Christopher Ingraham: “Congratulations, Wisconsin! You’re the hardest-drinking state in the union, according to a report released Thursday by the Institute on Health Metrics and Evaluation.”
“Montana, the District of Columbia and Iowa round out the rest of the top five. By contrast, the nation’s most responsible drinkers are found in Utah — only 5.2 of that state’s residents drank heavily in 2012. West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahoma round out the bottom five.”
“The report finds that overall, heavy drinking among Americans rose more than 17 percent between 2005 and 2012. Binge drinking — consuming more than five drinks on one occasion — is up, as well. These two measures are salient from a public health standpoint because they’re more closely linked to negative health outcomes than the prevalence of any drinking overall.”