A federal report released Thursday on drinking and driving offered good news and bad news regarding its prevalence in Wisconsin.
The number of Wisconsin drivers who reported operating while intoxicated fell by nearly 3 percent from a similar report released in 2008.
But Wisconsin continues to lead the nation in the percentage of drivers who take the wheel after drinking. Nearly one in four drivers admitted driving under the influence.
"This survey demonstrates Wisconsin has a long way to go to show drunk driving is not tolerable," said Frank Harris, a state policy specialist with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The report, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, says 23.7 percent of Wisconsin drivers surveyed acknowledged having driven under the influence within a year.
Nationally, the number of drivers who admitted driving under the influence fell from 14.6 percent in statistics compiled from 2002 to 2005 to 13.2 percent in the current survey, which covered 2006 through 2009.
Harris said Wisconsin's new drunken- driving law that took effect in July marked a step forward for the state.
The law created a felony charge for fourth-time drunken drivers and required use of ignition interlock devices for all drunken drivers, except first-time offenders with a blood-alcohol concentration of less than 0.15 percent. The law made first-offense drunken driving a misdemeanor when a child is in the vehicle.
MADD next year will push for Wisconsin to adopt sobriety checkpoints. The organization would like to see interlock devices for all drunken drivers. All first-time drunken-driving offenses should be crimes rather than traffic citations, Harris said.
Wisconsin was one of 10 states where 17 percent or more of those surveyed acknowledged driving under the influence.
It's not just the law that has to change, Harris said. It's also the culture.
Education has to continue.
Harris said there's still a misconception that having a beer at a Packers game would put a driver at risk for arrest.
Reaching the 0.08 percent threshold for drunken driving takes far more than that.
"It's not social drinking," he said. "It's binge drinking."
SOURCE
Showing posts with label binge drinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label binge drinking. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Maker of Four Loko to stop shipments to NY state
The maker of a caffeinated alcoholic drink that has been banned in four states has agreed to stop shipments to New York state.
Gov. David Paterson and the State Liquor Authority announced the agreement Sunday with Chicago-based Phusion Projects, which makes the drink Four Loko, and with the state's largest beer distributors to stop selling caffeinated alcoholic beverages.
"New Yorkers deserve to know that the beverages they buy are safe for consumption," Paterson said.
The company agreed to stop shipping the drinks by Nov. 19. Distributors have until Dec. 10 to finish out their inventory.
The popular drinks have been banned in Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma.
Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A 23.5-ounce can sells for about $2.50 and has an alcohol content of 12 percent, comparable to four beers, according to the company's website.
"This drink is too easy for teens to get and too dangerous for them to consume," said state Sen. Joel Klein in a statement. He announced on Sunday, along with the State Liquor Authority, that a minor working undercover for the police was illegally sold Four Loko at 11 of 28 stores in the Bronx on Nov. 9.
College students have been hospitalized after drinking the beverages, including in New Jersey, where one school banned them on campus.
Phusion also agreed to fund alcohol awareness programs as part of the agreement. In a statement, co-founder Jaisen Freeman said the company believes that mixing alcohol and caffeine is safe, but the company wanted "to be known for cooperation and collaboration, not controversy."
"We were the first company to take this voluntary step," he said. "And we think it shows that we are not turning a deaf ear to what's going on: that a select few have chosen to abuse our products, drink them while underage or break the law and sell them to minors."
New York's liquor regulators said there was insufficient evidence to show that the products were safe.
"We have an obligation to keep products that are potentially hazardous off the shelves, and there is simply not enough research to show that these products are safe," said Dennis Rosen, chairman of the state Liquor Authority, in a statement.
Steve Harris, president of the New York State Beer Wholesalers Association, said some of its members have agreed to stop selling the drinks and the association's executive committee is recommending that the entire membership follow suit.
"We are pleased to be a partner in the process of resolving the tangled issues that have surrounded these products," he said.
The federal Food and Drug Administration said in late 2009 that it had notified at least 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic drinks that they were reviewing the products' safety.
SOURCE
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Is Light Drinking During Pregnancy Safe?
