Binge Drinking vs. Alcoholism

Alcohol

Of adults who report that they binge drink 10 or more times a month, more than two-thirds do not meet the criteria for alcohol dependence, according to a 2014 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study defined binge drinking as five or more drinks on the same occasion for men, and four or more drinks on the same occasion for women. Alcohol dependence was defined by the guidelines within the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, and involved specific dependence criteria: tolerance, withdrawal, impaired control, unsuccessful attempts to stop drinking, continued use despite problems, neglect of responsibility, and time spent in alcohol-related activities.

Dr. William Kerr, Center Director at the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, explains that frequent binge drinking occasions are “certainly a risk factor for dependence and dependent drinkers will have frequent heavy occasions. However, dependence requires tolerance, drinking to ease withdrawal and continued drinking despite recognizing problems.” Dr. Thomas Greenfield, Ph.D., Scientific Director at the Alcohol Research Group, also added that “binge drinking is simply intake amount,” but that the time period, frequency, and intensity are important to consider when talking about a binge.

To this point, Patrick Kilcarr, Ph.D., Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Personal Development, adds that one of the parallels between alcoholic drinking and binge drinking is that both cause negative consequences in a person’s life, but that “the key to alcoholic drinking is that in the face of negative consequences, the person persists, to varying degrees continuing the same drinking behavior with attending problems, be it social, academic, or legal.” Kilcarr added, “alcoholism generally has a biophysical component where the person needs to drink in order to feel normal.”

Dr. Kerr also works as an epidemiologist who studies trends in U.S. alcohol consumption. He offered some thoughts on how American policies and laws affect binge drinking and alcoholism. Kerr says that “policy shifts in the 1980s, specifically the move to 0.08 BAC for driving and the 21 drinking age, to some extent caused a shift toward moderation.” But, “compared to Canada, Australia, the UK, and Scandinavian countries at least, we have very low taxes and alcohol prices relative to incomes, as well as weaker drunk driving laws.”

If you’re worried about your own or a loved one’s potentially dangerous drinking, talk to a doctor or alcohol misuse specialist.

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