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Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol Consumption
(from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
Alcohol Addiction
If you are like many Americans, you drink alcohol at least occasionally. For many people, moderate drinking is probably safe. It may even have health benefits, including reducing your risk of certain heart problems. Moderate drinking is one drink a day for woman or anyone over 65 and two drinks a day for men under 65. Some people should not drink at all, including alcoholics, children, pregnant women, people on certain medicines and people with some medical conditions. If you have questions about whether it is safe for you to drink, speak with your healthcare provider. Anything more than moderate drinking can be risky. Binge drinking - drinking five or more drinks at one time - can damage your health and increase your risk for accidents, injuries and assault. Years of heavy drinking can lead to liver disease, heart disease, cancer and pancreatitis. It can also cause problems at home, at work and with friends.
Alcohol use is very common in our society. Drinking alcohol has immediate effects that can increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. Excessive alcohol use, either in the form of heavy drinking (drinking more than two drinks per day on average for men or more than one drink per day on average for women), or binge drinking (drinking more than 4 drinks during a single occasion for men or more than 3 drinks during a single occasion for women), can lead to increased risk of health problems such as liver disease or unintentional injuries. According to national surveys, over half of the adult US population drank alcohol in the past 30 days. Approximately, 5% of the total population drank heavily while 15% of the population binge drank. Our national surveys previously defined binge drinking as more than 4 drinks for both men and women. In 2001, there were approximately 75,000 deaths attributable to excessive use of alcohol. In fact, excessive alcohol use is the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death for people in the United States each year.
Alcohol use poses additional problems for underage drinkers.
Prevalence of binge drinking and heavy drinking among adults in the United States, 1990–2004.
[A text description of this graph is also available.]
Data includes District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in applicable years. Data points represent the median prevalence of states participating in any year.
Binge drinking data represent all respondents who report consuming more than 4 drinks on an occasion. The 1990–2000 data represents: All respondents aged 18 years and older who report an average of two or more drinks per day (i.e., 60 or more alcoholic drinks a month).
The 2001–present data represents: All male respondents aged 18 years and older who report an average of more than two drinks per day and female respondents aged 18 years and older who report an average of more than one drink per day.
Levels and Patterns of alcohol addiction
- Heavy drinking
- For women, more than 1 drink per day on average.
- For men, more than 2 drinks per day on average.
- Binge drinking
- For women, more than 3 drink during a single occasion.
- For men, more than 4 drink during a single occasion.
Alcohol Addiction includes heavy drinking, binge drinking or both.
Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that result in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships or ability to work. Manifestations of alcohol abuse include:
- Failure to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home.
- Drinking in dangerous situations, such as drinking while driving or operating machinery.
- Legal problems related to alcohol, such as being arrested for drinking while driving or for physically hurting someone while drunk.
- Continued drinking despite ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by drinking.
- Long-term alcohol abuse can turn into alcohol dependence
Alcohol Dependence
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.
- Physical illness when one stops drinking.
- The need to drink increasing amounts to feel its effects.
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