Alcohol in the US

Sidebar

Alcohol use in the US is pervasive. In 2013

  • 86.8% of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime

  • 70.7% reported that they drank in the past year

  • 56.4% reported that they drank in the past month.

Binge and heavy drinking are significant problems.

  • In 2013, 24.6% of people ages 18 or older reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the past month

  • 6.8% reported that they engaged in heavy drinking in the past month.

Nearly 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the 3ʳᵈ leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

In 2006, alcohol misuse problems cost the United States $223.5 billion, and almost ¾ of the total cost of alcohol misuse is related to binge drinking.