Excessive drinking accounts for at least half of all alcoholic drinks consumed in Canada, according to a new study from the University of Victoria's Center for Addictions Research.

The Canadian Press reported April 15 that researchers said that 54 percent of alcoholic drinks consumed by Canadians were quaffed while exceeding the recommended limits of three drinks per day for women and four drinks per day for men (10 drinks total weekly for women, 20 for men). Among 15-to-24-year-olds, about 80 percent of alcohol consumption was excessive.

The study authors also found that 10 percent of drinkers consumed 53 percent of all alcoholic drinks.

"You can be confident then in saying that most alcohol consumed is putting the drinker and-or those around them at risk in some way," said lead author Tim Stockwell. "It could be of a long-term health risk or it could be something much more immediate, like a car crash."