Racial Patterns of Alcoholic Beverage Use

Among 59,766 persons who had routine health examinations in the years 1978 through 1980, the proportions reporting drinking among self-classified racial groups were: white, 89.5%; Latin, 84.8%; Japanese, 81.9%; black, 79.8%; Chinese, 68.1%; Filipino, 63.9%. Reported use of 3 or more drinks daily was similar in whites, Latins, and blacks but was much lower in the Asian groups. Men of all races reported more drinking than women. A large proportion of drinkers in all race-sex subgroups reported use of small amounts of alcohol, and most nondrinkers reported lifelong abstinence. Wine drinking (2+ days/week) was favored over spirits or beer by whites of both sexes and women of most races; beer use was favored by men of all races except white. All race-sex groups reported a strong alcohol-cigarette smoking association. Comparison with data collected 15 years earlier showed a substantial decline in reported proportions of abstainers and heavier (3+) drinkers as well as apparent narrowing of race-sex differences.