Study: Pregnant Women's Light Drinking Doesn't Harm Baby
Pregnant women have long been warned to avoid alcohol, but new research suggests having one or two drinks a week doesn't raise the risk of developmental problems in children. Babies born to light drinkers—or those who had a glass of wine, 1.7 ounces of spirits, or about 16 ounces of beer a week—had no added risk of emotional or behavioral problems, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In fact, boys whose mothers were light drinkers scored higher on cognitive tests than those whose mothers abstained. The study authors say this doesn't mean pregnant women should begin drinking, and the American Pregnancy Association maintains that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. "There is a risk that if pregnant women take this research as a green light to drink a small amount, they could become complacent, drink more than they think they are and inadvertently cause harm to their unborn child," Chris Sorek, the chief executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware, told BBC News. Researchers tracked the health of more than 11,000 children, asking their mothers about drinking habits during pregnancy, and then following up on their behavior and cognitive abilities at ages 3 and 5. Though light drinking led to no harmful consequences, children whose mothers imbibed at least seven drinks a week—or more than six at one time—were more likely to be hyperactive and show signs of developmental disorders.
Entire Article
Pregnant women have long been warned to avoid alcohol, but new research suggests having one or two drinks a week doesn't raise the risk of developmental problems in children. Babies born to light drinkers—or those who had a glass of wine, 1.7 ounces of spirits, or about 16 ounces of beer a week—had no added risk of emotional or behavioral problems, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In fact, boys whose mothers were light drinkers scored higher on cognitive tests than those whose mothers abstained. The study authors say this doesn't mean pregnant women should begin drinking, and the American Pregnancy Association maintains that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. "There is a risk that if pregnant women take this research as a green light to drink a small amount, they could become complacent, drink more than they think they are and inadvertently cause harm to their unborn child," Chris Sorek, the chief executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware, told BBC News. Researchers tracked the health of more than 11,000 children, asking their mothers about drinking habits during pregnancy, and then following up on their behavior and cognitive abilities at ages 3 and 5. Though light drinking led to no harmful consequences, children whose mothers imbibed at least seven drinks a week—or more than six at one time—were more likely to be hyperactive and show signs of developmental disorders.
Entire Article
15% U.S. Adults Binge Drinking - CDC
Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Among High School Students and Adults --- United States, 2009
Early Release
October 5, 2010
ABSTRACT
Background: Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.
Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use.
Results: Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of reported binge drinking was 15.2% among landline respondents. Binge drinking was more common among men (20.7%), persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25−34 years (22.5%), whites (16.0%), and persons with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%). Among cellular telephone respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking (20.6%) was higher than among landline respondents, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Prevalence among high school students was 41.8% for current alcohol use, 24.2% for binge drinking, and 60.9% for binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use.
Conclusions: Binge drinking is common among U.S. adults, particularly those with higher household incomes, and among high school students. Binge drinking estimates for adults were higher in the cellular telephone sample than in the landline sample. Most youths who reported current alcohol use also reported binge drinking.
Implications for Public Health Practice: Binge drinking is a serious problem among adults and youths that can be reduced by implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Excessive alcohol use was the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1), and it annually accounted for, on average, approximately 79,000 deaths* per year and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) during 2001--2005.† Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths and two thirds of the YPLL (2). Healthy People 2010 called for reducing the overall prevalence of binge drinking among adults and youths.§ For this report, data from landline and cellular telephone respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to estimate the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in the United States, and data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to estimate the prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students in the United States.
Methods
BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. adults that collects information on many leading health conditions and health risk behaviors, including binge drinking. BRFSS surveys are administered to households with landlines in all states and the District of Columbia (DC). In 2009, all 50 states (except South Dakota and Tennessee) and DC began administering up to 10% of their total state completed surveys to cellular telephone users. Annually, respondents who report consuming any alcoholic beverages are asked how many times they engaged in binge drinking, defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more drinks per occasion for men during the preceding 30 days. The prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported at least one binge drinking episode during the preceding 30 days by the total number of BRFSS respondents. Respondents who refused to answer, had a missing answer, or who answered "don't know/not sure" were excluded from the analysis.
In 2009, the median Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) response rate for the landline BRFSS was 52.9% (range among states: 37.9%--66.9%), and the median CASRO cooperation rate was 75.0% (range: 55.5%--88.0%). The preliminary median CASRO response rate for the cellular telephone BRFSS was 37.6% (range among states: 20.5%--60.3%), and the preliminary median CASRO cooperation rate was 76.0% (range: 47.7%--90.9%). A total of 412,005 landline respondents and 15,578 cellular telephone respondents were included in the analysis. Data collected by landline were weighted to the age, sex, and racial/ethnic distribution of each state's adult population and to the respondent's probability of selection. Cellular telephone data were unweighted, but were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population.
