Textbook definition - 2 or more a day is indicative of a "possible" alcohol problem.
Possible being the active word. I don't know about others, but I think that's a pretty weak definition overall. 2 beers while watching a ball game? A double before a dinner date? 2 Scotches on a Saturday night? 2 small glasses of wine during a meal? C'mon, that's not problem-drinking. Several drinks, often, yes, that's a problem.
The official definition is not very accurate. Some people do put down a good amount of alcohol, but have no real problems with life. Others, well, 3 or 4 drinks are a problem. Or they crave the drink's effects. Or, they're a serious problem for those around them when they drink. It's a much more complicated situation than just throwing a low number quantity on the number of drinks and assigning fault.
One shoe fitting all is communist / social planning. I can drink a few drinks every night for weeks sometimes breaking freedom a few to many but then walk away for months. Lots of that is based on stress at work. Guess what, if the gimme dats want to do takes from me then STFU on every thing I do. Central planning control freaks are the only ones counting drinks, Tobacco, ... but never count homo partners, abortion, out of wedlock bastards, tatto, asissrance programs, and transfer payments. Odd work we live in.
I’m weary of this topic. Alcohol is very seductive and very destructive—particularly with those who have some predispositions toward alcohol abuse. I know my buddy has extensive professional experience with abusers. And, he has seen that more than 2 a day is predictive of either having a problem with alcohol or will develop a serious such problem in the coming few to several years. I’ve observed similar things.