NY: Health Department: Nearly one-third of New Yorkers binge drink
New York Daily News
By Jennifer Fermino
October 11, 2016
The city that never sleeps is probably just passed out somewhere.
The majority of New Yorkers drink booze at least once a month, and nearly one in three engage in dangerous bouts of “binge” drinking, according to data released by the city’s Health Department on Tuesday.
All that boozing is bad for our health.
Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said binge drinking — which 29% of New Yorkers engage in, according to the latest stats — is responsible “for preventable injuries, accidents and risky behavior.”
The data, which examines drinking and health among adults living in the five boroughs, also finds that binge drinkers are twice as likely to be smokers than people who drink moderately, and less likely to have a routine health care provider and get preventative dental treatments.
“When nearly 30% of adult drinkers report that they binge drink that means our city has more outreach and education to do,” said City Councilman Corey Johnson, a Democrat who reps the West Side of Manhattan and is the chair of the Council’s Health Committee.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks at one sitting within a month for men, and four or more for women.
In the same survey, the Health Department found that 54% of New Yorkers were “current” drinkers, their term for those who imbibe at least once a month.
The city’s Health Department report also shows that nearly one in three New Yorkers who consume alcohol participate in “binge” drinking.
The Health Department’s survey found that most of the people labeled binge drinkers were men, with 59%, while 48% of men drank but not to excess, while another 40% of men abstained.
And most binge drinkers — 58% — were between the ages of 24 and 44, the study found.
Manhattan had the most big drinkers, with 30% of the binge drinkers reporting living there.
Queens and Brooklyn tied with 25% of reporting binge drinking, followed by 16% in the Bronx and 5% in Staten Island.
There is good news among the sobering stats.
The over-indulging doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. The number of binge drinkers has been holding steady since 2011 — which is something to cheer.