Having a drink every now and then is common for most teenagers and adults. Whether you drink with friends in a club, or have a couple of drinks over dinner; it’s still considered drinking. When you let it get out of hand, however, it could be considered as binge drinking. In this article we’ll talk a little more about this subject.
Binge drinking is a drinking style that’s popular all around the world. It is often done in groups. Don’t confuse it with social drinking, though. No, binge drinking is a lot worse than just social drinking. People who binge drink are drinking a lot of alcohol with the sole purpose of becoming intoxicated quickly. Binge drinking is more common for males, but no one quite knows what qualifies as binge drinking. In the UK binge drinking is drinking more than 8 drinks a day, whereas in Australia it is 7. In the United States consuming more than five drinks over a 2-hour period is considered binge drinking behavior.
Health problems are commonly associated with people who partake in binge drinking often. It’s not just the standard “liver problems” you should worry about, it’s much more than that. Have you ever thought about drunk people having intercourse? You become a lot more reckless when intoxicated. Often times binge drinking will result in STD’s, unwanted pregnancies, children born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and more. A drinking habit can also give you high blood pressure, heart problems, alcohol poisoning, and liver disease. We’re not even counting the problems you could run into when you’re intoxicated. Think about drunk driving, falling, burning yourself, drowning, accidentally shooting someone or yourself… you never know.
Binge drinking is not just something that only occurs in Europe. Everywhere in the world you will find people, mostly teens, who indulge in binge drinking. In fact, there have been several studies on binge drinking. In a study by the CDC we can find several shocking facts. The CDC is an American institute, so this study only reflects facts for America:
Sure, partying can be a lot of fun. At parties, almost everyone will be drunk. There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s only when it becomes excessive that it can be a problem. As we’ve mentioned before in this article, there are several health problems associated with binge drinking. This doesn’t just cost you, but it’s costing your government a significant amount of money as well. How, you ask? Well, whenever someone ends up in the hospital due to a binge drinking habit, it’s costing the government several health resources. Think about all the time doctors spend fixing up drunk people, when they could be helping other people. It’s not just in health resources that people who binge drink are costing the government; drunk people are more likely to commit crimes, call in sick for work, and more.
Preventing binge drinking is important. Governments all over the world think so too. It’s not only affecting you (if you are a binge drinker), but you are indirectly costing the government a lot of money as well. A few of the ways a government could help prevent binge drinking:
