Binge drinking (≥4 drinks for women; ≥5 drinks for men, per occasion) is responsible for more than half of the estimated 80,000 U.S. deaths annually and three-quarters of the $223.5 billion in costs in 2006. Binge drinking prevalence is assessed more commonly than binge drinking intensity (i.e., number of drinks consumed per binge episode). Risk of binge drinking–related harm increases with intensity, and thus it is important to monitor. The largest number of drinks consumed is assessed in health surveys, but its usefulness for assessing binge intensity is unknown.
