RT Book, Section A1 Oot, Emily A1 Saitz, Richard A2 Boulton, Matthew L. A2 Wallace, Robert B. SR Print(0) ID 1182669322 T1 Alcohol and Health T2 Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e YR 2022 FD 2022 PB McGraw Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781259644511 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182669322 RD 2024/03/28 AB Sixty-nine percent of adult Americans—some 169 million people—report past-year alcohol use, dwarfing national rates of other substance use.1 While this high prevalence of drinking amplifies alcohol’s public health impact, it also helps normalize a range of drinking patterns. Drinking alcohol as normative behavior may explain, at least in part, the public’s lower perceived risk of harm from heavy alcohol use relative to even infrequent use of other drugs, some of which have fewer health consequences.1 Regardless, alcohol contributes to an estimated 88,000 deaths each year in the United States, making it the third leading cause of preventable death.2 Its impact also creates a significant drain on the economy, costing the U.S.$249 billion in 2010 (about U.S.$2 per drink).3 While it is possible to drink at a low-risk level, many Americans drink amounts that expose them to risk for a variety of negative health consequences, even if they do not meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder or have not yet experienced any negative consequences. It is therefore important to begin by defining different levels of consumption and their associations with health consequences.