A government survey of 138,100 adults has found that nine out of 10 "heavy drinkers," are not, in fact, alcoholics. As first reported by The New York Times, while roughly 29 percent of the population can be classified as excessive drinkers, 90 percent of this pool does not fit the traditional definition of "alcoholism." As the Times notes, "excessive drinking" is defined as five or more drinks in one sitting or 15 or more over the course of a week for men, and four drinks in a sitting or eight in a week for women. While excessive drinking still results in 88,000 deaths each year, the study concludes that an individual's drinking habit may be relatively easy to change.

Studies show that simply raising the price of an alcoholic beverage by 10 percent reduces alcohol consumption by 7 percent, suggesting that higher taxes on alcohol could make a significant dent in excessive drinking. Zoning laws that reduce the number of establishments that serve alcohol in a given area can also curb excessive drinking. Importantly, a simple intervention by a physician, talking to patients about their alcohol use, has also been shown to help people make better choices and curb excessive alcohol consumption.

Ad campaigns, like a 2010 New York City initiative called "Two drinks ago," also may help. In the New York campaign, posters showed a well-dressed woman slumped and drunk and a young businessman bleeding and bruised. The posters read, "Two drinks ago you could still get yourself home," and "Two drinks ago you would have walked away." The tagline was "Stop drinking while you're still thinking."

Drinking is a large part of modern life, sure, but sometimes you just need to give it a rest for a while. But maybe not until after the holidays.

[H/T: The New York Times

John Hendrickson Deputy Editor John Hendrickson is the Deputy Editor of Esquire.com, where he oversees the site's 24/7 news operation as well as all politics coverage.

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