Alcohol content variation in the assessment of alcohol consumption.

Most investigators have not adequately accounted for the alcohol content of different beverages when assessing alcohol consumption. Considerable research has assessed consumption in terms of the number of standard drinks. A problem with standard drink measures is that different distilled spirits, wines, and malt beverages vary considerably in alcohol content. State-to-state and brand-to-brand variations in the strength of different malt beverage brands are provided, as malt beverage alcohol contents are not contained on labels due to federal and state regulations. Ignoring alcohol content variation when estimating consumption can produce a large amount of error. Alcohol consumption should be assessed in terms of the number, size, and alcohol content of beverages.