Using data from 2015, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reported today that 17.1% of all U.S. adults reported binge drinking, and each binge drinker reported 53.1 binge-drinking episodes a year. Typically, the binge drinker consumed seven drinks a session.
Some 22% of men and 12.1% of women binged, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Surprisingly – to us at least – more than half of total binge drinks were consumed by those over 35. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 73% of total binge drinks consumed. But American Indian/Alaska Natives had the highest annual number of binge drinks (100.5 binge drinks across the entire population).
In discussing the results of its study, CDC noted that most heavy drinkers, especially men, were found to both binge drink frequently and at high intensity. “The substantial overlap between these two patterns of alcohol consumption highlights the usefulness of a single-question screen for identifying excessive drinkers in clinical settings.
“A recent systematic review found providing screening and brief intervention for excessive drinking using electronic tools (e.g., computers and cell phones) can reduce binge-drinking intensity by 24%.”
The study noted that previous studies have found that nine in 10 adults who binge drink are not alcohol dependent. From that it goes on to recommend such policies as increasing alcohol taxes, regulating alcohol outlet density and commercial host liability.
Total federal and state taxes on alcohol beverages were about 14 cents a drink in 2011, it says, whereas the economic cost of excessive drinking was about $2.05 a drink, and binge drinking is responsible for about three quarters of these costs.