MidnightCall Magazine
News From Israel MagazineWhat are the dangers of binge drinking?
The short answer is failing grades (40 percent) and dropping out (28 percent). But the long answer is far more insidious, more devastating, and deadly! Binge drinking is drinking alcohol (usually beer) without restraint, to the point of becoming drunk. Binge drinking often begins around age 12 or 13 and peaks during ages 18-22. A Harvard University survey reveals that 44 percent of college students reported binge drinking. Yet, on some college campuses, where 70 percent or more of the student body binge drinks, 87 percent of all students have experienced one or more problems such as physical assault, sexual harassment, impaired sleep, and interrupted study time, as a result of their peers drinking. And half of students who binge drink do so more than once a week. Now that’s scary.
More than 60 percent of all injuries, vandalism, and problems with the police reported on college campuses are caused by weekly binge drinkers. Here’s another scary stat: 24.5 percent of those who start drinking at age 17 or younger develop alcohol dependence, meaning they become alcoholics. It is estimated that 12-14 million kids are drinking dangerously. At one time, binge drinking only took place on Friday and Saturday nights. But now in many colleges it begins on Thursday night. A number of colleges have dropped Friday classes because so few students show up after Thursday night bashes. I think this is absolutely wrong because it is not fair to the non-drinking students, and more importantly, these colleges have become enablers for the drunks, and are in fact rewarding them with a day off. Very sad. While beer has long been the beverage of choice on campuses, some students have been drinking harder liquor in the past three to five years. This poses a greater target of alcohol poisoning and death due to alcohol!
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism counts 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 who die each year of alcohol-related unintentional injuries. More stats:
- 88 percent of high school seniors have tried alcohol at least once by the time they graduate from high school;
- two-thirds of the students are regular drinkers and two-fifths are frequent binge drinkers;
- alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined;
- alcohol is a factor in the three leading causes of death among 15-24 year olds: accidents, homicides, and suicides;
- youths who drink are 7 times more likely to use other illegal drugs and more likely to use cocaine, than young people who never drink;
- and 60 percent of college women who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including time they had intercourse. The blame lies with the barrage of beer commercials televised during sporting events, and most of all, parents who keep beer in the fridge and liquor in the cabinets. Begin training your children before they start kindergarten not to accept drugs from anyone and teach them that alcohol is a drug in liquid form. One final thought: Remind them that drunkenness is a sin. “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10).