Surprise

Study: Heavy Drinkers Not Alcoholics

Despite conventional wisdom.

Most people who drink to get drunk are not alcoholics, suggesting that more can be done to help heavy drinkers cut back, a new government report concludes. The finding, from a government survey of 138,100 adults, counters the conventional wisdom that every “falling-down drunk” must be addicted to alcohol. Instead, the results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that nine out of 10 people who drink too much are not addicts, and can change their behavior with a little—or perhaps a lot—of prompting. “Many people tend to equate excessive drinking with alcohol dependence,’’ sad Dr. Robert Brewer, who leads the alcohol program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We need to think about other strategies to address these people who are drinking too much but who are not addicted to alcohol.” Excessive drinking is viewed as a major public-health problem that results in 88,000 deaths a year.