Although excessive drinking can bring on serious risks to health and leads to an average 88,000 deaths annually, the great majority of Americans who drink excessively are not alcoholics, a U.S. study has found.

Contrary to what many people have assumed, only 10 percent of adults in the Unites States who drink to excess are alcoholics with an demonstrated dependency on alcohol, the study found.

The study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is said to be the first national, multi-year examination of alcoholism rates among excessive drinkers.

It was based on self-reported data from 138,000 adults in the United States gather over 3 years by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Ninety percent of heavy drinkers -- women who consume eight drinks or more in a week or men who consume 15 or more -- fall short of the established criteria for alcoholism, the researchers say.

Those criteria for alcoholism, which is seen as a chronic medical condition, include the inability to reduce or stop the drinking, continuing with alcohol consumption even after the activity begins to cause problems with work or family, and excessive amounts of time dedicated to drinking during each day, they say.

Despite the study's findings about excessive drinking versus true alcoholism, heavy drinkers shouldn't be taking any comfort in them, says study lead author Robert Brewer.

"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 says.

What the study can provide, by quantifying the percentage of true alcoholics among those who drink excessively, is the chance to create effective strategies to reduce alcohol consumption, says Brewer, who heads the CDC's Alcohol Program in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

"The great preponderance of people who are drinking too much are not candidates for specialized treatment but they can be helped in other ways," he says.

That might include increasing the price of alcohol or alcohol taxes, and examining the geographic concentration in communities of liquor licenses, he suggests.

The study "emphasizes the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to reducing excessive drinking that includes evidence-based community strategies, screening and counseling in healthcare settings, and high-quality substance abuse treatment for those who need it," he says.