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Binge Drinking Up, Youth Drinking Down in Nebraska

Nebraska ranks number two in the country in terms of the binge drinking rate among adults.

Dr. Joann Schaefer, Chief Medical Officer of Nebraska, says nearly 90% of all alcohol consumed by young adults is done in the form of binge drinking. 

Dr. Schaefer says in order to moderate the use of alcohol in the state, there needs to be a shift in the culture of alcohol.  But all the news wasn’t negative. 

She says figures from the CDC show Nebraska youth rank below teens nationwide when it comes to alcohol consumption.

"That’s really some good news.  When we ask youth about alcohol use in the last 30 days, the United States standard shows 39% but in Nebraska it’s now 27% and we used to be tied back in 2005.  So it shows that the efforts put forth by everybody are really showing a difference when it comes to the youth that use alcohol.”

Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island and Norfolk ranked in the top 20 of 192 cities indexed for binge drinking rates across the country. 

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