More Thinking About Drinking
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More Thinking About Drinking
I'm delighted that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is interested in the detection and treatment of alcohol abuse through primary care medicine ["How Much Is Too Much?" June 17].
Each generation needs to rediscover this idea, which was current when I was a division director at NIAAA more than 30 years ago. It was shown in the United Kingdom that even minimal primary care intervention is significant in diminishing alcohol abuse. And more recently, I developed and published a screening tool that all doctors can use. It takes about three minutes, and basically it invites people to boast about how much they can drink in an evening. It is dramatic, revealing and immediate.
My only quarrel with NIAAA is that four drinks per evening is about one too high. Most people are considerably impaired after four drinks unless they've already developed some tolerance, which is a sure sign of alcohol abuse.
Marc Hertzman, MD
Bethesda
I don't think young people realize what alcohol abuse is. They think it is normal to drink four or five glasses of beer or mixed drinks on an evening out.
Doctors need to screen patients about alcohol use and say if you are drinking more than five drinks in an evening and you're male, or four drinks and you're female, you need to take a serious look at your drinking now and what it means down the road.
Students and young adults look around, see adults of all ages, occupations and socioeconomic levels abusing alcohol, and think it is the norm!
Dawn L. Warner
