Dangers of Binge Drinking / Alcohol Abuse Educational Video
The Dangers of Binge Drinking Anti-alcohol Educational Video. Public domain video and public service announcement courtesy of SAMHSA. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Binge Drinking and Youth: What Everyone Needs To Know. Sponsor: CSAT. Host: Ivette Torres, Associate Director for Consumer Affairs, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Invited Panelists: Steve Wing, Associate Administrator for Alcohol Policy, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (HHS); Ralph Hingson, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (HHS); Hope Taft (First Lady of Ohio), Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free; Clarke Brown, Youth Services Division, Hazelden Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers. Results from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that 25 percent of Americans aged 17 had reported binge drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on the same occasion). By age 21, the percentage of binge drinkers had increased to 48 percent. College is clearly a catalyst for alcohol use; in fact, young adults aged 18 to 22 who don’t attend college drink less than those who do attend. Many binge drinkers in college begin experimenting with alcohol in high school. Students may not want to think about it, but young people can become alcohol dependent and many will die from excessive alcohol consumption. This program will reveal the subcultures and behaviors that support binge drinking while highlighting prevention, early interventions, and treatment options. Alcohol use among youth is associated with a wide variety of risky behaviors and poor outcomes, including unprotected sexual intercourse, vulnerability to coerced sexual activity, the use of marijuana, and poor academic performance. In 2003, nearly a third of all traffic deaths among youth ages 15 to 20 were alcohol-related.3 Alcohol use among adolescents is also related to an increased risk of alcohol dependence in adulthood. Binge drinking can contribute to many health disorders including cancer, liver, pancreatic and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a variety of gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders and reproductive system disorders. Environmental risk factors associated with adolescent drinking include having alcoholic parents; a lack of parental support, monitoring, and communication; and having peers who drink. The percentage of adolescents in grades eight and ten who report engaging in binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks) declined modestly during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In 2006, rates were 11 percent among eighth graders and 22 percent among tenth graders. Among twelfth graders, the percentage engaging in binge drinking declined from 32 percent in 1998 to 27 percent in 2006. Earlier data for twelfth grade students indicate an overall drop from 41 percent in 1981 to 30 percent by 1991. To most people, binge drinking brings to mind a self-destructive and unrestrained drinking bout lasting for at least a couple of days during which time the heavily intoxicated drinker “drops out” by not working, ignoring responsibilities, squandering money, and engaging in other harmful behaviors such as fighting or risky sex. This view is consistent with that portrayed in dictionary definitions, in literature, in art, and in plays or films such as the classic Come Back Little Sheeba and Lost Weekend or the recent Leaving Las Vegas. It is also consistent with the usage of physicians and other clinicians. As the editor of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol emphasizes, binge describes an extended period of time (typically at least two days) during which time a person repeatedly becomes intoxicated and gives up his or her usual activities and obligations in order to become intoxicated. It is the combination of prolonged use and the giving up of usual activities that forms the core of the clinical definition of binge.
