Binge Drinking: A Contributor to Wasted Lives and Unfulfilled Potential
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jill_L._Ferguson]Jill L. Ferguson

What is Binge Drinking?

Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men during one occasion, and/or getting drunk more than once per month.  A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces or one shot of liquor, or 12 ounces of wine cooler.  (One drink does not equal a keg-size cup.  Keg cups can hold up to three drinks.) Binge drinking is drinking as much as possible as fast as possible for the sole purpose of getting drunk.

The Dangers of Binge Drinking

Binge drinking increases the risk of alcohol related injury (due to high risk activities such as drinking and driving), unplanned/unprotected sex, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, date rape, violence, suicide, alcohol poisoning, alcoholism, and death.  Statistics have shown that people who binge drink are 2 to 5 times more likely to experience problems from drinking, including legal problems related to drinking, i.e., DUI/DWI.  Binge drinking can also lead to liver disease, cancer, heart disease and brain damage.

Facts You Should Know

Over forty-one percent of college students engage in binge drinking, according to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

The four leading injury-related causes of death among the under-20 crowd are motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides and drowning, with many of these being attributed to binge drinking and alcohol.?Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Non-binge drinkers often suffer effects and injury, including  rape, sexual advances and property damage,  as a result of their binge drinking friends, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

How to Help a Binge Drinker

If you are with someone who has had too much to drink:

Cut off the supply of alcohol.

Help the person avoid dangerous situations (i.e. driving, sexual activity, wandering around in dark or unfamiliar territory or alone).

If your friend is unconcious, roll him/her on his/her side to prevent choking on vomit.

Never leave the person unattended.

Dial 9-1-1 or call local emergency services in your area.

If your friend has passed out, s/he is probably in the beginning stages of alcohol poisoning.  Without professional medical treatment, alcohol poisoning can lead to coma and to death.

Jill L. Ferguson is a writer, editor, public speaker and professor of creative writing, communication and literature. She spent the last half of the 1990s as executive director for a substance abuse coalition. Her novel, Sometimes Art Can’t Save You, about a teenager trying to cope in a chaotic and violent household, was published in October 2005 by In Your Face Ink ( http://www.inyourfaceink.com)

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The Dangers of Binge Drinking
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Mckean]Kevin Mckean

If you are a binge drinker, you should realize that not only could it make you an alcoholic it can also lead to death! This article will make you aware of the dangers of binge drinking, so it is important for you to pay attention. In most cases, binge drinking is more prevalent among teenagers and people in their early twenties but could occur a lot earlier. Binge drinking is not something to do just for fun.

Many people binge drink and do not know the seriousness of it. To most people their just drinking and having a good time with some friends, but that do not make it any less dangerous. People who die of binge drinking usually die of alcohol poisoning, which could shut down vital organs and even stop your heart. If you consider yourself a binge drinker it would be wise to stop right away before it turns into something you would not be able to control.

Binge drinking does not discriminate; it does not care if you are black, white, yellow or red. Parents being more knowledgeable when it comes to their children?s activities during college and parties are an effective weapon against binge drinking. Many teenagers agree that peer pressure is a major factor in them deciding to binge drink. Parents should talk to their kids at a young age about the dangers of alcohol abuse, and throughout their teenage years also. Communication is the best defense against situations like these when it comes to your kids. Try anything within your power as a parent to prevent your kids from abusing alcohol. Let them know the dangers of alcoholism and the shame and hurt it can convey upon loved ones.

Nothing good can come out of binge drinking except alcoholism. Many binge drinkers who claim to only do it at parties or just for fun, usually become alcoholics or worse. Drinking and driving is also another effect of abusing alcohol. Young girls who engage in binge drinking at parties are in danger of being sexually assaulted or worse. Excessive drinking is never good, there is nothing that can come out of abusing alcohol, even if you only do it once a month at parties. If parents fail to educate their children about the dangers of binge drinking, it could cost them their lives. If you feel like you need help with your teen then talk to someone at your local police station, they should have programs that you and your teen can attend.

For more information on alcoholism and alcohol rehab please visit my website: [http://www.alchol-rehab.info/alchol-rehab]Alchol Rehab

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I just read this statistic today:

An Associated Press analysis of federal records found that 157 college-age people, 18 to 23, drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. The number of alcohol-poisoning deaths per year nearly doubled over that span, from 18 in 1999 to a peak of 35 in 2005, though the total went up and down from year to year and dipped as low as 14 in 2001. That trend is thought to once again to be on the rise recently.

For the full story, please go to

mywesttexasnews

This story was posted on YouTube by a woman in the UK whose young neice died this year as a result of alcohol abuse.  It is touching and frightening.  Remember that partying sounds like fun but it can lead to tragedy. - Jeanete

Please be aware that there are images that some may find upsetting or disturbing. Many Thanks for watching. To view the full unedited version with the studio Q & A please visit Channel 4 news.

This was originally broadcast as part of the evening Channel4 news bulletin on 25th June 2008. Our thanks go out to Film-maker/journalist Kate Taunton, Channel4 and Minnow Films ‘http://www.minnowfilms.co.uk/‘