According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29 % of adults in the United States drink too much and are classified as risky drinkers. Four percent of risky drinkers are alcoholics who are dependent on drinking. The other 25% are not dependent on alcohol, but use alcohol in ways that put themselves or others at risk.

Risky drinkers include the 38 million Americans who binge drink, often consuming eight drinks during a single occasion up to four times per month.

The CDC states that risky alcohol use leads to a number of preventable fatalities and harms, including:

• Negative health and social consequences such as car crashes, intimate partner violence, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and complications of hypertension, liver disease, cancers and stomach issues
• Significant financial costs of more than $223 billion
• More than 80,000 deaths annually, placing risky alcohol use as the third leading cause of preventable death

Available Clinical Interventions

The CDC has published a guide to encourage implementation of the Screening and Brief Intervention or SBI for Risky Alcohol Use. The screening tool was developed based on more than 30 years of research. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force along with other leading organizations recommend the implementation of the SBI electronically within primary care. The SBI is a short screening questionnaire the includes a validated set of drinking pattern screening questions along with a brief conversation with patients who are drinking too much to encourage referrals for help.

Another tool targeted specifically for women of childbearing age is the CHOICES Works for Women of Reproductive Age. The primary goal of this tool is to decrease the risks of pregnancies in non-pregnant women who exhibit risky drinking behaviors. The focus is to reduce the risky alcohol use and/or to increase contraception use.  

^{References
CDC’s Alcohol screening and Brief Intervention Efforts. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/alcohol-screening.html. Accessed Sept. 1 2016.}