Binge Drinking in Florida? Feds Say Not Here

The Onion has penned many parodies of this state, including Florida Legalizes Taking Guns to Work; Florida State University to Phase Out Academic Operations by 2010; and 'Ravaged' Named Florida's Official State Adjective.

Though it reads like it, this stat is no parody. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Florida falls behind Texas, Kansas, Washington state, and Colorado in occasional binge drinking, with this state averaging 10 percent to 16 percent of the

population. Those other states clock in at 16 to 19 percent.

Of the U.S. population, 16.2 percent binge-drink, though among those

who make more than $75,000, it's 20 percent. A binge drinker is defined as one who swills

five or more drinks in a short period for men, four or more for women.

The average number of drinks tops off at around eight drinks.

The biggest group of binge drinkers falls in the 18- to 34-year-old age

range, while those identified as binge drinkers booze more often if they're

over 65. Despite that more people binge who make over 75K, those who

make less than $25,000 binge drinkers go nuts, drinking more booze more often.

The booziest states in the union? Wisconsin, Maine, Vermont,

Montana, Massachusetts: all cold states. And then there's D.C. I keep

telling people that D.C. is boozier than Florida, and no one would believe

me. Of these states, 19 to 26 percent of the population binge-drinks.

When it comes to many stats I've seen regarding Florida, I'm

skeptical. For example, last year, Good.is publicized a poll that Florida is one of three states with

the fewest number of families to report struggling to feed themselves

and their kin. Then there's this story, which indicates that a third of the nation's homeless live in Florida.

Perhaps the transience of the population of Florida makes the living conditions and habits of its residents hard to pin down.

What's your take on the survey?