Reason magazine’s Jacob Sullum is a rare voice of sanity on the drink, drug and tobacco wars. Here he is on ‘binge drinking’.

As he says:

“One man’s dinner party is another man’s binge—especially if the other man has a degree in public health.”

He then discusses the CDC’s definition of a ‘binge’. As would be expected from those relentless activists for the nanny state, their idea of a binge – five drinks – is, as we have discussed before on the Corner, simply laughable. It also seems to be another example of American unilateralism. As Jacob points out:

“Then, too, the CDC’s notion of a binge is different from that of alcohol researchers in other countries. Hanson notes that “a recent Swedish study…defines a binge as the consumption of half a bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine on the same occasion.” An Italian study viewed eight drinks a day as normal, while “in the United Kingdom, bingeing is commonly defined as consuming 11 or more drinks on an occasion.””

“11 or more drinks”. That’s more like it.

Cheers, Jacob.