Binge drinking is common among US high school students.
An estimated 38 million Americans, nearly one in five, was drinking too much alcohol in 2011, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates.
The CDC report said that the vast majority of US doctors aren’t warning their patients about the dangers of excessive drinking.
According to the report, just one in six doctors say they routinely ask their patients about their drinking habits, a number that hasn’t changed in years.
Using new data from its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 166,753 people, the CDC estimated that 18.3 percent, or 38 million adults, were drinking too much.
Each year, 88,000 people in the US die due to excessive drinking and alcohol is the fourth-most-common underlying cause of death.
Excessive alcohol use costs the economy more than $220 billion a year, said CDC Director Tom Frieden.
Binge drinking is common among US high school students, with an alarming number of students engaging in extreme binge drinking of 15 or more drinks.
Binge drinking among American women also continues to be a morally and physically debilitating problem.
Excessive alcohol consumption is known to increase the chances of breast cancer, heart disease, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy, and many other health problems.
AHT/ARA
With permission
Source: Press TV