[robocat]

> under 10% of people who try alcohol become addicted

Iffy number or definition? In my circles I am sure more than 10% of people abuse alcohol daily, and I would consider them addicts. Then again, New Zealand has a drinking problem.

[elil17]

According to the NIH, only 5.3% of Americans 12 and older are alcoholics (https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...). Factor out the fact that some of those people haven't tried alcohol and you get about 7% addiction liability.

[robocat]

In New Zealand, according to health.govt.nz:

  18.8% of adults had a hazardous drinking pattern in 2021/22.
  Hazardous drinkers are those who obtain an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or more, representing an established pattern of drinking that carries a high risk of future damage to physical or mental health.

I agree that definition of addiction, and alcoholism, vary by country.

[elil17]

Makes sense. I don't currently know any active alcohol abusers (knew some in college), so the 18.8% seems incredibly high to me. That said we all have biased samples