HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED IF YOU MIGHT BE DRINKING JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH?

It is not unusual today to think about drinking. There is certainly enough advertising to support all the “good” things that go better with just the right drink or beverage. Marketing companies contribute to a billion dollar industry that is designed to “create a need” just for you. Over the last Super Bowl we saw several million dollar commercials espousing the advantages of one product over another and hoping that you would be entertained and remember the beverage portrayed. Although most of the time individuals’ drink responsibly, have fun and avoid negative consequences in their lives – there is also a down side especially when a person begins to drink too much.

Alcohol abuse is a subtle process and can often occur before a person can recognize that there is a problem. According to a recent Gallup poll 64% of the American population drinks alcohol and 36% abstains. Of the people who drink 24% reported drinking more than they should and 15% have made a serious effort to stop drinking and failed. About 10% of the American population suffers from alcoholism.

Why do people drink too much alcohol? Physiologically there is a process that we call tolerance that simply means that over time it may take more of a drink to obtain the desired effect. Secondly, drinking itself can impair judgment so that a person may not be aware of their total consumption. Finally, the environment of a party or gathering with many people drinking and encouraging others to drink can mask the fact that each person’s ability to consume alcohol is distinctly different. A person with a higher body weight can drink greater amounts than someone who weighs much less. For example, let’s look at the relationship between body weight and drinking 12 ounce beers: A person weighing 100 pounds may become intoxicated by drinking only 4 beers while a person weighing 200 pounds could drink six beers before becoming intoxicated.

Drinking more than intended is a serious and deadly problem. In 2005 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that there were 16,885 alcohols related driving fatalities in the United States. Nationwide, alcohol was present in 24% of the drivers involved in fatal crashes. NHTSA estimates that a person is injured in an alcohol related accident every two minutes. And this is only driving statistics; many more individuals are killed or injured in alcohol related activities off the highway. Is it any wonder people start to wonder if they may be drinking too much – especially after something happens like a near accident, a fall, an embarrassing situation, or even a Driving While Intoxicated (DUI) citation.

Fortunately there is a safe and simple quiz that anyone can take if they suspect they may be drinking too much. The quiz is called the CAGE Questionnaire. The CAGE is a short four question quiz developed in 1970 by Dr. John A. Ewing, founding director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, and was at first used as a screening tool for patients suspected of having alcoholism. Today the CAGE is a screening tool used by many physicians to help identify individuals at risk due to lifetime drinking behaviors.

Would you like to know whether you are at risk? Simply answer “yes” or “no” to each of the four questions listed below:

  1. Have you ever felt you should cut down on your      drinking?
  2. Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
  3. Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
  4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning or      to get rid of a hangover?

Well, that’s it! By now you probably have discovered that the CAGE is an acronym formed from the first letters of the words cut-annoyed-guilty-eye in the questionnaire. How did you do? Let’s find out:

If you scored 0 to 1 “Yes” answer – there is no apparent problem indicated. You are in the normal range and at low risk for problem drinking.

If you scored 2 or more “Yes” answers – this is a significant finding and may be indicative of problem drinking or alcoholism. With this score you are encouraged to contact your physician and talk about your drinking.

It is important to note that the CAGE is designed to evaluate a person’s lifetime of drinking and not just a recent episode of abuse. Significant scores of two or more “Yes” answers are referred to a physician for further evaluation and diagnosis. The CAGE is simply a tool to help you identify a problem. But then again, if you’re drinking too much, you probably already know there’s a problem!

              - By Don Doherty, MA, Ed.S.

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