For those Americans who have spent some time in the south of France, or gazing at the crystal azure waters at Mediterranean shores, they know that European nations are far more into vineyards and nights out on the town than any metropolis this side of the Atlantic. But while wine and aperitivos may run free in every European meal, the U.S. on the contrary is a place of sugary sweets, where binge drinking on a holiday weekend is far more common than a daily glass of sangria. And while binge drinking in the long run is far more detrimental to one's health, researchers now say that excess drinking and rates of alcoholism may be curbed by a new set of taxes.
The study published earlier this week by the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that while one in three American adults drinks in excess to extravagant and dangerous levels, as much as 90 percent of those who drink too much aren't classified as habitual alcoholics. And it's a discovery in the data that the government believes reveals not only a large misrepresentation across the nation about the disease of alcoholism, but also supports a possible way to curb alcoholism in the U.S. of tomorrow.
"A lot of people mistakenly assume that people who drink too much are alcoholics" co-author of the study, and leader of the CDC's alcohol program, Dr. Robert Brewer says. "The surprising finding was that nine out of ten people who drink too much do NOT meet the diagnostic criteria for alcoholism."
Instead, what researchers revealed was that most excessive drinkers in the United States are better classified as binge drinkers, who have four to five or more drinks on any given occasion. And as binge drinking is not as chronic of a disorder as alcoholism, researchers say it's an important distinction that has been made.
"[Some excessive drinkers] are self-medicating, but a lot of it is a reflection of the fact that we live in a society where people get a lot of mixed messages about drinking" Brewer says. "A lot of people have been led to believe that drinking, and often drinking a large amount, is part of having a good time."
"What we need to do is change the environment in which people make their drinking decisions."
And while the U.S. government cannot exactly further limit alcohol intake much more than the legal limits already in place, the researchers suggest that raising the price of alcohol, increasing "sin" taxes, while also limiting sales could all help curb excessive drinking that leads to alcoholism.
