# Does somebody who has seven or more drinks at least three days per week have a drinking problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572 "2009-12-09T08:59:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/61 "2009-12-10T08:55:13Z")
I usually tend to think of alcoholic blackouts as something that lasts for days, usually after extended periods of heavy drinking, rather then just getting hammered some night and not remembering what you did the next day. [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFMufVphPPs) is a hilarious description of one such blackout by the writer James Ellroy on Conan O’Brien’s show back in 1999. Ellroy is quite a hoot on talk shows. As evidence, Dave Chapelle was one of the quests that night, and, as you’ll see, he described Ellroy’s appearance that night as being the “most awesome experience” of his career. Funny stuff. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/62 "2009-12-10T09:25:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I usually tend to think of alcoholic blackouts as something that lasts for days, usually after extended periods of heavy drinking, rather then just getting hammered some night and not remembering what you did the next day. Oh, well if that’s what people are talking about, then I withdraw my rhetorical question and stand corrected. Don’t know anyone that’s happened to. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/63 "2009-12-10T14:05:56Z")
Oh, thank god, I was starting to worry that I had a drinking problem, but it turns out, I’m just English. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/64 "2009-12-10T14:28:44Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Passing out and blacking out are different. Blacking out means events have been blacked out, that is, you don’t remember them. Ah, thanks. I’ve only blacked out once then, from '91 to '97. Guess I’m good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/65 "2009-12-10T21:57:16Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Oh, thank god, I was starting to worry that I had a drinking problem, but it turns out, I’m just English. Hey me too! I’ve had a feeling the stork dropped me off in the wrong country. ---
**Author:** ![admin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ec8ea/32.png) [@admin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/admin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/66 "2009-12-19T10:12:01Z")
Might I ask, why does it bother you so Bith? Are you having a problem with this for his well being, or yourself? More than anything quite frankly, it sounds like you are annoyed by him more than you are concerned for his own sake. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/67 "2009-12-19T10:29:37Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/68 "2009-12-20T08:54:17Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I don’t believe in the medical model of addiction I think it is a behavioral problem unrelated to genes or other changes wrought by the abused substance. Like other scientific truths such as evolution and gravity, addiction does not care whether you believe in it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/69 "2009-12-20T12:54:15Z")
I don’t understand everyone making such a big deal out of the definition of alcoholism. It’s really blasted simple. Can you stop drinking? If you can’t stop doing something, you are by definition addicted to it. And if you are addicted to alcohol, you are an alcoholic. It seems you guys want to use some other definition of alcoholic that means some sort of horrible person. OP: Do I think he has a problem? If he continues to drink that much, he will die from it. I’ve seen it happen in my family way too often. Heck, my uncle is currently dying from it. He has less than a year. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572/70 "2009-12-22T12:09:38Z")
To answer the OP: yeah, I would say so. Can we be 100% sure he’s got a drinking problem? No. There are probably people out there who binge drink regularly who are _not_ alcoholics, because they really can stop. They do it for entertainment, not because they _have_ to drink. On preview – yeah. What BigT said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-somebody-who-has-seven-or-more-drinks-at-least-three-days-per-week-have-a-drinking-problem/520572.md?page=3)