I'll drink to that!

Austin named hardest-drinking city in U.S.Forbes list uses CDC data that focuses on binge drinking.

By Addie Broyles AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Friday, August 08, 2008 Feeling tipsy? You're not alone, according to Forbes magazine, which this week said that Austin might be the hardest-drinking city in America. Forbes, which releases similar rankings several times a year, used data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey to pinpoint Austin residents' affinity for alcohol. The CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey last year found that 61.5 percent of residents said they had at least one drink in the past 30 days.

But it was the number of drinks per day that put Austin at the top of — or perhaps the bottom of — the bar. Nearly nine percent of people surveyed said they had at least one drink per day for women, two for men.

Milwaukee, Wis. came in at No. 2, followed by San Francisco, Providence, R.I., and Chicago.

The University of Texas, like most major universities in the U.S., has been battling the binge drinking image for decades. Forbes named it the No. 1 party school in 2006.

"I would hope that people would look at the methods of how these rankings are made," said Sandi Cleveland, manager at the Health Promotion and Resource Center, which is part of the University Health Services. "It's important for people to understand that UT students make up 5 percent of Austin's population when they are all here."

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