San Diego ranks among the worst in California for excessive drinking, data shows
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed more people are dying from excessive alcohol consumption nationwide, and San Diego ranks among the worst places in California dealing with excessive alcohol use.
Excessive alcohol use includes binge or heavy drinking, alcohol use by people under 21 and any alcohol use by pregnant women.
The CDC defines binge drinking as consuming five or more drinks on an occasion for men, or four or more drinks on an occasion for women.
How ‘healthy’ is San Diego compared to the rest of California?
If you consume more than four to five alcoholic beverages on a given night, you’re not alone. One in six people in the U.S. binge drink, with 25% doing so at least weekly, according to the CDC.
In San Diego County, 21% of adults reported binge or heavy drinking, using the most recent data collected by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps in 2021.
That’s worse than both the statewide percentage of 17% and the nationwide percentage of 18%.
In fact, data showed San Diego County and Sonoma County were the only two California counties where more than 20% of adults reported binge or heavy drinking.
The percentage of motor vehicle crash deaths involving alcohol in San Diego, however, was on par or slightly lower than statewide and nationwide numbers — 25% of driving deaths in the county involved alcohol compared to 27% in California and 26% in the U.S.
The CDC’s report from February showed an alarming trend in deaths linked to alcohol use increasing within the past two decades, indicating the rise in recent years may have stemmed from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use increased by 29% from 2016 to 2021. During this time, deaths from excessive drinking among men increased by 27% and deaths among women increased by 35%.
The San Diego County medical examiner also noted a sharp increase in the number of deaths among young people between the ages of 14 and 25 in 2020. However, on a positive note, data between 2009 and 2019 showed a downward trend in the percentage of 7th, 9th and 11th grade students in the county who reported drinking alcohol in the past month.
To find resources regarding alcohol and substance abuse prevention, visit the county’s behavioral health services webpage.
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