If Lincoln needed a call to action to cut down on binge drinking, a fourth-place national ranking for this risky behavior ought to be sufficient.

The latest survey by the Centers for Disease Control reported that one in five Lincoln adults drank five or more drinks in one sitting in the previous month.

The finding can’t be blamed entirely on the high number of college students in the city.

There’s also too much binge drinking in Lincoln among adults who aren’t enrolled in college.

At worst, binge drinking can lead to fatal alcohol poisoning, as well as other health ailments. Indirectly, it’s linked to car crashes, fights, sexual assaults, accidental pregnancies and similar problems.

The problem is engrained in the culture. Similar high rates of binge drinking are reported in the nearby states of North and South Dakota. Fargo, N.D., where almost one in four adults reported binge drinking, claimed the unenviable distinction of the highest rate in the country.

As bad as Lincoln’s rate is, it would be a lot worse if not for a concerted effort being made at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to curb binge drinking through the NU Directions program.

Since the campus-community coalition began its work in 1998, binge drinking on campus has dropped from 63 percent in 1997 to 42 percent, which is below the national average.

Some of the measures employed in the program include sanctions on Greek houses that permit alcohol violations and residence hall contracts that require parents to be notified of alcohol violations.

The coalition also has been active in working with police and other leaders to crack down on off-campus party houses. This year, students at UNL, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Southeast Community College are participating in the “We Agree” program to educate students about the consequences of parties that get out of control and encourage practices to prevent parties from being unmanageable.

A similar approach might be used to change cultural acceptance in the community at large.

Linda Major, director of NU Directions, said the first step would be to gather more data on the binge-drinking habits of Lincoln adults who are not in college, and then devise strategies to change the culture.

One significant finding among college students is that they typically believe binge drinking is more common than it actually is, which induces some to go along with an imaginary cultural norm. A similar phenomenon might be at work in the general population.

Before anyone accuses the Journal Star editorial board of being joyless, grim-faced purveyors of a new prohibition, allow us to make clear that light drinking can be part of a happy, fulfilling life. Numerous health studies have demonstrated that light drinking causes few health problems and may actually offer some cholesterol-lowering health benefits.

But the positive effects of alcohol quickly turn into negatives as the number of drinks rises. A community that tolerates binge drinking as normal behavior has a drinking problem.