Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Report: New Yorkers Binge Drinking Themselves to Death
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 15, 2010
Modified Nov 15, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 15, 2010
Modified Nov 15, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The city's Health Department has just released a study [pdf] on the drinking habits of New Yorkers, and what they found may not shock you. We like to drink, and apparently the amount of alcohol we consume on a regular basis is considered excessive, from a health perspective. The Health Department says that if you consume more than two alcoholic beverages a night, you are a "heavy drinker." And if you down more than five a night, that's "binge drinking." But keep pushing through to ten or more a night and you no longer suffer from low self-esteem.
According to the report, alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits are increasing, the number of alcohol-related ED visits among New Yorkers aged 21 to 64 increased from
approximately 22,000 in 2003 to nearly 74,000 in 2009. And the number of alcohol-related ED visits by underage New Yorkers increased from more than 1,000 in 2003 to almost 4,000 in 2009. (It's unclear how many of these are Four Loko-related.) Also, one in ten hospitalizations in New York City is alcohol-related. The Health Department wants doctors to screen all patients for alcohol problems, and officials are asking regulators to do more to discourage child-friendly labeling and packaging of alcoholic beverages.
The sobering study also finds that "alcohol-related deaths are among the leading causes of death in NYC; in 2008, an estimated 1,537 NYC adults died of alcohol-related causes. These included deaths from chronic alcohol use, such as alcoholism, and deaths from acute alcohol use, such as binge drinking. Liver disease accounts for one fifth (22%) of all alcohol-related deaths and is the most common chronic cause." WHY MUST ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?! Pour yourself a nice cup of herbal tea and peruse the report at your leisure, or simply ignore it and it will go away.
Tagged
alcohol
binge drinking
health department
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Oct 10, 2026
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .