Happy Hour Fans Get Good News from CDC's Drinking Study

Craig Bannister | December 2, 2014
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“Most excessive drinkers (90%) did not meet the criteria for alcohol dependence,” a new study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) concludes.

Alcoholism is defined as “dependency on alcohol” in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the CDC’s website:

“Dependency on alcohol, also known as alcohol addiction and alcoholism, is a chronic disease. The signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence include—

  • A strong craving for alcohol.
  • Continued use despite repeated physical, psychological, or interpersonal problems.
  • The inability to limit drinking.”

So, the vast majority of those who might, occassionally, overindulge are not hooked on alcohol.

The study also found that richer people are more prone to excess (both binge and excessive drinking) with alcohol, but poorer folks are more likely to be dependent on it. The percentage of binge drinkers was 28.8% for those with family incomes of at least $75,000, compared to 26.7% for those with annual incomes under $25,000. Likewise, excessive drinking was found in 31.1% of the highest-income cases, compared to 28.5% in the lowest.

Alcohol dependence, however, was highest among those in the under-$25,000 category (4.8%) and only 2.8% for those making at least $75,000.

Women were found to be less prone to binge drinking (21.4% vs. 33.8%), excessive drinking (23.7% vs. 35.3%), and alcohol dependence (2.5% vs. 4.5%) than men – even though the CDC’s standards were stricter for women.

For example, the CDC study defined binge drinking as five or more drinks in a single occasion for men. But, a woman who had only four drinks in a single occasion was considered a “binge” drinker. And, a man could drink nearly twice as much as a woman without being labeled a “heavy” drinker. Heavy drinking was defined as “8 or more drinks per week during the past 30 days for women or 15 or more drinks per week for men.”

The CDC study says the study was prompted by the stereotype of excessive drinkers as being dependent on alcohol:

“Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for 88,000 deaths annually and cost the United States $223.5 billion in 2006. It is often assumed that most excessive drinkers are alcohol dependent. However, few studies have examined the prevalence of alcohol dependence among excessive drinkers. The objective of this study was to update prior estimates of the prevalence of alcohol dependence among US adult drinkers.”

“The study found that about 9 of 10 adult excessive drinkers did not meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence,” according to the CDC report.

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