The problem drinkers and treated alcoholics had marked differences (p ≤ 0.0001) in their mean responses for all ten AUDIT items compared with the controls (Table 1). Although all groups tended to consume alcoholic beverages on a weekly basis (item 1; 55 per cent of controls and an average of 77 per cent for the problem and dependent drinkers), the majority (82 per cent) of problem drinkers and treated subjects consumed an average of six or more drinks per session (item 2) compared with 13 per cent of controls (on average, the control group imbibed three or four drinks per session). This trend was similar for the frequency with which subjects consumed six or more drinks per session (item 3). While these significant differences in alcohol consumption behaviour (items 1-3) were observed between the control and problem/treated groups, an unambiguous distinction from the controls was seen with respect to those items related to dependence symptoms (items 4-6) and alcohol-related problems (items 7-10). For these seven items, the mean response was ≤0.5 and ≥2.2 for controls and problem/ treated groups, respectively,
