacts the program has had on some local people. We hope to interview a couple of recovering alcoholics (we will conceal their identities) and share their story of going from rock bottom to the person they are today.
All too often, alcoholism can lead to tragedy. While many are brave enough to recognize they have a problem with alcohol, far too many others refuse to admit it is affecting their life, and cannot put down the bottle. The end result is frequently the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of money and in some instances, the loss of life.
According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 28.9 million people in the United States ages 12 and older (10.2 percent in this age group) have Alcohol Use Disorder. According to pewtrusts.org, there has been a huge increase in emergency department visits; alcohol-associated liver disease is responsible for nearly half of liver disease deaths; and the American Cancer Society attributes about 5.6 percent of cancer occurrences to alcohol. One of the biggest trends is that the percent of women drinking or binge drinking is nearly as much or more than men for the first time ever, despite experiencing more harmful side effects.
According to the Center For Disease Control, excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death in the United States. About 178,000 people die from excessive drinking each year, and these deaths occur from both drinking alcohol over several years or drinking too much on one occasion.
Adults are certainly free to drink alcohol, and many do with nary a consequence. It’s when it starts to become a problem or becomes the most important thing in your life when the issues arise. As the 90th anniversary of AA comes, we want to thank all the AA volunteers out there, give a pat on the back to all the recovering alcoholics who recognized they had a problem and decided to do something about it, as well as those who are just now making that decision. It’s cliche, but it’s true—the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
To find a local AA meeting, contact a local AA office or visit aa.org/meeting-guide-app to learn about the Meeting Guide app and how to use it.