A report, which was launched in January by Health Secretary Donna Shalala and published in the Globe magazine, states that 44 % of adults age 18 and over consumed 12 or more drinks in the past year. Of that 44% of adults, 46 % of them report having been drunk during the year while 4% report having been drunk weekly. Nearly 10 % of current drinkers (about 8 million persons) meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence. An additional 7 % (more than 5.6 million persons) meet diagnostic criteria for …showed first 75 words of 1029 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1029 total…and then, but then there are those who drink continuously. Whether it is because of friends or family influences, drinking alcohol on a regular basis is both foolish and extremely harmful, especially to family. Works Cited Goodman, Leon. "Alcohol Effects- Long Term Effects." Health-Center. January 5, 2002. Paragraph 2. October 9,2003. <www.health-center.com>. Shalala, Donna. "America Targets Alcohol." Globe. 2000 issue. Paragraph 2. Taylor, Howard F. and Margaret L. Andersen. Sociology: The Essentials, 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003