Drugs: education, prevention and policy, April 2012; 19(2): 181–183 Copyright ß 2012 Informa UK Ltd. ISSN: 0968-7637 print/1465-3370 online DOI: 10.3109/09687637.2011.649498 Binge drinking among Israeli hospitality workers: Gender and country of origin differences Richard Isralowitz 1 , Alexander Reznik 1 , & Yaniv Belhassen 2 1 Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Resources Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel and 2 Department of Hotel & Tourism Management, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel Aims: This study focused on binge drinking use among Israeli hospitality workers. Methods: A purposive sample of 430 male and female workers of Israeli and former Soviet Union (FSU) origin was interviewed in the resort town of Eilat, Israel. Findings: Last 30-day binge drinking was reported by 43% of the workers. Males binge drink more than females; Israeli origin workers binge drink more than those of FSU origin. Conclusion: This study shows gender and country of origin status associated with binge drinking among hospitality workers. Further research is needed to validate these findings and to understand the impact of other cultural factors that relate to gender status and immigrant acculturation for policy and pre- vention purposes, especially among young adults who, as a group, report a high level of alcohol use. INTRODUCTION Hospitality employees have a high rate of alcohol use and related problem behaviour including destruction of property, serious injury and death compared to those working in other industries (Larson, Eyerman, Foster, & Gfroerer, 2007; Pidd et al., 2006). An analysis of workers shows that 15% of employees in the hospitality industry compared to 14.7% of those employed in construction and mining have serious alcohol-related problems (George Washington Medical Center & Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, 2008). Excessive alcohol use costs US employers $223.5 billion annually in lost productivity and health care, criminal justice and motor vehicle crash expenses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011a). In spite of these alarming conditions, there is a dearth of knowledge about hospitality workers, their work environment and alcohol consumption and dependence (Pizam, 2010). A potentially serious form of alcohol use is binge drinking that has been labelled a ‘huge health problem’ by the CDC (2010). The definition of binge drinking differs between and even within countries (CDC, 2010; National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2004; SAMHSA, 2011; World Health Organization [WHO], 2010). Binge drinking is respon- sible for more than half of all deaths attributed to excessive drinking each year (CDC, 2010) as well as increased accidents, injury and violent behaviour (Anderson, 2008; Myers & Isralowitz, 2011; Naimi et al., 2003). It tends to be more common among male adults; however, binge drinking is rising among females in some European countries and Israel (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs [ESPAD], 2009; Isralowitz & Reznik, 2011; SAMHSA, 2011). In the early 1990s, approximately 1 million people relocated to Israel from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Alcohol use, representation in treatment services, homelessness and other related factors have has been reported to be more prevalent among Russian speaking adult immigrants than among the Jewish population with Israeli origin (Weiss, 2008). Research of Israeli high-risk youth does not show this alcohol use pattern (Isralowitz & Rawson, 2006; Isralowitz & Reznik, 2006). In Israel, last 30-day alcohol use, binge drinking and related problem behaviour are on the rise (Knesset, 2009). This article focuses on binge drinking among Israeli adult hospitality workers comparing gender and country of origin status. Correspondence: R. Isralowitz, Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Resources Center, Ben Gurion UniversityBeer Sheva, 84105 Israel. Tel: 011-972-8-6472316. Fax: 011-972-8-6428141. E-mail: richard@bgu.ac.il 181