The biennial national YRBS, a component of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, estimates the prevalence of health risk behaviors among U.S. high school students. The 2009 national survey obtained cross-sectional data representative of public- and private-school students in grades 9--12 in the 50 states and DC (3). Students completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included questions about alcohol use. Students from 158 schools completed 16,460 questionnaires. The school response rate was 81%, the student response rate was 88%, and the overall response rate was 71%. After quality control measures were applied, data from 16,410 students were available for analysis.
Current alcohol use is defined in YRBS as having had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey, and binge drinking is defined as having had five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey. The prevalence of current alcohol use was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported current alcohol use by the total number of respondents, and the prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported binge drinking by the total number of respondents. The prevalence of binge drinking among current drinkers was calculated by dividing the total number of binge drinkers by the total number of current drinkers. Respondents who had missing information were excluded from the analysis. YRBS data were weighted to adjust for school and student nonresponse and oversampling of black and Hispanic students.
BRFSS Results
Landline telephone respondents. The overall prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS landline respondents was 15.2% (Table 1). Binge drinking prevalence among men (20.7%) was twice that for women (10.0%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25--34 years (22.5%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among landline respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (16.0%) and Hispanics (16.3%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (10.3%). Landline respondents with some college education (16.4%) and college graduates (15.3%) were most likely to report binge drinking, whereas those who did not graduate from high school were the least likely to report binge drinking (12.1%). Binge drinking prevalence also increased with household income and was most commonly reported by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%).
By state, the prevalence of binge drinking ranged from 6.8% (Tennessee) to 23.9% (Wisconsin) (Figure 1). States with the highest prevalence of adult binge drinking were located in the Midwest, North Central Plains, and lower New England. Additional high-prevalence states included Alaska, Delaware, DC, and Nevada.
Cellular telephone respondents. In 2009, the overall, age-adjusted prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS cellular telephone respondents was 20.6% (Table 2). Binge drinking prevalence among men (26.5%) was almost twice that for women (14.5%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (35.4%) and 25--34 years (30.8%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among cellular telephone respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (22.3%), other non-Hispanics (including American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asians/Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) (19.9%), and Hispanics (17.5%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (13.9%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with household income and was reported most commonly by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (25.4%).
YRBS Results
In 2009, the prevalence of current alcohol use and of binge drinking among high school students was 41.8% and 24.2%, respectively (Table 3). The prevalence of binge drinking was similar among boys (25.0%) and girls (23.4%). Non-Hispanic white (27.8%) and Hispanic (24.1%) students had a higher prevalence of reported binge drinking than non-Hispanic black students (13.7%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with grade level; prevalence among 12th grade students (33.5%) was more than twice that among 9th grade students (15.3%).
The prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use was 60.9% (64.1% among boys and 57.5% among girls) (Table 3). Non-Hispanic white (64.8%) and Hispanic (59.3%) students who reported current alcohol use had a higher prevalence of binge drinking than non-Hispanic black (43.5%) students who reported current alcohol use. The prevalence of binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use increased with grade level, from 51.1% in 9th grade students to 67.4% in 12th grade students.
From 1993 to 2009, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults did not decrease among men or women. Among high school students, the prevalence of binge drinking decreased among boys, but has remained about the same among girls (Figure 2).
Conclusions and Comment
The results in this report indicate that binge drinking is common among U.S. adults and high school students. Binge drinking among adults was slightly higher in 2009 (15.2%) than in 1993 (14.2%).¶ Although binge drinking continued to be common among all population groups, it was most common among males, persons aged 18--34 years, and those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more. Estimates of binge drinking were higher for the cellular telephone sample (20.6% overall) than the landline sample (15.2% overall), particularly among younger adults. By state, compared to 1993, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in 2009 was significantly greater in 20 states, was significantly less in two states, and stayed about the same in 29 states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010). The prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students was lower in 2009 (41.8% and 24.2%) than in 1993 (48.0% and 30.0%); however, the differences in these measures were significant among boys, but not girls.**Current alcohol use and binge drinking increased with grade. The majority of high school students who report current alcohol use also report binge drinking across all demographic groups, except black students. Among adults, 29% of those who report current drinking also report binge drinking (4).
