Maybe if we had decent transit, we'd be a drunker city. I know I'd go out more if I didn't have to budget for a cab every time. We can do this, you guys. Come on.
I agree that three drinks a week is not significant, and that overall per capita consumption is a silly benchmark.
On the other hand, I seem to recall reading that the distribution of alcohol consumption is wildly skewed, with a tiny population of alcoholics consuming the great majority of the alcohol. A number that addressed this - the proportion of people who had a serious drinking problem, as opposed to a region-wide the drinks a week - might be worth knowing.
@8:
If you follow the link you'll see that in addition to the per capita measures they also include:
"Percent of population that are heavy drinkers" and
"Percent of population that are binge drinkers
Recalculate these figures without including the beer drinkers, who don't count, and tell me what you get. If you take me out of the count as well, we could be under one drink per person per month, since I'm well over a million per week, I think.
The only thing that would make me happier than the word "rethink" in that final sentence would be if it was replaced with "cancel forever." Oh well. Consenting adults and all that.
I remember the look of shock when my doctor asked how many drinks I had a week, and I said 14. (Two a day? Seems entirely reasonable.) Now I lie and say six.
30, Seattle-Tacoma
Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
Average drinks, per person, per month : 12.59
Percent of adults who are heavy drinkers : 5.1
Percent of adults who are binge drinkers : 15.3
Deaths per 100,000 residents from alcoholic liver disease : 7.9
Kinda funny how many of those cities I've lived in, though.
We must have goals, people! Together, we can WIN THIS THING!!!
On the other hand, I seem to recall reading that the distribution of alcohol consumption is wildly skewed, with a tiny population of alcoholics consuming the great majority of the alcohol. A number that addressed this - the proportion of people who had a serious drinking problem, as opposed to a region-wide the drinks a week - might be worth knowing.
If you follow the link you'll see that in addition to the per capita measures they also include:
"Percent of population that are heavy drinkers" and
"Percent of population that are binge drinkers
(Seattle comes in at 6.1% and 16.9% respectively)
Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
Average drinks, per person, per month : 12.59
Percent of adults who are heavy drinkers : 5.1
Percent of adults who are binge drinkers : 15.3
Deaths per 100,000 residents from alcoholic liver disease : 7.9