...and can also lead to risky behaviors or even death. Nearly 88,000 people die annually due to alcohol-related causes in the United States. Additionally, alcohol consumption can lead to binge drinking, which is typically about 4 drinks for women or 5 drinks for men in a two-hour span. The minimum age to consume alcohol in the United States is 21, but that doesn't stop underage people from drinking. This is extremely relevant in South Dakota where Brookings and Clay County have...
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...Drinking binges are generally occurring among college aged people. Binge drinking also known as episodic drinking is defined as “drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. “Some binge drinkers may also consume a consistent amount of alcohol over a long period of time, also leading to intoxication. Binge drinking can also be described as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men per sitting. “Binge drinking is a kind of purposeful drinking style, and somewhat overlaps with social drinking since it is often done in groups.” Due to long-term effects of alcohol misuse binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue. “As college students arrive on campus, it’s a time of new experiences, new friendships, and making memories that will last forever.” Binge drinking is more common in males, during young adulthood. Most binge drinkers do not know any of the risks associated with binge drinking. “Heavy regular binge drinking is associated with negative effects on neurologic, cardiac, gastrointestinal, hematologic, psychiatric, immune and musculoskeletal organ systems.” Up to one third of college aged people binge drink, six percent result in having an alcohol related substance use disorder. Binge drinking in college aged people is commonly associated to unprotected sex, car accidents, unplanned pregnancy, contraction of diseases, suicide and other types of...
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...Academic Effects Of Alcohol Consumption Shannell Richardson Lindsay Barrow May 10,2000 Econ 312; Prof, Wolaver Academic Effects of Alcohol Consumption Introduction: In recent years, college students are consuming alcohol at increasing rates. According to the Harvard School of Public Health CoUege Alcohol Study (1999), 44% of the students surveyed were binge drinkers and 23 % were frequent binge drinkers. Binge drinkers are often associated with a higher probability of experiencing alcohol-related problems such as violence, car accidents, injuries and the tendency to disregard academic responsibilities. Much research has been conducted concerning alcohol consumption and its effects on academics in higher education institutions. In our study, we would like to filrther investigate this issue and apply it to Bucknell University. There is a widely accepted conception of Bucknell students' drinking behavior as excessive and dangerous. The Bucknell community, including administration and staff, believe that Bucknell students have a serious problem with alcohol abuse, especially binge drinking. We believe that heavy alcohol consumption can lead to a decrease in class attendance; lower achievement on projects and tests; and inability to concentrate on class material. We intend to uncover the relationship between Bucknell students' alcohol consumption and academics. In addition...
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...What is Binge Drinking? Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks in a row on at least one occasion." In national surveys (in the USA) about a third of high school seniors and 45 percent of college students reported at least one occasion of binge drinking within the previous 2 weeks. March 26, 2004: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reports that, “More than five million high schoolers binge drink at least once a month.” As a Floridian who lives near one of the 'Spring Break" hot spots, this comes as no great shock. I guess there are a lot of parents out there who are surprised by these numbers and yet, what were they doing in college or when the drinking age was 18? How do you expect your kid to just say no, when you said yes not that long ago? Talk to your teenagers and be honest with them! ~ Amy. RN ~ [pic] While some national surveys have documented a significant decline in the use of other drugs by high school seniors and college-age youths, there have been only small declines in the numbers reporting binge drinking. Teenagers and young adults drink alcoholic beverages at about the same rates they did 5 years ago. Binge drinking increases the risk for alcohol-related injury, especially for young people, who often combine alcohol with other high-risk activities, such as impaired driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the four leading injury-related causes of death among youths under the age of...
