Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville – Keys Leads In Binge Drinking

The Florida Keys are famous as a place to party. That’s how they got the nickname “Margaritaville.” But the hard-drinking lifestyle is taking a toll on the residents. “We have the highest percentage of binge drinkers in the state of Florida,” said Alison Kerr, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health in the Keys.  Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville

Binge drinking is more than just a cocktail or two after work. “Essentially, someone sits down and drinks about five drinks in one sitting,” Kerr said.

Just over 24 percent of Monroe County adults in the survey reported binge drinking on a regular basis. Statewide, the figure was 17.5 percent.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville

The report comes from an annual behaviorial risk factor survey conducted by the CDC.

Wasted away again in MargaritavilleKerr said the local Health Department will use the survey results to work with local groups that provide counseling and other services to prevent alcohol abuse — and will be providing more information about cirrhosis, a fatal liver disease linked to alcohol abuse.

Monroe County also leads the state in its suicide rate, another issue the Department of Health is concerned with, she said.

But it’s not all bad news for the Keys. The county is among the nation’s lowest when it comes to the percentage of people who are obese or overweight, she said.

Source: Wasting Away: Keys Lead State In Binge Drinking | WLRN

Jimmy Buffett 

“Margaritaville”

Nibblin’ on sponge cake,
Watchin’ the sun bake;
All of those tourists covered with oil.
Strummin’ my six string on my front porch swing.
Smell those shrimp-
They’re beginnin’ to boil.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame,
But I know it’s nobody’s fault.Don’t know the reason,
Stayed here all season
With nothing to show but this brand new tattoo.
But it’s a real beauty,
A Mexican cutie, how it got here
I haven’t a clue.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame,
Now I think, – hell it could be my fault.

I blew out my flip flop,
Stepped on a pop top;
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.
But there’s booze in the blender,
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville
Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame,
But I know, it’s my own damn fault.
Yes, and some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, And I know it’s my own damn fault