The use of alcoholic beverages to excess, either on individual occasions ("binge drinking") or as a regular practice.

Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of alcohol-related substance abuse, ranging from the consumption of more than 2 drinks per day on average for men, or more than 1 drink per day on average for women, to binge drinking or alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse was a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-IV, but it has been merged with alcohol dependence in the DSM-5 into alcohol use disorder. Globally, excessive alcohol consumption is the seventh leading risk factor for both death and the burden of disease and injury, representing 5.1% of the total global burden of disease and injury, measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). After tobacco, alcohol accounts for a higher burden of disease than any other drug...