Most Heavy Drinkers are Not Alcoholics
Mary DePinto
Kaplan University

I have learned a lot of new material about effective reading and writing so far. One strategy I have learned for effective reading is to highlight the main points in a passage that I am reading. I also learned that using the 5 steps to SQ3R are very helpful. Surveying and asking questions before you read can help you think more about what you are about to read. I also like to recite the reading a second time just to make sure I’m not missing any important key points and fully understand. Effective writing is when the author stays on topic and accomplishes their goals about what they should be writing about. The article I choose to read and write about is “Most Alcoholics are Not Heavy Drinkers” by Tara Parker-Pope. This article was in published in The New York Times.

The purpose of this article I believe is to educate the community and the reader that most excessive drinkers are not categorized as an alcoholic, and there are many strategies to stop the unnecessary binge drinking. One main point the author is trying to make in the article is how we don’t know the difference between alcoholics and excessive drinkers, and the risks of excessive drinking. According to the article, a government survey shows 138,100 adults have a mindset that every “falling-down drunk” must be addicted to alcohol. This is not the case at all. Studies show that 29% of the population is an excessive drinker, and 90% of them don’t meet the standards to be labeled as an alcoholic. Excessive drinking is defined as drinking too much at one time, or drinking too much up to one week. According to Dr. Robert Brewer, who was interviewed by the author, excessive drinking is viewed as a major public health issue, which causes 88,000 deaths a year. In the article they also talk about how the excessive drinking can cause many health issues as well, kidney problems, liver failure, and so on. Another good point that is being talked about in the article is the strategies they can do to cut back excessive drinking. Nine out of ten people who drink too much can change their behavior according to a national survey. The author states a few ways that will lower excessive drinking. One way is to raise the price on alcoholic beverages by 10% which will reduce the excessive drinking rate by 7%. Another way which is explained in the article is to have more zoning laws that