Binge Drinking

We all know what it is like to wake up in the morning, your head is aching, and your body feels like it was hit by a big garbage truck. College students worldwide know this feeling. These are the results of binge drinking. Why do they do it?

Binge drinking is defined for men as drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks, and for women as drinking four r more drinks in a row ( ICAP 1). This has become a great pastime for college students nationwide and a major concern on many campuses.

A survey taken by students attending Yale University in 1997 showed the average binge drinker profile to be white, lacking religious participation, athletic, and members of fraternities or sororities (ICAP 4). Contrary to popular belief, year in school (i.e. freshman, sophomore, etc.) was not a significant factor in binge drinking, despite the fact that students under 21 would still participate in the drinking activities (NCADI 3). Studies show that binge drinking can start in high school and continue through college (ICAP 4). Twenty-eight percent of high school seniors have already associated with binge drinking (ICAP, 4).

The question of why students continue to submit themselves to alcohol is unknown. While many reasons are given, students generally fall into three categories (Kaufman 2). Peer Pressure is one of the main reasons students feel as if they need to binge drink. They do this because their peers are doing it and they want to fit in better.

Insecurity is another incentive as to why students binge drink. College life can be very stressful, and drinking can sometimes become a crutch to make up for it (Kaufman 2).

Students also binge drink to help them solve their problems. They turn to alcohol to aid themselves with hiding their feelings and numb their pain for a while.

There are many consequences of binge drinking. Health problems and social problems are just a few. Nausea, having a hangover and memory loss are just a few of the short-term effects of binge drinking. The more serious and long-term consequences of binge drinking can result in higher chances of stroke, heart disease, and brain tumors

(ICAP 2).

Frequent binge drinkers have the most serious problems. These people are seven to sixteen times more likely, than non-binge drinkers to have missed classes, gotten behind in their school work, engaged in unplanned sexual activity, and not used protection during sexual intercourse, had run-ins with campus police, damaged property, or been injured or hurt (NCADI 2). Administrators at many of the larger college campuses may consider action on such a serious issue by taking several actions. They can establish a zero tolerance policy for alcohol-related violence, control the conditions of alcohol use on campus, work with the community to limit student access to alcohol, and eliminate alcohol advertising on college campuses.

Violent behavior isn t always caused by alcohol. However, students who drink are more apt to get into fights and act out their violent feelings (Kaufman 2). Alcohol makes people feel as if it is ok to act on these feelings of violence. It makes people loose their common sense and it damages their judgement (Kaufman 2).

Death is also a possible consequence of binge drinking. Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the leading causes of death of teenager s ages 16-20 (ICAP 3). Binge drinking is also associated with alcohol poisoning. Students may drink so much alcohol in a little time that their blood alcohol level rises to risky heights and can cause one to black out and possibly die ( ICAP 3). If students continue to drink over a long period of time, their liver can suffer dramatically. Alcohol can soak into one s liver and eventually shut down. This can cause immediate death.

The consequences of binge drinking branch from a mere hangover to possible death. Still, college students indulge themselves in binge drinking all over the world. Why do they do it? There is no single answer.