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...Binge drinking, the act of heavy alcohol consumption with the primary intention of becoming inebriated, happens almost everywhere, especially in college during early adulthood. Binge drinking is especially popular with male college students in fraternities or at social gatherings, and it has developed into an issue for some college faculty and communities. Drinking and consuming alcohol amongst college students is just about as common as study sessions in the library; however not every college student whom consumes alcohol is binge drinking. Binge drinking among college students has been going on for decades, but only recently has it become a widely discussed issue. Many college students who participate in binge drinking do not know the immediate risks in heavy alcohol consumption, or the adverse long-term effects of intense alcohol abuse. According to Wechsler, “A recent study conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated that over 1800 college students 18-24 years of age died from alcohol related injuries in the past year”(31). These alcohol related deaths do not necessarily indicate that the person who died had been consuming alcohol or let alone binge drinking; this means that any death where an alcoholic beverage was found could be classified as an alcohol related death. Thus rendering drinking combined with any other activity as the “big problem”, but who is to blame when these accidents or injuries occur? Do we blame the college student...
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...COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY WHAT EFFECTS DOES ACOHOL BINGE DRINKING HAVE ON PROSPECTIVE MEMORY? SARAH HILL P4042678 Dr Janice Bartholomew Abstract This study aims to examine and investigate what effects alcohol binge drinking and non-binge drinking has on prospective memory. Introduction One of the most widely used drugs in the world is the alcohol. It has been shown to play a detrimental role within society and on an individuals health. According to the NHS, excessive alcohol use can increase the risk of having a heart attack and also cause health problems related to the liver, fertility and high blood pressure (NHS, 2014). Excessive alcohol use can also have an impact on mental health and abusing alcohol can cause psychological traits such as impulsiveness and low self-esteem (‘Understanding alcohol use disorders and their treatment’, n.d.). In 2002 as study was conducted to measure memory deficits of chronic alcohol use and the results make clear that chronic heavy alcohol users outline more impairments within prospective memory (Heffernan, 2002). Prospective memory (PM) is “the cognitive function we use for formulating plans and promises, for retaining them, and for re-collecting them subsequently either at the right time or on the occurrence of appropriate cues” (Graf, 2012, pp. 7-8). Memories such as realising that you need to take medicine before bedtime or remembering to pick up a birthday present for a loved one. It's important to fundamentally understand...
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...source that hazing and particularly binge drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, academic life, and health on college campuses today. The journal article pertaining to this issue, How Harvard’s College Alcohol Study Can Help Your Campus Design a Campaign Against Student Alcohol Abuse (CAS: Campus Alcohol Study for short), focuses more heavily on binge drinking and prevention than it does on the Greek system itself. The authors, Wechsler, Nelson, and Weitzman, contend that binge drinking is a nationally recognized problem but has not been studied efficiently enough to warrant effective prevention plans. The purpose of this article is to share with the public the results of a survey representing 50,000 students in 140 colleges, in 39 states. This is the first nationally representative survey of its kind and the analysis of its outcome by the authors of this article has resulted in seemingly sound prevention ideas. To begin interpreting the binge drinking phenomenon, a solid understanding of the term must be presented. Binge drinking is defined by all the articles as consuming five or more drinks in rapid succession (four or more for women) at least once in a two week period. Shockingly, the College Alcohol Study (CAS) found that two out of every five college students binge drink. The authors of this article argue that binge drinking has negative effects not only on the drinkers, but also on the entire student body. The binge drinker might get alcohol poisoning...
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...Essay 2 Rough Draft Writing 123 Enthymeme: The minimum legal drinking age in the United States should not be lowered from 21 to 18 because the legal drinking age is in place to protect young people at a time when irresponsible behavior is prevalent. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Debate Since 2008, 136 college chancellors and presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, asking that the United States reconsider the minimum legal drinking age-21 (MLDA-21) laws that have been in place in all 50 states since 1984. The Amethyst Initiative argues that the MLDA-21 laws simply do not work, create a culture of binge-drinking, and that a policy of legalization and education would be more effective in protecting the safety of American adolescents. Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, the president of Sweet Briar College in Virginia and Amethyst Initiative signatory writes that 70 percent of the student population is underage. Teaching abstinence to students that blatantly ignore the MLDA-21 laws, or urging responsible behavior while drinking underage and breaking the law, are both hypocritical positions for the college administration to be in (Muhlenfeld 2). The Amethyst Initiative position is that current MLDA-21 laws have created a culture of heavy alcohol use by making drinking clandestine and extreme (Saylor 1). The statistics seem to back up this claim. Recent survey's of the 18-20 year old population by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that a full 72 percent report...
