Per capita consumption of ethanol derived from sales of beer, wine and spirits is the most comprehensive and reliable measure of a population's overall alcohol-drinking behaviors.
New findings, published in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, indicate that more alcohol is being consumed in the form of beer than previously thought, and the national mean alcohol content of beer is higher than previously thought.
"Alcohol consumption in the U.S. comes from three main beverage types," said William C. Kerr, associate scientist with the Alcohol Research Group at the Public Health Institute and first author of the study, "beer, wine and spirits. Beer is the largest source of alcohol consumption, though the share of each beverage type varies by state and changes over time. Market share can help better understand aspects of drinking culture related to beverage choice. For example, France and Italy are wine-preferring countries, while Russia is a spirits-preferring country."
"It may seem strange, but it has been found again and again that a small percentage change in the overall alcohol consumption of a nation predicts similar changes in the number of serious problems caused by drinking, such as deaths, injuries and illnesses," said Tim Stockwell, professor and director of the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. at the University of Victoria. "This means a seemingly small increase in the total amount of ethanol consumed in beers can translate into a few more people dying from one of the 37 plus alcohol-related causes of death."
Researchers gathered national estimates for the years 1988 - 2001 and state-specific estimates for the years 1993 - 2001 using several different sources, including the Adams Beer Handbooks, the Washington State Liquor Control Board price lists, and the Seibel Institute of Technology Survey of Retail Market Beers and Market Beer Review.
"We found that there have been significant shifts in the types of beers consumed by Americans between 1988 and 2001," said Kerr. "Market shares of each type have varied by state, and specific brands have changed their alcohol percentage on occasion. These changes and differences have resulted in overall differences in the average alcohol percentage of beer in each state and in each year. This means that the proportion of the beer sold that is pure alcohol also differs."
Kerr and his colleagues found that the national mean alcohol content of beer was higher than the 4.5 percent figure typically used in aggregate-level research, ranging from 4.58 percent in 1993 to 4.75 percent in 1996.
"While these differences may seem small when considered in terms of a single bottle of beer," said Kerr, "they appear more substantial when applied to the six million gallons of beer sold each year in the US. For example, in 2000, using the corrected percentages results in about 10 additional standard drinks yearly for each person aged 14 or older in the U.S. State differences range from half a drink less in Iowa, where light beer is especially popular, to more than 14 drinks more in Mississippi, where malt liquor and premium beer are more popular than the average for all states."