Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks on an occasion for women and five or more drinks on an occasion for men, while heavy drinking is eight or more drinks a week for women and 15 or more drinks a week for men.

The cost of excessive drinking in the United States reached 224 billion dollars, or 1.90 dollars per drink, in 2006, the report said.

Most of these costs were due to lost productivity, including reduced earnings among excessive drinkers as well as deaths due to excessive drinking among working age adults, it added.

"It's shocking to see the public health impact of excessive drinking on working-age adults," said Robert Brewer, head of CDC's Alcohol Program and one of the report's authors.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts advising the U.S. government, recommends several strategies to reduce excessive drinking, including increasing alcohol taxes, regulating alcohol outlet density, and avoiding further privatization of alcohol retail sales.