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...is going to be done on underage drinking and the rate of binge drinking experienced by Wisconsin High School students. The proposed group to teach to is high school students. In 2007, 32% of Wisconsin high school students reported binge use of alcohol, while the prevalence of binge declined among high school students nationally from 1997 to 2007, there was no consistent decline in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2008). As a whole Wisconsin has higher rates compared to the United States for underage drinking for youth ages 12 to 20 (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2008). In 2007 Wisconsin had the third highest rate of binge drinking (Wisconsin Epidemiology Profile on Alcohol and Consumption, 2008). According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2014) the state has the highest rate of drunk driving and there were more than 40,000 convictions for drunk driving in 2013, and in 2009 the number of alcohol related crashes resulting in fatalities were 238 people and injured 4,000 people. Out of all of the fatal traffic accidents in 2009 for Wisconsin, 45 percent of them were alcohol related and 40 percent of all fatal motorcycle crashes were also alcohol-related as well (Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 2014). Binge drinking cost the state of Wisconsin $6.8 billion in 2012 according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and there were 50,000 hospitalizations due to binge drinking in 2011, and in 2010 more than...
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... Underage Drinking Alcohol has become the root of many issues in not only the United States but also around the world. There are a countless number of effects it has on your body physically, mentally, and emotionally. From all types health problems such as diseases and cancers, to the the bad decsions you make while under the influence such as drinking and driving and suicide, to the deppression and sadness it can bring. Everyone likes to go and drink to have a good time, but it has become such an abused drug that is ruining many peoples lives because they can't control it. None more than the people who drink underage. Alcohol use by people under the age of 21 is a major problem in the US. It is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth, more than tobacco and illicit drugs. Although drinking under the age of 21 is illegal, people ages 12 to 20 consume more than 11% of all alcohol in the United States each year. Underage drinking has become an epidemic, gradually getting worse every year. Alcohol is responible for the death of almost 5,000 teens each year and approximately 190,000 emergency room visits. Nearly 9 million youths, ages 12-20, report they have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. The rate of current alcohol consumption increases with increasing age according to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 1% at age 12 to 15% at age 16 and 39% at age 20. Binge drinking is the most common pattern of excessive alcohol...
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...lowering the drinking age has been in the process for quite some time now. Many people argue that it should be lowered to the age of eighteen, and some people have argued that it shouldn’t be lowered and stay at twenty-one. Though there are many reasons that prove both arguments correct, the law still remains where it was set at. Most say the drinking age should not be lowered because it would increase the danger and deaths to underage drinkers, but that all has to do with the main argument for lowering the age, maturity. In the United States, at the age of 18, people are not able to buy alcohol but are able to join the military, vote, be considered adults, and buy cigarettes which can be as harmful if not more so than alcohol. I propose that we also add being able to legally buy alcohol at the age of 18. Prior to 1984, states were allowed to choose their own legal drinking ages. The legal age limit varied from state to state anywhere between 18 and 21 years of age. “One of the more compelling arguments for setting the age to 21was that the prohibition had only exacerbated drinking, particularly among the young”(Seaman 242). In 1984, the United States congress passed the national minimum drinking age act. Ronal Reagan instigated this act when he set up a study to look at the drunken driving problem in the United States. Scientists recommended that there should be a national uniform drinking age of 21. Since then, there have been many that oppose and want to reform the drinking age....
