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SharlenePennington
ENG100
Spring2015
PennyHirataKnight
BingeDrinking
Bingedrinkingisoneofthemanyactivitiesthatcollegestudentsengagein.They
indulgethemselvesinthisactivityasawaytotakeawaythestressthatschoolhascaused,orasa
wayofsocializingwithdifferentpeers,orsometimesjustmainlyfortheentertainmentofit.
However,littledoweknowascollegestudentsoftheharmfuleffectsthatbingedrinkingcan
bringuponus.Notonlydoesbingedrinkingposeaharmfulobviouseffecttoourhealth,but
alsoouractivitiesandethicsrelatingtoschool.Theactofbingedrinkingisamajorproblem
amongstcollegecampusesbecauseofthemanyconsequencesthatfollow.
Iamnottryingtoopposetheuseofalcoholusebyanymeansnecessary.Thedefinition
ofbingedrinkingistodrinkanexcessiveamountofalcoholinashortamountoftime.Whenit
comestodrinking,theysaytoknowyourlimitandpaceyourselfwhendoingso.Acertain
amountofalcoholadaycanbebeneficialtoyourhealth.AstudydonebyHarvardsSchoolof
PublicHealthstatesthatalcoholcanprotectyoufromheartdisease.However,theconsumption
ofalcohol,likemanyotherbehaviors,musthavelimitations.Ifalcoholisusedinmoderation
andnotexcessively,itcanbebeneficialtoyourhealthinthelongrun.
Manycollegestudentsengageinthetheactivityofbingedrinkingasawayofsocializing
withotherpeersatparties,bars,andmuchmore.Asbeingacollegestudentaswell,thestress
fromschoolandsuchcanbeveryoverwhelmingattimes.Whentheweekendcomesaround,

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nothingsoundsbetterthangatheringacoupleofyourpeersalongtoapartyanddrinkingalcohol
torelieveanystressthathasbeencauseuponbyschool.Nonetheless,somestudentsvarytheir
timingandscheduleswhenitcomestodrinking.Somestudentsbringituponthemselvesto
drinkonlywhenexamsarefinishedwith,orwhentheweekendisfinallyuponthemhowever,
therearecollegestudentswhofailtotakeintoconsiderationthetimeofweekitisandengagein
bingedrinkingwhenevertheyfeellikeit.
Oneoftheconsequencesthatfollowthroughfromtheproblemofbingedrinkingin
collegestudentsareacademicrelatedproblems.Theresultsthedayafterfrombingedrinking
arenottoopleasant.Mostcollegestudentswhowakeupthenextdayfrombingedrinking
resultinfromwhatmostcallahangover.Hangoversarewhenyourbloodalcohollevel
significantlydrops.Theresultofhangoveraresymptomsincludingheadaches,nausea,
irritability,andmuchmore.Thesehealthrelatedsymptomscanbeafactorastowhymost
collegestudentsdonotattendclasses.StatisticstakenfromtheNationalInstituteofAlcohol
AbuseandAlcoholismstatesthatAbout25percentofcollegestudentsreportacademic
consequencesoftheirdrinkingincludingmissingclass,fallingbehind,doingpoorlyonexamsor
papers,andreceivinglowergradesoverall..Alcoholconsumptionthroughbingedrinkingcan
affectyourschoolethicsinanegativeway.Inadditiontostudentsownperceptionsthat
alcoholusehasproducedacademicimpairment,severalstudieshaverevealedaconsistent
associationbetweenlowerselfreportedgradeaveragesandhigherlevelsofalcohol
consumption(Engs,Presley).
Anotherconsequencethatfollowsfromtheproblemwithbingedrinkingincollege
studentsisphysicaldamagerelatedproblems.Whenyouinvolveyourselfwithbingedrinking,

