Approximately one in every 4 American adults between the age of 18 and 34 has drunk excessive amounts of alcohol or binged on at least one occasion over the previous month. In the general population, the rate is approximately 1 in 6 adults. Further, college-age drinkers who drink excessively are likely to consume as many as 9 drinks at a shot.

In the general population, binge drinking is the consumption of around 5 alcoholic beverages over a 2-hour period. However, among college drinkers, the average number of drinks consumed in a binge drinking session seems to touch 9 drinks. The national average number of drinks consumed per episode of binge drinking is about 8.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also provided other indications that the problem of binge drinking is much more widespread than we know. For instance, according to the agency, approximately half of the alcohol that is consumed in the United States is consumed during episodes of binge drinking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there's a mismatch between alcohol sales figures, and the amount that people say they're consuming. In short, people are actually buying more alcohol than they're admitting to drinking, based on sales figures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a telephone survey of more than 450,000 adults, and questioned them about their binge drinking practices over the past month.

Binge drinking is also surprisingly prevalent among persons above 65 although the average number of drinks consumed in this age group is less than 6. However, Los Angeles DUI lawyers are especially concerned about high rates of binge drinking among college students, because these drinkers may not be able to safely determine their own ability to drive safely after.