Alcohol use among adolescents and adults--New Hampshire, 1991-2003.

Alcohol abuse is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Because binge and heavy drinking increase the risk for cirrhosis, cancer, heart disease, stroke, injury, and depression, public health efforts have focused on reducing these patterns of alcohol use. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors, and CDC developed Indicators for Chronic Disease Surveillance, which provides a standard set of measures for alcohol surveillance. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services used these measures to facilitate statewide trend analysis of alcohol use among adolescents and adults. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, in 2003, a total of 30.6% of adolescents reported binge drinking. In 2001, a total of 15.8% of adults reported binge drinking, and 6.3% reported heavy drinking. Interventions are needed to prevent adolescent drinking and to reduce excessive alcohol use among adults.