WILL THAULT: Locating Georgia’s drunkest and driest counties

I’m no teetotaler by a long shot, but recent stats issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proved to be an eye-opener. The website, IntoxiStates.com, provides an interactive map of excessive drinking by state and county as defined by the CDC.

What’s deemed excessive? The CDC has come up with four categories: binge drinking (women 4/men 5 or more drinks on one occasion), heavy drinking (women 8/men 15 or more drinks per week), or any drinking during pregnancy and by people younger than 21.

What’s considered a “drink?” The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism sets the standard at beer, 12 ounces; malt liquor, 8 ounces; wine, 5 ounces; and hard liquor, 1.5 ounces (a jolly jigger).

Now that we have the measuring stick out of the way, let’s dive into the results. By CDC’s reckoning, 16.61% of Georgians are excessive drinkers. The IntoxiStates website also ranks the Top 10 highest and lowest excessive drinking counties. For whatever reason, Chattahoochee County sits atop the state’s list with 21.7% of those residents being the drunkest. Interestingly enough, the folks in Randolph County, buffered from Chattahoochee by Stewart County, live in the driest part of the state with only 10.27% of their population overly imbibing. In-between Stewart County, by the way, claims 16.28% heavy drinkers, slightly below the state average.

While it is curious that the two extremes are nestled so closely together on one tiny section of the southwest Georgia map, I’ll leave it to the ultracrepidarians to figure that out. You know, people who offer opinions on something they know little about. But I digress.

Let’s bring it a little closer to home. Excessive drinkers in Dougherty County amounts to 13.49% of the people, while its neighbor to the north, Lee County, weighs in at 17.46%. Again, the CDC makes no effort to explain why there’s such a wide margin of difference between the two populations.

For those living in surrounding counties, here’s the scorecard. Starting at 12 o’clock and moving clockwise, Sumter 13.42%, Crisp 12.7%, Worth 14.65%, Mitchell 13.35%, Baker 11.86%, Calhoun 14.12% and Terrell 12.14% — all below the state average.

While Chattahoochee County is No. 1 in Georgia for excessive inebriation, it’s in good(?) company … the average drunken state for Rhode Islanders is 21.12%, capping the U.S. Top 10. Wisconsin takes the No. 1 “high” spot, however, with 25.29% or one in four likely to go on benders.

Top 10 States With Highest % of Binge and Excessive Drinkers:

1. Wisconsin (25.29%)

2. Montana (24.44%)

3. District of Columbia (24.19%)

4. Iowa (23.12%)

5. North Dakota (23%)

6. South Dakota (22.43%)

7. Nebraska (22.1%)

8. Vermont (21.6%)

9. Colorado (21.41%)

10. Rhode Island (21.12%)

Unsurprisingly, Utah ranks No.1 in having the most abstainers in the U.S., coming in with only 12.41% frequently hitting the bottle. Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Nevada, Kentucky, Maryland, Arkansas, Delaware and Mississippi round out the rest of the lowest number of excessive drinkers.

Enough of the puns, metaphors and stats already. Without sounding too preachy, nothing to excess – especially when it comes to alcohol consumption – is always a good rule to follow. The harmful effects of short-term alcohol abuse is well-known: injuries from motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings and burns; violence; overdose; miscarriage.

Harmful effects from long-term alcohol use is well-documented as well, leading to heart and liver disease and even stroke in some cases. The dangers of excessive drinking don’t stop there, however. Just this month, the Surgeon General issued an advisory calling for a warning to be included on alcoholic beverages about the risk of cancer. His concerns were based on the recent release of American Association for Cancer Research that found excessive levels of alcohol consumption increase the risk for breast, colorectal, liver and stomach cancers, as well as other types.

Hey, if you choose to drink, present company included, please do so in moderation. If you have concerns about knowing when to stop, talk with your health care provider or call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It’s a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service.

Not sure if you have a problem? Go to cdc.gov and type “check your drinking” in the search bar. This will take you to a quick quiz that helps you decide if you want to drink less, along with a personalized plan to reach that goal. The campaign’s called DRINK LESS – BE YOUR BEST. That’s a pledge we can all live by.