What Is Alcohol Abuse?

Many people drink a small or moderate amount of alcohol to relax and enhance their social activities. Using alcohol in this way is not harmful for most adults.
However, people whose use of alcohol has negative effects on any aspect of their lives, including health, relationships, work or school and money, are considered to have an alcohol problem. These problems can range from mild to severe. The severity of an alcohol problem depends on factors including the type of alcohol you drink, how much you drink, and how long you have been drinking.
Experts divide levels of alcohol use and abuse into the following categories in terms of risk for developing problems:

• moderate drinking;
• at-risk drinking;
• alcohol abuse; and
• alcohol dependence (alcoholism).

Alcohol affects different individuals in different ways. The level of alcohol in the blood may be affected by gender, age, physical health, amount of food eaten, and any other drugs or medication taken.

Moderate drinking is drinking that does not usually cause problems for the drinker or society and is considered low risk. In the United States, moderate drinking is usually defined as:

• men: no more than two drinks per day.
• women: no more than one drink per day.
• over age 65: no more than one drink per day.

A standard drink is considered to be:

• 12 ounces of beer or wine cooler;
• 5 ounces of wine; or
• 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

The limit for women and all people over age 65 is lower because they have smaller amounts of water in their bodies than men age 65 and under. As a result, they reach the same concentration of alcohol in their blood after drinking a smaller amount of alcohol. In addition, more older people have medical conditions that can be worsened by alcohol and take medicines that can have harmful effects when mixed with alcohol.

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