With Spring Break here for some students, and right around the
corner for others we thought it appropriate to write about binge drinking.
Some view it as a right of passage, traveling to a warm destination and
partying. Hopefully some of this information can help people make better
decisions.
First, what is binge drinking? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism defines
binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when
men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about
2 hours.
Is binge drinking a problem? Binge
drinking is a bigger problem than we thought. Binge drinking is about more than just the number of binge drinkers. The amount and number of times binge drinkers
drink are also important to address.
Age group with most binge drinkers: 18-34 year
Age group that binge drinks most often: 65+ years
Income group with most binge drinkers: more than $75,000
Income group that binge drinks the most often and drinks most
per
·
Most
alcohol-impaired drivers binge drink.
·
Most
people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics.
·
More
than half of the alcohol adults drink is while binge drinking.
·
More
than 90% of the alcohol youth drink is while binge drinking.
Binge drinking
costs everyone.
·
Drinking too much, including binge drinking, cost $746 per person,
or $1.90 a drink, in the US
·
Binge drinking cost federal, state, and local governments about 62
cents per drink in 2006, while federal and state income from taxes on alcohol
totaled only about 12 cents per drink.
·
Drinking too much contributes to over 54 different injuries and
diseases, including car crashes, violence, and sexually-transmitted diseases.
·
The chance of getting sick and dying from alcohol problems
increases significantly for those who binge drink more often and drink more
when they do.
