Alcohol is responsible for one in 10 working-age deaths nationwide, federal health officials reported on Thursday.
Alcohol reportedly cuts lives short by as many as three decades, according to Newsday.
A study published in "Preventing Chronic Disease" found that excessive alcohol use, which includes binge drinking, heavy weekly alcohol consumption and drinking while underage or pregnant, accounted for approximately 88,000 deaths between 2006 and 2010, according to USA Today.
About 70% of those deaths were working-age adults between the ages of 20 to 64, stated Mandy Stahre, epidemiologist at the Washington State Department of Health and author of the study.
"We're talking about a large economic impact, people who are contributing to society. They're in the prime of their lives, whether they're building up careers or midcareer. A lot of attention we tend to focus on is maybe college drinking or just drunk driving. This is really talked about the broadness of the problem," stated Stahre.
Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks on a single occasion for women and five or more for men, according to Dr. Robert Brewer, head of the CDC's alcohol program.
Heavy drinking was defined as eight or more drinks a week for women and 15 or more for men.
Another reported problem is that the size of alcoholic beverage glasses in various establishments has reportedly grown in recent years.
"Some people have no idea how much alcohol they are consuming," stated Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in Mineola.
He added, "Increasingly, we see restaurants and bars offering larger portions. Bars are offering craft beers that have higher alcohol content."
William Kerr, a scientist with the Alcohol Research Group, a national research organization, reportedly stated that the current government policies in place could be strengthened toward alcohol regulation.
"It's important to think about what might be done to reduce this (death) toll, and think about government policies that might reduce availability and increase the price of alcohol that is known to impact drinking in general and binge drinking," stated Kerr.
