Beer not as benign a drink as many think

Willowy blondes and tanned dudes frolicking on the beach, all enjoying the latest brew promoted by Madison Avenue.

Somehow it never squares with most of the beer drinkers we know, who tend less toward svelte and more toward stout.

And while most of us think of beer as one of the milder drinks, a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates it's not as innocent as we'd like to believe.

The study of adult binge drinkers -- defined as someone who had five or more alcoholic drinks on at least one occasion in the last month -- found that nearly 75 percent drank mostly or exclusively beer, 17 percent liquor and 9 wine.

It stands to reason; beer is cheaper and easier to find, sold in gas stations and grocery stores. It accounts for 55 percent of the alcohol sold in the United States, as measured by the gallon -- and then there are all those commercials.

Although underage beer parties are common, according to the CDC study, teens tend toward hard liquor, perhaps because it's easier to steal from their parent's liquor cabinet. And, liquor and beer consumption were virtually tied in Nebraska. The hard stuff led in Wyoming and New Mexico, and in Arkansas, liquor accounted for 49 percent of binge drinks, with beer, malt beverages, wine and wine coolers making up the rest.

But there's no doubt binge drinking is bad for individuals and society, causing fetal alcohol syndrome, car crashes, violence, traumatic injuries and some 75,000 deaths in the United States each year.

That's something to think about as all those beer commercials start rolling during the football season.