Heavy Alcohol Use

Male workers were more likely than female workers to report heavy alcohol use (11.1% vs. 2.5%). Hispanic and White workers were more likely than black workers to report heavy alcohol use (9.8%, 8.1%, and 4.4% respectively).

Workers who have less than a high school education were much more likely than other education attainment groups to report heavy alcohol use (14.7%, compared with 7.1% for high school graduates, 7.3 for some college education, and 5.8% for college graduates).

The distribution of heavy alcohol use by region was somewhat different from that for illicit drug use. The north central region had the highest prevalence of heavy alcohol use (8.8%); the west region had the lowest rate (6.8%).

The distribution of heavy alcohol use by personal income was slightly different from that of illicit drug use. Workers in the two lower income brackets (less than $9,000 and $9,000-$19,999) were most likely to report heavy alcohol use than workers in higher income brackets ($20,000-$39,999, $40,000-$74,999, and $75,000 or more). For example, 9.4 percent of workers in the $9,000-$19,999 income group reported heavy alcohol use, while only 2.1 percent of workers in the highest income bracket ($75,000 and more) reported heavy alcohol use.

Figure 2.1 The Co-occurrence of Current Illicit Drug Use and Heavy Alcohol Use Among Full-Time Workers, Age 18-49, 1994, 1997 (Estimated Numbers of Users in Parentheses, in 1,000s)

 
Year: 1994                                         Year: 1997

Source: OAS, SAMHSA, NHSDA 1994 Source: OAS, SAMHSA, NHSDA 1997
Note: Heavy alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion per occasion on five or more days in the past 30 days.