The West has the two-fisted image as a land of hard drinking, but it may not deserve that reputation, according to statistics compiled by America’s Health Rankings.
The survey looked at “binge drinking,” defined as the percentage of population over 18 years old which has, in the preceding 30 days, had more than five drinks at a sitting (if male), and four drinks if female. It is noted that binge drinking is “a proxy indicator for excessive drug and alcohol use within a population.”
Outside of Utah with its temperate Mormon heritage, Western states tended to clump toward the middle with a few exceptions: Arizona, ranked 26th if Wisconsin is number 1, 15.3 percent binge drinkers; California, 22, 15.7; Colorado, 20, 16.1; Idaho, 37, 13.0; Montana, 12, 17.5; Nevada, 8, 18.2; New Mexico, 42, 12.2; Oregon, 34, 13.8; Washington, 27, 15.1; and Wyoming, 24, 15.5.
Essays in the Range blog are not written by High Country News. The authors are solely responsible for the content.
Ed Quillen is a freelance writer in Salida, Colo.
Image courtesy Flickr user Fernando Cuenca
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
