Heavy alcohol use

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) measures heavy alcohol use by asking respondents aged 12 years and over about their alcohol use in the 30 days before the interview. Starting in 2015, heavy use of alcohol is defined for males as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (that is, at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) and for females as drinking four or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days. Heavy alcohol users also are defined as binge users of alcohol. Respondents are asked about the number of days they had five or more drinks (for males) or four or more drinks (for females) on the same occasion if they reported last using any alcohol in the past 30 days. Before 2015, heavy alcohol use was defined for both males and females as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days. For males, data for heavy alcohol use since 2015 are comparable with data before 2015. For females and the total population of males and females combined, data for heavy alcohol use since 2015 are not comparable with data before 2015. (Also see Sources and Definitions, Alcohol consumption; Binge alcohol use.)