Binge Drinking by Jeffrey Loop

It is 2 o'clock in the morning, and you have just driven out of the movie theater parking lot. As you are passing through an intersection, you are hit by a speeding car that ran through the red light. The driver of that car was intoxicated, and was binge drinking at a party a couple of blocks down the road. Driving under the influence of alcohol makes people more likely to take risks, like running red lights. Driving while intoxicated is just one of the many negative impacts on someone's life that can be caused by binge drinking. The fact that people "drink 'til you drop" is absurd because of all the negative effects that can happen to the binge drinker and to the people around them.

The definition of binge drinking has been argued between experts for years. They debated on how much alcohol needs to be consumed, and in what amount of time, would be classified as binge drinking. A couple of years ago, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism decided what the United States would classify as binge drinking. They decided that drinking until their Blood-Alcohol Content (BAC) is at .08 grams of ethanol per deciliter of blood will be classified as binge drinking ("Drinking Levels Defined"). In men, that is about five drinks in under two hours ("Drinking Levels Defined"). For women, they would need to drink around four drinks in under two hours to get their BAC to .08 g/dL ("Drinking Levels Defined").

Binge drinking has multiple causes. However, researchers argue over which cause is the most prevalent. Martin Stolle and his team of researchers conducted a survey that asked young teenagers why they participated in binge drinking. 76% of them stated that they believed it was fun to binge drink (323). 65% of the group felt more sociable while they were intoxicated (323). A little more than half of the respondents said that they felt more relaxed while intoxicated (323). 41% of the group said that binge drinking made the participants forget all about their troubles and worries (323). The results of these studies show that the binge drinkers feel like it is socially acceptable to binge drink. The adolescent binge drinkers believe that they will be able to “fit in” if they partake in activates involving binge drinking.

Stolle and his group also found risk factors that could lead to binge drinking in adolescents. Underage people are more likely to partake in binge drinking if their family has low socioeconomic status, if the teenagers have a sizable amount of pocket money, if their peers also partake in binge drinking, and if they have a conflicting relationship with their parents (324). These risk factors are common among all adolescents, so ending binge drinking will be a difficult task.

            The social epidemic of binge drinking affects all social constructs, from inner communities to the entire United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, has conducted many surveys and studies for information about binge drinking and its effects on society. People who binge drink are more likely to injure others intentionally through firearms, sexual assault, and domestic abuse (“Fact Sheets-Binge Drinking”). Also, binge drinkers are more likely to injure themselves and other people through unintentional acts like car accidents or drowning (“Fact Sheets-Binge Drinking”). Binge drinkers also hurt themselves purely from the excessive amounts of alcohol that they consumed. Binge drinking is associated with liver disease, alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure, increased chance of stroke, and other cardiovascular and neurological disorder (“Fact Sheets-Binge Drinking”). Everyone who binge drinks has a high risk of being injured or injuring others. It is absurd that people will drink so much, with all these outcomes being relatively well known.

            Binge drinking also affects people at a national scale. Jeffrey J. Sacks and his group of researchers looked into how much drinking excessive amounts of alcohol cost the United States. Excessive drinking cost the United State nearly $250 billion in 2010 (Jeffrey J. Sacks et al.). The government paid $100.7 billion, or around 40%, to cover for damages and health issues (Jeffrey J. Sacks et al.). Out of the $249.0 billion spent on excessive drinking, binge drinking made up more than ¾ of the cost, a total of $191.1 billion (Jeffrey J. Sacks et al.). So, people who do not even associate with people who binge drink are still affected by the epidemic through taxes. The fact that people have to lose a portion of their salary to pay for someone’s irresponsible drinking habits is absurd.

Alcohol abuse through binge drinking can affect everyone around the world, no matter what race, culture, age, or nationality. An example of this is when my great uncle became alcoholic, who had drinking habits that would be considered binge drinking. He started drinking excessive amounts of alcohol when he was in his late 50’s or early 60’s. The amount that he would drink in the amount of time he spent doing so would be considered binge drinking. He would continue to abuse alcohol for over ten years until he passed away. It was depressing to see someone who was successful their entire life fall into alcoholism. While most people believe that binge drinking is only a problem for the youth, this shows that binge drinking and alcohol abuse can occur in all age groups.

In 2013, a Texas teen made headlines all throughout the world. That teen was 16 year-old Ethan Couch. On June 15, 2013, Ethan Couch held a party at his parents’ second home (Klass and Valienta). He and his group of friends participated in heavy binge drinking, unsupervised by any adults. One of his friends wanted to stop by a convenient store (Klass and Valienta). Despite being told that he was too drunk to drive, Ethan decided to drive a couple of his friends down to the store. While driving, he swerved in and out of lanes and was “playing chicken” with other cars. He eventually hit a disabled car that was on the side of the road. He killed four of the people in and around the car, and injured a couple of his passengers (Klass and Valienta). After the incident, Couch was tested for his BAC level. It was reported that “Mr. Couch had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24, three times the legal limit for drivers” (Fernandez and Schwartz). This catastrophe was a result of an irresponsible drinking habit. The consequences of Ethan’s actions could have all been avoided had he not participated in binge drinking.

It is very difficult to come up with a solution to end binge drinking, mainly because it is not a simple epidemic. There is not a vaccine that can suddenly end a bad habit; a habit that has become socially acceptable among some cultural groups. However, it is possible to curb binge drinking and its effects on society. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention have given out recommendations on ways to minimalize the effects if binge drinking in states and cities through policy changes. Most of these recommendations are incentives to stop people from buying an excessive amount of alcohol, but some of them also involve the people who sell the alcohol.

