America’s Drinking Problem Is Much Worse This Century

Alcohol abuse has shot up since 2001, and the number of adults who binge weekly may top the population of Texas.
Photographer: iStockphoto/Getty Images
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Americans are drinking more than they used to, a troubling trend with potentially dire implications for the country’s future health-care costs.

The number of adults who binge drink at least once a week could be as high as 30 million, greater than the population of every state save California, according to a study published on Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. A similar number reported alcohol abuse or dependency.