The higher prevalence of binge drinking among adult males, whites, young adults, and persons with higher household incomes has been reported before (5). The high prevalence partly could reflect that binge drinking, unlike other leading health risks (e.g., smoking and obesity), has not been widely recognized as a health risk or subjected to intense prevention efforts (4). The differences in binge drinking among population groups might reflect differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages (6). Estimates of binge drinking from the cellular telephone sample were higher than from the landline sample, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Higher estimates of binge drinking have been reported previously among cellular telephone respondents relative to landline respondents in a small number of states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010), but have not been reported nationally. During the last half of 2009, an estimated 24.5% of U.S. households had only cellular telephones.†† As the U.S. population increasingly adopts cellular telephones in place of landlines, the BRFSS survey will need to incorporate cellular telephone respondents to help assure representativeness, particularly when measuring behaviors that are common among younger adults.
The high prevalence of binge drinking among high school students also is consistent with previous reports (7), and affirms that most youths who drink alcohol do so to the point of intoxication. The similarities in the distribution of binge drinking among youths and adults by various demographic characteristics (e.g., race and ethnicity) also are consistent with the strong relationship between youth and adult drinking in states (8), which is influenced strongly by state alcohol control policies (6).
The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, BRFSS and YRBS data are self-reported. Among adults, alcohol consumption generally, and excessive drinking in particular, are underreported in surveys because of recall, social desirability, and nonresponse bias (9). A recent study found that BRFSS identifies only 22% to 32% of presumed alcohol consumption in states based on alcohol sales (10). Second, an increasing proportion of youths and young adults aged 18--34 years use cellular telephones exclusively (11); therefore, landline surveys of persons in this age group might not be representative of this population. Third, the results of the cellular telephone survey were unweighted, but results of the landline survey were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population. However, the distribution of cellular telephone respondents by various demographic characteristics (e.g., sex and race/ethnicity) was quite similar to the composition of the general population, and the cellular telephone data were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population. Fourth, response rates for both the landline and cellular telephone BRFSS were low, which increases the risk for response bias. Fifth, YRBS defines binge drinking for boys and girls as five or more drinks within a couple of hours, and the prevalence of binge drinking among girls would likely have been higher if it were defined using a four-drink threshold, consistent with national recommendations. Finally, YRBS data apply only to youths who attend school, and therefore are not representative of all persons in this age group. Nationwide, in 2007, of persons aged 16--17 years, approximately 4% were not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school.§§
To reduce the adverse impact of binge drinking on individuals and communities, health professionals and community leaders should consider implementing interventions that have been proven in scientific studies to reduce binge drinking among adults and youths. Evidence-based interventions for individuals include those recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force¶¶ and evidence-based interventions for communities include those recommended in the Guide to Community Preventive Services.*** Local leaders need to carefully consider which of these interventions would be most acceptable, feasible, and effective in their communities; other innovative solutions also might be found for tackling this problem and further research is encouraged to find such solutions. The findings in this report also support the need to improve public health surveillance for binge drinking among adults by increasing the number of cellular telephone respondents to the BRFSS.
Article Source
Early Release
October 5, 2010
ABSTRACT
Background: Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.
Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use.
Results: Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of reported binge drinking was 15.2% among landline respondents. Binge drinking was more common among men (20.7%), persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25−34 years (22.5%), whites (16.0%), and persons with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%). Among cellular telephone respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking (20.6%) was higher than among landline respondents, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Prevalence among high school students was 41.8% for current alcohol use, 24.2% for binge drinking, and 60.9% for binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use.
Conclusions: Binge drinking is common among U.S. adults, particularly those with higher household incomes, and among high school students. Binge drinking estimates for adults were higher in the cellular telephone sample than in the landline sample. Most youths who reported current alcohol use also reported binge drinking.
Implications for Public Health Practice: Binge drinking is a serious problem among adults and youths that can be reduced by implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Excessive alcohol use was the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1), and it annually accounted for, on average, approximately 79,000 deaths* per year and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) during 2001--2005.† Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths and two thirds of the YPLL (2). Healthy People 2010 called for reducing the overall prevalence of binge drinking among adults and youths.§ For this report, data from landline and cellular telephone respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to estimate the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in the United States, and data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to estimate the prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students in the United States.
