According to a statistic from a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one out of every 10 heavy drinkers in the country technically qualifies as an alcoholic.

The New York Daily News reported that the study found most adults who drink too much still "(fall) short of the criteria for alcoholism."

"Signs of alcoholism include an inability to stop or reduce drinking, continuing to drink even after it causes problems with family or work and excessive time spent drinking each day," the newspaper explained. "Only a third of those who admitted binge drinking 10 or more times in the previous month were alcoholics."

People often assume that heavy drinkers are automatically alcohol dependent, "primarily because many alcoholics have a history of excessive drinking," Medical News Today explained. However, there are limited studies examinin excessive drinkers' alcohol dependence.

The CDC analyzed self-reported data from 138,100 adults in the U.S. The agency defines binge drinking as having four drinks for women and five drinks for men in a single sitting.

Alcohol dependence is a "medical problem" and "based on the consequences and the science and symptoms of someone's drinking behavior," study author Robert Brewer told the Washington Post. He warned that regardless of whether or not it fits the definition of alcoholism, heavy drinking is still dangerous.

"Anybody who takes from this paper that excessive drinking is not dangerous unless you are dependent is simply not getting the message, which is that drinking too much is bad, period," he explained.

The CDC report explains that too much drink is "unhealthy" and kills "88,000 people annually regardless of whether the drinker is an alcoholic." Heart disease, liver disease, breast cancer and car accidents are all reported side effects.

"The findings of this study have important implications for planning and implementing public health interventions to reduce excessive drinking and binge drinking at the population level," the CDC reported. "Although alcohol dependence is an important public health problem, these findings suggest that most excessive drinkers are unlikely to need addiction treatment."

For those who are not alcohol dependant, measures such as higher alcohol taxes or reduced alcohol licensing might prove preventative, Brewer told the New York Daily News.

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