Does Clark County have a drinking problem? A recent study says that heavy drinking and binge drinking are both on the rise here, particularly among women. According to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 8 percent of Clark County women are heavy drinkers and 12.9 percent reported binge drinking. The data was collected in 2012, and both areas show significant increases from a 2005 study.
For purposes of the study, heavy drinking in women, which was up 2.5 percentage points locally in seven years, is described as exceeding an average of one drink per day. Binge drinking, which grew by 1 percentage point for Clark County women, is defined as consuming four or more drinks on one occasion within the past month.
Those numbers place Clark County women among the worst 25 percent of U.S. counties for heavy drinking, and about in the middle for binge drinking.
Clark County men have nothing to toast, either. In 2012, 9.3 percent of local men were heavy drinkers, compared with 8.3 percent in 2005. A disturbing 22.4 percent reported binge drinking, compared with 21.2 percent in the earlier study. Among men, heavy drinking is considered to be averaging two or more drinks per day, and binge drinking is five or more drinks on a single occasion in the last month.
According to the study’s authors, Clark County is not alone in seeing the increases. Dr. Ali Mokdad, a lead author of the study, said, “We are seeing some very alarming trends in alcohol overconsumption, especially among women. We also can’t ignore the fact that in many U.S. counties, a quarter of the people, or more, are binge drinkers.”
Here are some more statistics: Heavy drinking among Americans has increased 17.2 percent since 2005. Nationally, 18.3 percent of people were binge drinkers in 2012, and 8.2 percent were heavy drinkers. But the percentage of Americans who say they drink alcohol is virtually unchanged, at about 56 percent.
Regional differences are about what you might expect. Far fewer people drink in Utah and southern Idaho, where many teetotaling residents are faithful members of the Mormon church. The Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, has a greater concentration of binge and heavy drinking. Colorado stands out, too.
The study doesn’t spell out the consequences of heavy drinking and binge drinking. But the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that in 2006, alcohol misuse problems cost the United States $223.5 billion. Put another way, that is almost $750 for every person in the United States. And, the institute reports, about three-quarters of the cost was related to binge drinking.
More than 10 percent of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems, and alcohol-related causes kill nearly 88,000 Americans annually.
Drinking in moderation is a different story, according to the institute, which is part of the federal National Institutes of Health. Moderate consumption — up to one drink per day for women or two for men — may have beneficial effects on health. These benefits may include lower risk of stroke and heart disease. There may also be protective effects against diabetes.
So while we need not wage a war on alcohol, we do need to be vigilant to the problems caused by binge drinking and heavy drinking. The consequences are high and in Clark County the trend is negative.
