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Alcohol Abuse Responsible for 10 Percent of Adult Deaths

Binge drinking, the most common form of excessive alcohol consumption, is defined as five drinks for a man and four drinks for a woman on one occasion.

By Brian Slupski

Excessive alcohol is a leading cause of death among working-age adults, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported.

The CDC report found that 9.8 percent of deaths from 2006 to 2010 of people aged 20 to 64 was caused by excessive drinking. "[Alcohol-Attributable Death] rates vary across states, but excessive drinking remains a leading cause of premature mortality nationwide," the CDC report states.

The New York Times noted that the CDC report utilized a tool called the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application to estimate deaths. The newspaper reported that the deaths counted by the CDC included car crashes, alcohol poisoning, and liver and heart disease.

"Excessive alcohol use is the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States," the CDC report states

Excessive alcohol use includes binge drinking, which is defined as five drinks for a man and four drinks for a woman on one occasion. For a week it is defined as at least 15 drinks for men and 8 drinks for women. The CDC also counted drinking among pregnant women.

"Binge drinking, the most common form of excessive alcohol consumption, usually results in acute intoxication and is responsible for over half of deaths and three-quarters of the economic costs of excessive drinking," the CDC report states.

The New York Times reported one in six adults binge drank four times a month. The newspaper wrote that binge drinking was rising after having leveled off in the early 2000s.

Excessive drinking ranked fourth in terms of preventable deaths in the U.S. after smoking, poor nutrition and physical inactivity, the New York Times reported.


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