Is alcoholism more prevalent in the South than in other parts of the country?

25 comments

1. Not in my experience, no. Alcoholism seems pretty evenly spread.

2. I’m pretty sure it’s more prevalent in the midwest.

3. No that’s the Midwest lol

4. It’s probably the worst in Alaska due to the fact it is so geographically isolated and so high up in latitude. When the sun is setting at 2pm in the winter, it can wreck people’s mental health.

5. I think the midwest has us beat on the booze.

   We have them on obesity all day though.

6. No. It’s the upper Midwest that does the most drinking.

7. No, north or the Midwest, like Wisconsin

8. No, that would be Wisconsin.

9. I’m more curious why OP though alcoholism is more prevalent in the South.

   Here is a report that provides the [apparent per capita alcohol consumption](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/surveillance-reports/surveillance120). On one graph, total per capita ethanol consumption by region, the South is the lowest. Of course, there is no causation that more alcohol means more alcoholism, but their is a correlation.

10. https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/drink/sns-states-where-people-drink-the-most-alcohol-20230407-oapgrnaixbairnzqunh3bjth3y-photogallery.html

    Not the Midwest

11. The Midwest probably holds that title.

12. Nah. https://pix11.com/news/map-shows-which-counties-are-home-to-the-highest-number-of-excessive-drinkers-in-the-united-states/

13. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/data-stats.htm

    The Midwest and New England seem to be the most.

    Why? Culture. Seasonal Affective Disorder. Don’t know.

    The south seems actually a bit low. I’d hazard to guess that religious aversion to alcohol plays a role.

14. That would be my home in Wisconsin❤️quite literally all my friends and family have problems with alcohol and other substances but I love them through it and join in when I visit

15. No, Baptist and several other evangelical sects common in the South frown on consuming alcohol. Other than Utah where the Mormon church strongly believes in teetotaling, the Southern states typically have the lowest alcohol consumption rates.

    The Midwest has the highest alcohol consumption rates. Although, Vermont and New Hampshire also sell a lot of alcohol per a capita, it could be argued that a lot of those sales are to tourist as their taxes are lower than the other Northeastern states.

16. No it’s midwest. It’s because of immigration from heavy drinking nordic and german cultures. And general seasonal affective disorder I’d imagine

17. The southerners that drink, drink. But there are a bunch of southerners who don’t drink for religious reasons. Southern Baptists, for example, are generally against alcohol. This is why most of the dry counties in the US are in the south. Kentucky made a lot of their dry counties wet or moist

18. The greatest alcohol consumption by state has Maine, NH and Vermont in the top 5.

19. Alaska wins by far.

20. Supposedly it’s more common in the Midwest. But I think midwesterners are just more honest about it. I’m a doc and I’ve worked in both regions.

    The Southern Baptist religion, like many forms of fundamentalist Christianity, does not look too kindly on excessive substance use. Including alcohol.

    German Catholics on the other hand…. watch out. And they’re all over the Midwest.

21. The south is more addicted to smoking than drinking. As for why it’s because this region is the main producer of tobacco and southern states keep the tax on cigarettes low

22. The drunkest portion of the country is the Upper Midwest, and especially wisconsin. That state contains 48 of the 50 drunkest counties in the country. The other two are in Minnesota and North Dakota.

    It’s mostly because of engrained culture at this point.

23. No. The [drunkest states](https://vinepair.com/articles/map-states-drink-alcohol-america-2022/) in the US are New Hampshire, Delaware, and Nevada. Washington DC is also pretty drunk, but they’re a district, not a state.

    Anyway, if you’re really curious about this, the NIH has a specific department that studies alcoholism called the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA).

24. Nope. Here’s a source:
    https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/data-stats.htm

25. Wisconsin