Methods
BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. adults that collects information on many leading health conditions and health risk behaviors, including binge drinking. BRFSS surveys are administered to households with landlines in all states and the District of Columbia (DC). In 2009, all 50 states (except South Dakota and Tennessee) and DC began administering up to 10% of their total state completed surveys to cellular telephone users. Annually, respondents who report consuming any alcoholic beverages are asked how many times they engaged in binge drinking, defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more drinks per occasion for men during the preceding 30 days. The prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported at least one binge drinking episode during the preceding 30 days by the total number of BRFSS respondents. Respondents who refused to answer, had a missing answer, or who answered "don't know/not sure" were excluded from the analysis.
In 2009, the median Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) response rate for the landline BRFSS was 52.9% (range among states: 37.9%--66.9%), and the median CASRO cooperation rate was 75.0% (range: 55.5%--88.0%). The preliminary median CASRO response rate for the cellular telephone BRFSS was 37.6% (range among states: 20.5%--60.3%), and the preliminary median CASRO cooperation rate was 76.0% (range: 47.7%--90.9%). A total of 412,005 landline respondents and 15,578 cellular telephone respondents were included in the analysis. Data collected by landline were weighted to the age, sex, and racial/ethnic distribution of each state's adult population and to the respondent's probability of selection. Cellular telephone data were unweighted, but were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population.
The biennial national YRBS, a component of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, estimates the prevalence of health risk behaviors among U.S. high school students. The 2009 national survey obtained cross-sectional data representative of public- and private-school students in grades 9--12 in the 50 states and DC (3). Students completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included questions about alcohol use. Students from 158 schools completed 16,460 questionnaires. The school response rate was 81%, the student response rate was 88%, and the overall response rate was 71%. After quality control measures were applied, data from 16,410 students were available for analysis.
Current alcohol use is defined in YRBS as having had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey, and binge drinking is defined as having had five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey. The prevalence of current alcohol use was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported current alcohol use by the total number of respondents, and the prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported binge drinking by the total number of respondents. The prevalence of binge drinking among current drinkers was calculated by dividing the total number of binge drinkers by the total number of current drinkers. Respondents who had missing information were excluded from the analysis. YRBS data were weighted to adjust for school and student nonresponse and oversampling of black and Hispanic students.
BRFSS Results
Landline telephone respondents. The overall prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS landline respondents was 15.2% (Table 1). Binge drinking prevalence among men (20.7%) was twice that for women (10.0%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25--34 years (22.5%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among landline respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (16.0%) and Hispanics (16.3%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (10.3%). Landline respondents with some college education (16.4%) and college graduates (15.3%) were most likely to report binge drinking, whereas those who did not graduate from high school were the least likely to report binge drinking (12.1%). Binge drinking prevalence also increased with household income and was most commonly reported by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%).
By state, the prevalence of binge drinking ranged from 6.8% (Tennessee) to 23.9% (Wisconsin) (Figure 1). States with the highest prevalence of adult binge drinking were located in the Midwest, North Central Plains, and lower New England. Additional high-prevalence states included Alaska, Delaware, DC, and Nevada.
Cellular telephone respondents. In 2009, the overall, age-adjusted prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS cellular telephone respondents was 20.6% (Table 2). Binge drinking prevalence among men (26.5%) was almost twice that for women (14.5%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (35.4%) and 25--34 years (30.8%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among cellular telephone respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (22.3%), other non-Hispanics (including American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asians/Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) (19.9%), and Hispanics (17.5%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (13.9%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with household income and was reported most commonly by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (25.4%).
YRBS Results
In 2009, the prevalence of current alcohol use and of binge drinking among high school students was 41.8% and 24.2%, respectively (Table 3). The prevalence of binge drinking was similar among boys (25.0%) and girls (23.4%). Non-Hispanic white (27.8%) and Hispanic (24.1%) students had a higher prevalence of reported binge drinking than non-Hispanic black students (13.7%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with grade level; prevalence among 12th grade students (33.5%) was more than twice that among 9th grade students (15.3%).
The prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use was 60.9% (64.1% among boys and 57.5% among girls) (Table 3). Non-Hispanic white (64.8%) and Hispanic (59.3%) students who reported current alcohol use had a higher prevalence of binge drinking than non-Hispanic black (43.5%) students who reported current alcohol use. The prevalence of binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use increased with grade level, from 51.1% in 9th grade students to 67.4% in 12th grade students.
