Most people would not consider themselves excessive drinkers. Excessive drinkers have red noses, have probably gotten arrested for driving under the influence and make fools of themselves at parties and gatherings. The idea is that excessive drinkers cannot control themselves and always need to be consuming some sort of alcohol. This is actually not the case. In fact, many adults fall into the category of excessive drinking and do not even know it.

Heavy drinking is very strictly categorized. Women who consume more than eight alcoholic beverages in a week’s span are considered to fall into the group of excessive drinkers. Men who drink more than fifteen alcoholic beverages a week are also considered heavy drinkers. Surveys show that many adults consume a drink a night and even more on the weekends, this type of behavior shows why more than 30 percent of adults are considered to be heavy drinkers within the past year.

Experts are warning that many people consider themselves to be moderate drinkers, when in fact they are drinking to excess. This type of behavior leads to all sorts of health and personal problems. Doctors have connected breast cancer, liver disease, heart disease and liver cancer with excessive drinking. Children that grow up around parents whose drinking habits exceed that of a moderate drinker often think that it is ok to consume the same quantity that their parents drank. This type of behavior has led to over nearly 90,000 deaths due to drinking excessively and has cost the American taxpayers over 200 billion dollars in health care costs, added law enforcement and insurance rates.

Interestingly, research has shown that those who drink excessively are actually not considered alcoholics. This means that many people do not suffer from withdrawal symptoms and intense cravings when they do not have alcohol. This can be concerning because there is nothing stopping many people from continuing to consume large amounts of alcohol. Studies also show that prior to becoming an alcoholic, a person is considered to drink excessively.

Of course the best way for most people to not fall into these categories is to monitor overall alcohol consumption, or eliminate it altogether.