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Facts About Excessive Drinking
Understanding excessive drinking
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Excessive drinking can have short-term and long-term health effects.
It includes:
- Binge drinking—Four or more drinks for women, or five or more drinks for men during an occasion.
- Heavy drinking—Eight or more drinks for women, or 15 or more drinks for men during a week.
- Underage drinking—any alcohol use by people younger than 21.
- Drinking while pregnant—any alcohol use during pregnancy.
Check Your Drinking.
Make a Plan to Drink Less.
Take a few minutes to check your drinking. You will get personalized feedback that can help you decide if you want to drink less.
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Putting it in context: standard alcohol drink sizes
Knowing what counts as one standard drink can help you figure out how much alcohol you drink and whether it would be considered excessive.
What is considered a "drink"?
U.S.
Standard Drink Sizes
- 12 ounces (5% ABV beer)
- 8 ounces (7% ABV malt liquor)
- 5 ounces (12% ABV wine)
- 1.5 ounces (40% ABV distilled spirits, 80 pr