State ranked first in binge drinking
Madison, WI (AP) - 6/22/88

WI tops a survey of 32 states in terms of people who admit they go on drinking binges and then go behind the wheel of a car.

Residents were interviewed last year in the study for the federal CDC. WI ranked first in the proportion of people who admitted to binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on one occasion. It is the third straight year WI has received this top ranking.

Also, it is the second straight year WI got the top spot for people who admitted they drove after drinking too much, and for residents who admitted to chronic drinking, defined as having 60 or more drinks a month.

"It's a dubious honor to be No. 1 in this category," said Micky Sadoff, of Glendale, national vice president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Sadoff said the results should underscore the need to bolster education al campaigns against drunken driving, but she said she had no good theories why the state should rank so high in drinking and driving.

The study gave the following results:

• Nearly 30% of all WI adults surveyed admitted to binge drinking. For those age 18-24, the figure was 53%.
• Slightly more than 8% of WI adults admitted driving after drinking too much at least once in the month the survey was taken.
• Nearly 10% of those interviewed said they were chronic drinkers.

"It may be part of some Upper Midwest pattern or maybe it's part of the state's culture," said Richard Miller, a research analyst for the state's Center for Health Statistics.

"What bothers me is year after year we turn up No. 1," Miller told the Milwaukee Journal. But Gil Meisgeier, president of the Tavern League of WI, offered another reason for the high ranking. "Perhaps the people in WI are more honest than people in other states," he said.

The figures for WI were compiled through telephone interviews with 1,341 adults who voluntarily answered a series of questions about their drinking and other health-related habits. The state Dept. of Health and Social Services coordinated the study, but the calls were made by UW-Extension.