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...Substance Abuse – Pre-midterm Notes Week 2 (First lecture) – 9/10 * Substance use vs. abuse * Use * The legal enjoyment of your property within socially acceptable norms * i.e. you don’t drive under the influence – that’s not socially acceptable * Consumption of any psychoactive substance * More neutral * Includes * Social drinking * 1-2 drinks on any one social occasion * Abuse * Any use of illegal drugs * Ex. Any use of crack cocaine – never legal * Used both objectively and pejoratively with the intention to vilify consumption of illicit drugs * Use that is harmful and puts the user at risk * Have been used interchangeably by the media * Alcohol use in that context * Social drinking * 1-2 drinks in a day, in any one social occasion * Problem drinking * 3-4 drinks a day * Alcohol abuse * 6-24 drinks a day * What is a drug?: Defining the term * 3 categories: Illegality, Medical utility, Psychoactivity * Medical utility * Used to treat or heal the mind or body * Medicalization: prescription of currently illegal substances for medical purposes * Marijuana in 14 states * Heroin in some countries * Not all substances have medical utility * Categorization by government ...
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...In order to provide academic insight into the issue of youth binge drinking; the following essay will present an overview of the issues associated with youth binge drinking, compare relevant statistics, discuss the relevant economic model and present a critical analysis on the effectiveness of an alcopops tax. The term binge drinking is defined as the consumption of a sufficiently large amount of alcohol, which places the drinker at increased risk of experiencing alcohol related problems and to places others at risk of second hand effects (Wechsler & Nelson, 2001). Binge drinking is measured as the consumption of five or more drinks, in a row at some stage, within a two-week period for men and four or more drinks in a row for women (Wechsler & Nelson, 2001). Youth binge drinking is perceived to be an issue from a societal perspective due to the dose-related adverse consequences. The inappropriate consumption of alcohol by youths is directly linked to a range of problems to society, including health issues, lower life expectancy, accidents, reduced workplace productivity, drink driving, violence and other forms of crime (Collins & Lapsley, 2008). Hospital records of alcohol related harm to youths show an increased of up to 70% when drinking alcopops (University of Queensland, 2013). The economic costs to society for binge drinking in 2010 was estimated to be in excess of $14 billion (Figure 1) (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2013) (Manning & Smith, 2013). Figure 1: Cost...
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...Enhancing Health and Wellbeing Name: University: 1 August 2014 Enhancing Health and Wellbeing The health agenda Health is constantly evolving and will relate to different things for different people (Jack & Holt, 2008). The paper uses the World Health Organization’s definition of health, which states that health is a stare of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. The definition goes beyond other primary declaration of health as being the absence of disease. Health needs vary among individuals and groups in society mainly due to social class and wealth differences. Often, those living in the poorest social economic conditions also suffer greatest from health problems, and when dealing with such issues, it is important to embrace a holistic definition of public health. Here, the adequate explanation would be to take public health as a science and art of disease prevention and health promotion as ways of prolonging life. In that regard, health needs assessments are important when tackling public health issues for communities. The assessments help to identify new health priorities to reflect changing social circumstances, and results from previous public health approaches. In addition, assessments help to realign health interventions with changes in demographics, given that individuals may not belong to only one community; they can join different communities at separate times of their lives (Hien, et al., 2010). Alcohol misuse as a contemporary health issue Alcohol...
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...Beliefs about Binge Drinking and related violence Abstract This study was designed to understand the beliefs people hold about binge drinking and related violence. 342 Males and 436 females who came from various cultures, backgrounds, education levels, and relationship status participated in a survey comprised of demographical and socio-demographic questions. The hypothesis for this study was partially upheld as it was hypothesized that age, gender, being European, how many times in the course of a typical month an individual would consume more than four standard drinks on a single occasion, and had the individual been a victim or know a victim of binge drinking related violence would show a positive correlation with the criterions ‘Frequency and Severity’, and ‘Interventions’. However, gender did not yield a positive correlation when examining ‘Frequency and Severity’. When ‘Interventions ‘were examined only age, gender, and drinking patterns showed a positive correlation. An individual’s age and drinking pattern appears to be the most significant predictors when considering binge drinking and related violence beliefs. Beliefs about Binge Drinking and Related Violence The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2004) has described binge drinking as the consumption of over four drinks for men and three drinks for women. Binge drinking, which is most common among adolescents and young adults, has been associated with violent acts such as domestic violence, death...
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