Alcohol Use

Excessive Alcohol Use

More than 8,050 New Yorkers die each year due to excessive alcohol use, shortening the lives of those who die by an average of 24 years. Excessive alcohol use includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any alcohol use by pregnant persons or anyone younger than 21.

Excessive alcohol use can lead to both short- and long-term health issues. Short-term harms include injuries such as motor vehicle injuries or drowning; violence including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence; alcohol poisoning; and poor birth outcomes. Over time, alcohol use can lead to chronic diseases such as heart disease, liver disease, digestive problems, and several types of cancer. Excessive alcohol use can also lead to learning and memory problems, mental health problems, social problems such as lost productivity or family problems, and alcohol use disorders.

To reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.

Alcohol Surveillance and Epidemiology Program

The New York State Alcohol Surveillance and Epidemiology Program (ASEP) was established in September 2021 through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct public health surveillance on excessive alcohol use and its related harms in New York State. The Alcohol Surveillance and Epidemiology Program works in partnership with the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).

The goal of the ASEP is to reduce excessive alcohol use and its related harms through:

• Monitoring and sharing data on excessive alcohol use and its related harms to inform prevention efforts
• Developing partnerships with state and local entities to collaborate on prevention efforts
• Increasing awareness about the public health impact of excessive alcohol use among partners and the public
• Building support for population-based policy and environmental changes to reduce excessive alcohol use

The Alcohol Surveillance and Epidemiology Workgroup (ASEW) is a network of data experts and prevention partners brought together to examine the patterns, context, and impact of excessive alcohol use in New York State. Please email AlcoholData@health.ny.gov if you are interested in joining.

Alcohol Surveillance and Epidemiology Program Newsletters

• Edition 2 | August 2023 (PDF)

Data Resources

Annual Reports

• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2022. BRFSS Brief. Number 2024-08 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2021. BRFSS Brief. Number 2023-10 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2020. BRFSS Brief. Number 2022-24 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2019. BRFSS Brief. Number 2021-03 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2018. BRFSS Brief. Number 2020-05 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2017. BRFSS Brief. Number 1912 (PDF)
• Binge and Heavy Drinking, New York State Adults, 2016. BRFSS Brief. Number 1812 (PDF)

Information for Action Reports

• IFA # 2024-02: Understanding New Yorkers’ Opinions on Policies to Reduce Excessive Alcohol Use
• IFA # 2023-13: Prevalence of Binge and Heavy Drinking among New York State Adults by County, BRFSS 2021
• IFA# 2023-02: New Yorkers Who Report Excessive Drinking Are Significantly More Likely to Report Sunburn
• IFA# 2023-01: Addressing Gaps in New Yorkers' Cancer Prevention Knowledge

Prevention Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Alcohol Program Resources:
  • Alcohol-Related Disease Impact Application
  • Alcohol Use and Your Health
  • Addressing Excessive Alcohol Use: New York State Fact Sheet
  • Drink Less, Be Your Best
  • Check Your Drinking. Make a Plan to Drink Less.
  • Alcohol and Public Health
  • Alcohol Portal
  • Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use
• The Community Guide: Excessive Alcohol Consumption:
  • Summaries of the Community Preventive Services Task Force findings based on systematic reviews of peer-reviewed studies.
• More information on prevention and treatment services is available from the NYS Office of Addiction Support and Services.
• For public health professional information regarding alcohol policy, please visit The Alcohol Action Network, a project of the American Public Health Association’s Alcohol Tobacco, and Other Drug Section.