The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse 2001(NHSDA) was published in Septmber and reveals mixed results concerning alcohol consumption. Reported binge drinking ( 5 or more drinks on one occasion in the last month) amongst the young (12 -21) has remained stable at 20% but there has been a slight increase in those reporting drinking in the last 30 days from 46.6% to 48.3%. Heavy drinking amongst the young was reported by 5.7 % similar to the 2000 level.

The survey defines a "drink" as a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink with liquor in it. Current use equates to at least one drink in the past 30 days (includes binge and heavy use). Binge use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the 30 days prior to survey (includes heavy use). Heavy use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least 5 different days in the past 30 days.

The prevalence of current alcohol use in 2001 increased with increasing age for youths, from 2.6 percent at age 12 to a peak of 67.5 percent for persons 21 years old. Unlike prevalence patterns observed for cigarettes and illicit drugs, current alcohol use remained steady among older age groups. For people aged 21 to 25 and those aged 26 to 34, the rates of current alcohol use in 2001 were 64.3 and 59.9 percent, respectively. The prevalence of alcohol use was slightly lower for persons in their 40s. Past month drinking was reported by 45.6 percent of respondents aged 60 to 64, and 33.0 percent of persons 65 or older.

The highest prevalence of both binge and heavy drinking in 2001 was for young adults aged 18 to 25, with the peak rate occurring at age 21. The rate of binge drinking was 38.7 percent for young adults and 48.2 percent at age 21. Heavy alcohol use was reported by 13.6 percent of persons aged 18 to 25, and by 17.8 percent of persons aged 21. Binge and heavy alcohol use rates decreased faster with increasing age than did rates of past month alcohol use. While 55.2 percent of the population aged 45 to 49 in 2001 were current drinkers, 19.1 percent of persons within this age range binge drank and 5.4 percent drank heavily

Among youths aged 12 to 17, an estimated 17.3 percent used alcohol in the month prior to the survey interview. Of all youths, 10.6 percent were binge drinkers, and 2.5 percent were heavy drinkers. These are roughly the same percentages as those reported in 2000 (10.4 and 2.6 percent, respectively).

Whites were more likely than any other racial/ethnic group to report current use of alcohol in 2001. An estimated 52.7 percent of whites reported past month use. The next highest rates were for persons reporting more than one race (43.2 percent). The lowest current drinking rate was observed for Asians (31.9 percent). The rate was 35.1 percent for blacks and 35.0 percent for American Indians/Alaska Natives. Binge alcohol use was least likely to be reported by Asians (10.1 percent) and most likely to be reported by American Indians/Alaska Natives (21.8 percent) and whites (21.5 percent).

Interestingly, the rate of past month alcohol use increased with increasing levels of education. Among adults aged 18 or older with less than a high school education, 33.4 percent were current drinkers in 2001, while 65.2 percent of college graduates were current drinkers. However, binge drinking and heavy drinking were least prevalent among college graduates.