From 1993 to 2009, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults did not decrease among men or women. Among high school students, the prevalence of binge drinking decreased among boys, but has remained about the same among girls (Figure 2).
Conclusions and Comment
The results in this report indicate that binge drinking is common among U.S. adults and high school students. Binge drinking among adults was slightly higher in 2009 (15.2%) than in 1993 (14.2%).¶ Although binge drinking continued to be common among all population groups, it was most common among males, persons aged 18--34 years, and those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more. Estimates of binge drinking were higher for the cellular telephone sample (20.6% overall) than the landline sample (15.2% overall), particularly among younger adults. By state, compared to 1993, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in 2009 was significantly greater in 20 states, was significantly less in two states, and stayed about the same in 29 states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010). The prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students was lower in 2009 (41.8% and 24.2%) than in 1993 (48.0% and 30.0%); however, the differences in these measures were significant among boys, but not girls.**Current alcohol use and binge drinking increased with grade. The majority of high school students who report current alcohol use also report binge drinking across all demographic groups, except black students. Among adults, 29% of those who report current drinking also report binge drinking (4).
The higher prevalence of binge drinking among adult males, whites, young adults, and persons with higher household incomes has been reported before (5). The high prevalence partly could reflect that binge drinking, unlike other leading health risks (e.g., smoking and obesity), has not been widely recognized as a health risk or subjected to intense prevention efforts (4). The differences in binge drinking among population groups might reflect differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages (6). Estimates of binge drinking from the cellular telephone sample were higher than from the landline sample, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Higher estimates of binge drinking have been reported previously among cellular telephone respondents relative to landline respondents in a small number of states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010), but have not been reported nationally. During the last half of 2009, an estimated 24.5% of U.S. households had only cellular telephones.†† As the U.S. population increasingly adopts cellular telephones in place of landlines, the BRFSS survey will need to incorporate cellular telephone respondents to help assure representativeness, particularly when measuring behaviors that are common among younger adults.
The high prevalence of binge drinking among high school students also is consistent with previous reports (7), and affirms that most youths who drink alcohol do so to the point of intoxication. The similarities in the distribution of binge drinking among youths and adults by various demographic characteristics (e.g., race and ethnicity) also are consistent with the strong relationship between youth and adult drinking in states (8), which is influenced strongly by state alcohol control policies (6).
The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, BRFSS and YRBS data are self-reported. Among adults, alcohol consumption generally, and excessive drinking in particular, are underreported in surveys because of recall, social desirability, and nonresponse bias (9). A recent study found that BRFSS identifies only 22% to 32% of presumed alcohol consumption in states based on alcohol sales (10). Second, an increasing proportion of youths and young adults aged 18--34 years use cellular telephones exclusively (11); therefore, landline surveys of persons in this age group might not be representative of this population. Third, the results of the cellular telephone survey were unweighted, but results of the landline survey were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population. However, the distribution of cellular telephone respondents by various demographic characteristics (e.g., sex and race/ethnicity) was quite similar to the composition of the general population, and the cellular telephone data were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population. Fourth, response rates for both the landline and cellular telephone BRFSS were low, which increases the risk for response bias. Fifth, YRBS defines binge drinking for boys and girls as five or more drinks within a couple of hours, and the prevalence of binge drinking among girls would likely have been higher if it were defined using a four-drink threshold, consistent with national recommendations. Finally, YRBS data apply only to youths who attend school, and therefore are not representative of all persons in this age group. Nationwide, in 2007, of persons aged 16--17 years, approximately 4% were not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school.§§
To reduce the adverse impact of binge drinking on individuals and communities, health professionals and community leaders should consider implementing interventions that have been proven in scientific studies to reduce binge drinking among adults and youths. Evidence-based interventions for individuals include those recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force¶¶ and evidence-based interventions for communities include those recommended in the Guide to Community Preventive Services.*** Local leaders need to carefully consider which of these interventions would be most acceptable, feasible, and effective in their communities; other innovative solutions also might be found for tackling this problem and further research is encouraged to find such solutions. The findings in this report also support the need to improve public health surveillance for binge drinking among adults by increasing the number of cellular telephone respondents to the BRFSS.
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