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Think you drink a lot? This chart will tell you
Posted on 9/27/14 at 12:58 pm
Posted on 9/27/14 at 12:58 pm
Holy giant graphic, Batman. Sorry about that. LINK
quote:
Do you drink a glass of wine with dinner every night? That puts you in the top 30 percent of American adults in terms of per-capita alcohol consumption. If you drink two glasses, that would put you in the top 20 percent.
But in order to break into the top 10 percent of American drinkers, you would need to drink more than two bottles of wine with every dinner. And you'd still be below-average among those top 10 percenters.
The top 10 percent of American drinkers - 24 million adults over age 18 - consume, on average, 74 alcoholic drinks per week. That works out to a little more than four-and-a-half 750 ml bottles of Jack Daniels, 18 bottles of wine, or three 24-can cases of beer. In one week.
Or, if you prefer, 10 drinks per day.
These figures come from Philip J. Cook's "Paying the Tab," an economically-minded examination of the costs and benefits of alcohol control in the U.S. Specifically, they're calculations made using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) data.
I double-checked these figures with Cook, just to make sure I wasn't reading them wrong. "I agree that it’s hard to imagine consuming 10 drinks a day," he told me. But, "there are a remarkable number of people who drink a couple of six packs a day, or a pint of whiskey."
As Cook notes in his book, the top 10 percent of drinkers account for well over half of the alcohol consumed in any given year. On the other hand, people in the bottom three deciles don't drink at all, and even the median consumption among those who do drink is just three beverages per week.
The shape of this usage curve isn't exactly unique. The Pareto Law states that "the top 20 percent of buyers for most any consumer product account for fully 80 percent of sales," according to Cook. The rule can be applied to everything from hair care products to X-Boxes.
But the consequences of the Pareto Law are different when it comes to industries like alcohol, tobacco, and now marijuana. If you consume 10+ drinks per day, for instance, you almost certainly have a drinking problem. But the beverage industry is heavily dependent on you for their profits.
"One consequence is that the heaviest drinkers are of greatly disproportionate importance to the sales and profitability of the alcoholic-beverage industry," he writes writes. "If the top decile somehow could be induced to curb their consumption level to that of the next lower group (the ninth decile), then total ethanol sales would fall by 60 percent."
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:00 pm to Jim Rockford
I'm in the bottom decile - 3 decades and counting...
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:02 pm to Jim Rockford
I'm somewhere between 7 and 8 on average
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:04 pm to Jim Rockford
As much as I drink or used to drink, I don't think I've ever consumed 70 drinks in a week. Damn.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:05 pm to GRTiger
quote:
I don't think I've ever consumed 70 drinks in a week. Damn.
That's only 3 cases of beer, skipping the last 2.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:05 pm to Jim Rockford
If that is accurate, wow. The average of the top 10% is 73 drinks a week (10 a day).
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:06 pm to baytiger
quote:
I'm somewhere between 7 and 8 on average
Same here and that is usually on a Friday or Saturday. I don't know how people can function the next day at work after drinking, even 2-3 drinks.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:06 pm to baytiger
In the past week I'm in the Eighth, but I can be in any category on any given week.
EDIT: I never get into the the tenth, I misread and thought > 15.28 drinks per week would get me into the Tenth Decile. My max per week would be twenty, which would keep me in the Ninth Decile.
EDIT: I never get into the the tenth, I misread and thought > 15.28 drinks per week would get me into the Tenth Decile. My max per week would be twenty, which would keep me in the Ninth Decile.
This post was edited on 9/27/14 at 1:26 pm
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:07 pm to Ace Midnight
Only?
I've probably killed a case in a day during Mardi Gras, but that's enough to making me pretty averse to alcohol for many days following.
I've probably killed a case in a day during Mardi Gras, but that's enough to making me pretty averse to alcohol for many days following.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:09 pm to Jim Rockford
I'm about a sixth decile.
I'll fix a drink and not drink it all.
I'll fix a drink and not drink it all.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:11 pm to Jim Rockford
I'll have a glass of wine depending on where and what I'm eating.
Most of the time I'd rather be smoking crack, eating footballs and shooting heroin
Most of the time I'd rather be smoking crack, eating footballs and shooting heroin
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:13 pm to GRTiger
I may have 15-20 mon-fri then another 20 or so some weekends.
Glad to know im way below average.
Glad to know im way below average.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:14 pm to Ace Midnight
quote:
I'm in the bottom decile
Me too. Surprised ~60% of Americans have <1 drink/week
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:16 pm to GRTiger
quote:
Only?
I never touch the stuff myself. I read the Modern Drunkard article where Andre the Giant once drank 119 beers on a 6 hour flight (1 beer every 3 minutes for 6 hours - try to wrap your mind around that - 1 short of 5 cases).
But, he was probably in the 12th or 13th decile when he was alive.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:19 pm to Jim Rockford
There is not one person in my circle of friends or coworkers that averages 10 drinks a day.
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:19 pm to Ace Midnight
does a jack n coke count the same as a beer?
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:21 pm to CajunAlum Tiger Fan
If you drink 10 drinks a day, you are 100% a functioning alcoholic. That means you are most likely drinking throughout the entire day
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:21 pm to roguetiger15
quote:depends on how generous you are with the jack
does a jack n coke count the same as a beer?
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:23 pm to roguetiger15
I can't imagine this is accurate. So what about the top 1%? Are there people drinking a full case each day?
Posted on 9/27/14 at 1:23 pm to baytiger
quote:
depends on how generous you are with the jack
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