A lot of the coverage blurs the line between alcoholism and binge drinking. There's also the question of what constitutes binge drinking. According to the Government, a binge drinker is anyone who ever drinks more than 8 units (4 pints) in a day if they're a man or 6 units (3 pints) in a day if they're a woman. On that basis, I'm surprised the number of children who supposedly live with a binge drinker isn't closer to a hundred per cent.
The logical failing of all of such reports is that they invent their own definition of a problem, and then produce figures to show how many people are affected by it. Although they aim to be impartial and scientific, the definition is necessarily subjective, which impacts upon the findings. Alcoholic parents can be a serious problem for children, but cast your net too wide, and you include people who aren't problem drinkers at all, and by diluting your efforts and your message, you end up not helping those in most need.
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