How much

Am I drinking too much?

By GyroscopeUpdated November 15, 202610 sources

The quickest real check is the AUDIT-C, three questions doctors use to screen for drinking that’s affecting your health. Each answer scores 0 to 4. A total of 3 or more for women, or 4 or more for men, is a positive screen, which means it’s time to talk with your doctor. It takes about a minute, and nothing you tap leaves this page.

Most people answer this question by comparing themselves with their friends, or with a picture of what a problem drinker looks like. Neither tells you much, because your friends may drink a lot and the picture is usually extreme. A short, scored set of questions does better, as long as you count in standard drinks.

Where the questions come from

The AUDIT-C is the first three questions of the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the ones about how much and how often you drink. NIAAA gives doctors these exact questions, and the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening every adult in primary care. In a 1998 study of veterans, the three questions found heavy drinking as well as the full test did.

The cutoffs come from a 2007 study of 1,319 adults at a family practice clinic, who answered the questions and then had a full interview. A score of 4 or more caught 86% of men with drinking problems, and 3 or more caught 73% of women, while correctly clearing about 9 in 10 people who didn’t have one. Those matched the lines earlier US Veterans Affairs studies had found.

What a standard drink is

The questions count US standard drinks of 14 g of alcohol: 12 oz of 5% beer, 5 oz of 12% wine or 1.5 oz of 40% spirits. Real pours are often bigger. A 6 oz pour of 13.5% wine is 1.35 drinks, a 16 oz IPA almost 2, and a bottle of wine 5 to 6. Count those as more than one, or your score will come out low. Your week turns your usual pours into standard drinks.

What your score means

• Under the line. Your answers don’t flag a problem. That doesn’t make any amount healthy, and if your drinking worries you, that’s reason enough to change it. Ways to stop or cut back has what works.
• At or over the line. It’s a screen, so it doesn’t diagnose anything. Take the score to your doctor. NIAAA’s guide for doctors says a positive screen leads to a few more questions about how drinking affects your life. The higher the score, the more likely alcohol is affecting your health and safety.
• Most days, five or more drinks. If that’s you, talk to a doctor before you stop, because withdrawal can become dangerous. MedlinePlus says symptoms usually start within 8 hours of the last drink.

NIAAA also uses one even shorter question: how many times in the past year have you had 4 or more drinks in a day (for women) or 5 or more (for men)? Once or more is a reason to follow up with your doctor.

If you want help

Help is free and confidential. SAMHSA’s National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357, and NIAAA’s Alcohol Treatment Navigator finds care near you. Three approved medicines help people stop or cut down, and none of them is addictive. If you can’t stop has all of it.