One way to curb alcohol abuse and binge drinking is to increase the taxes on alcohol. Increasing the taxes on alcohol found in certain areas showed a significant decrease in motor vehicle crashes, which results in less injuries and fatalities (Elder, et al 223). The study also showed that an increase in taxes on alcohol lowered the number of deaths from alcohol related-cancers and suicide (Randy W Elder, et al 224). Also, there was a slight decrease in the number of fatalities from homicides and accidents such as falling (Elder, et al 224). In fact, just a 1% decrease in sales was found to decrease mortality rates by .023% (Randy W Elder, et al 224). This shows how much price can affect people’s tendency to participate in binge drinking

Another policy change that can reduce the effects of binge drinking is the dram shop liability policy. This policy would make is so that if someone, like a bartender, continued to serve alcohol to someone who had too much to drink, they are responsible for their actions. So, if the patron were to get into a car accident while driving under the influence, the bartender would be liable. This creates an incentive to not over-serve someone who had too much alcohol. The dram shop liability policy has been passed in some areas around the United States. There was found to be a 6.4% decrease in motor vehicle crashes after a dram shop liability policy was passed (Rammohan, et al 339). Also, there was found to be a reduction of all-cause motor vehicle deaths, with a reduction of 4.8%, and an average of 7.6% decrease in fatalities from minors (Rammohan, et al 339).

Reducing binge drinking rates does not have to be completely from policy changes. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a list of actions that could help reduce binge drinking in small communities and towns. These actions can be done by anyone, and can help many people with alcohol abuse. Simply setting an example by not binge drinking can help reduce it through positive peer pressure ("Fact Sheets - Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use."). Also, if someone is to drink alcohol, they should follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines so they can be sure to only drink a moderate amount ("Fact Sheets - Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use."). This is necessary if someone wants to remain healthy while still drinking alcohol. If someone is a bartender or someone who serves alcohol, they should not serve alcohol to people who are already intoxicated ("Fact Sheets - Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use."). Servers should do this regardless of whether or not a dram shop liability, because it is a responsible thing to do. Someone who has drank an excessive amount of alcohol is a danger to those around them. Another way to help reduce binge drinking is to make people who binge drink acknowledge their binge drinking behavior is an unhealthy one ("Fact Sheets - Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use."). Just helping people realize that there is a problem is a good first step to a healthier future.

While there are some policies that have been shown to negate binge drinking, there have also been some that have actually increased general alcohol consumption. One of these policies is one that would privatize certain types of alcohol to the government. This policy would make it that some types of alcoholic beverages will be regulated by the government. While this does appear to reduce consumption of alcohol, it actually has an opposite effect.

Across the studies qualifying for this review, the privatization of off-premises retail sales of an alcoholic beverage was associated with a median 44.4% increase (interquartile interval 4.5%, 122.5%) in the per capita sales of the beverage and with a 2.2% decline (interquartile interval -6.6%, -0.1%) in the per capita sales of beverages for which sales were not privatized (Hanh et al. 424).

These percentages show that if the government were to regulate some sale of alcohol, this would not affect the consumption rate. So, letting the government privatize some types of alcohol is ineffective in curbing the effects of binge drinking.

            Albert Camus was an author of absurd fiction, and was also considered to be a philosopher by many. Absurdity in everyday life means that something is without meaning. For example, many of the actions humans partake in would be considered absurd after rational thought. So, Camus would probably consider binge drinking to be absurd. Younger people begin binge drinking because it is considered to be acceptable in some social circles. The fact that someone would drink such an excessive amount of alcohol just so they can appear more acceptable to their peers is irrational.

            In conclusion, binge drinking is a social epidemic that has multiple causes. Anyone can start binge drinking; this epidemic knows no boundary, and can spread to any person, regardless of age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or culture. This social epidemic affects everyone, and whether or not an individual actually knows someone who partakes in this toxic drinking habit is irrelevant. Binge drinking and its affects have been proven to affect countries on the national scale. As many causes there are to binge drinking, there are also solutions. However, some of these supposed “solutions” have been shown to have no effect on binge drinking. For example, the government privatizing alcoholic beverages has been shown to be ineffective in curbing the effects of binge drinking. Hopefully, this epidemic will be solved soon, and will create a better society for future generations.

Works Cited

"Drinking Levels Defined." National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Elder, Randy W, et all . "Recommendations for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Related Harms by Limiting Alcohol Outlet Density." The Effectiveness of Tax Policy Interventions for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms 37.6 (2009): 223-24. The Community Guide. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

"Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. 

"Fact Sheets - Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Fernandez, Manny, and John Schwartz. "Teenager’s Sentence in Fatal Drunken-Driving Case Stirs ‘Affluenza’ Debate." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

Hahn, Robert A, et al. "Effects of Alcohol Retail Privatization on Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 42.4 (2012): 424. The Community Guide. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Klass, Caila, and Alexa Valiente. "'Affluenza' DUI Case: What Happened Night of the Accident That Left 4 People Dead." ABC News. ABC News Network, 31 Dec. 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Rammohan, Veda. "Recommendations on Dram Shop Liability and Overservice Law Enforcement Initiatives to Prevent Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 41.3 (2011): 339. The Community Guide. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Sacks, Jeffrey J., Katherine R. Gonzales, Ellen E. Bouchery, Laura E. Tomedi, and Robert D. Brewer. "2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption." American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Elsevier Inc., Nov. 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Stolle, Martin, Peter-Michael Sack, and Rainer Thomasius. "Binge Drinking in Childhood and Adolescence: Epidemiology, Consequences, and Interventions." Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. Deutscher Arzte Verlag, 08 May 2009. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.