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youretakinginanexcessiveamountofalcoholinashortamountoftime.Whenyoutakeina
largeamountofalcoholintoyourbodyinashorttimespan,yourbodygetsmoreintoxicated
fasterwhichleadstorecklessdecisionmaking.Theserecklessdecisionscanleadtoatonof
activitiessuchasdrunkdriving,unprotectedsex,assault,andmuchmore.StatedonanNIAAA
posterforbingedrinkingincollegestudents,Eachyearanestimated1,825collegestudents
betweentheagesof18and24diefromalcoholoccursafter4drinksforwomenand5related
unintentionalinjuries,includingmotorvehiclecrashes..Nowadays,collegestudentsdonot
considerthattheiractionsandtheirincapabilityofdecisionmakingscanbringhavocwhen
intoxicatedthroughbingedrinking.Frompersonalexperience,Iknowsomanyofmyfriends
andfriendsoffriendswhowereinvolvedwithmotorvehiclescrashesduetodrunkdriving.A
classmateofminesrecentlygotintoadrunkdrivingincidentwithherbabyandherboyfriendin
thecar,andonlytheboyfriendsurvivedfromtheincident.Arecentstudyestimatesthatmore
than1,400collegestudentsbetweentheagesof18and24dieeachyearfromalcoholrelated
unintentionalinjuriesand500,000studentsbetweentheagesof18and24sustainunintentional
alcoholrelatedinjurieseachyear(Hingson).Whenyoureundertheinfluenceandnotaware
ofwhatyouredoing,youractionscanposeagreatthreattonotonlyyou,buttoothersaround
you.Eachyearanestimated696,000studentsbetweentheagesof18and24areassaultedby
anotherstudentwhohasbeendrinking.(NIAAA).
Finally,thelastconsequencefromtheproblemsofbingedrinkingincollegestudentsare
healthrelated.Theeffectofbingedrinkingisvasthowever,soarethecausesofbingedrinking.
Bingedrinkingcanbecausedbystressduetoschoolrelatedsubjectmattersoreverydaylife
issuesthatcanleadtodepression.Morethan150,000studentsdevelopanalcoholrelated

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healthproblemandbetween1.2and1.5percentofstudentsindicatethattheytriedtocommit
suicidewithinthepastyearduetodrinkingordruguse.(NIAA).Bingedrinkingcanposea
harmfulthreattoyourhealthbecauseoftheexcessiveamountofalcoholbeingconsumedina
shortamountoftime.InCAS,10percentofnonbingedrinkers,27percentofoccasionalbinge
drinkers,and54percentoffrequentbingedrinkersreportedatleastoneincidentinthepastyear
ofhavingforgottenwheretheywereorwhattheydidwhiledrinking(Wechsleretal.,2000b).
AsurveywasdonebyHarvardsSchoolofPublicHealththatfocusedonthestudyofbinge
drinkingincollegestudentsandhowitcanposeathreattoyourhealth.Frequentbingedrinkers
aremorelikelytoexperienceserioushealthandconsequencesoftheirdrinkingbehaviorthan
otherstudents(Wechsler).Dr.ShaneA.Phillips,anassociateprofessorandassociateheadof
physicaltherapyattheUniversityofIllinoisatChicagostatedthat"Regularbingedrinkingis
oneofthemostseriouspublichealthproblemsconfrontingourcollegecampuses,anddrinking
oncollegecampuseshasbecomemorepervasiveanddestructive,".
Ifbingedrinkingcontinuestobecomemorefrequentamongstcollegestudents,itcould
poseaverydangerouseffecttowardstheireducation,theirpeers,totheirownselves.Binge
drinkingisacommonwaytorelievestressorjustforthefunofithowever,Ibelievethatthere
aremanydifferentalternativesotherthanbingedrinkingtorelievestressandtohavefunin
college.Consideringthemanydifferentconsequencesthatfollowafterbingedrinking,thelong
termriskisreallynotworthit.Therearemanymoreconsideredfactorsandconsequenceslisted
intheNationalInstituteofAlcoholAbuseandAlcoholism,notjustthefewthatIhavelistedin
myessay.Bingedrinkingcanposeaverydangerousthreatinthelivesofcollegestudents,and
hopefullytheystarttobecomemoreofawareofit.

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WorkCited
"CollegeDrinking."NationalInstituteofAlcoholAbuseandAlcoholism.N.p.,n.d.Web.11Feb.
2015.
Engs,RuthC.,BethA.Diebold,andDavidJ.Hanson."Thedrinkingpatternsandproblemsofa
nationalsampleofcollegestudents,1994."JournalofAlcoholandDrug
Education41(1996):1333.
"HighRiskDrinkinginCollege:WhatWeKnowandWhatWeNeedToLearn."College
DrinkingChangingtheCulture.N.p.,n.d.Web.13Mar.2015.
Hingson,Ralph,TimothyHeeren,MichaelWinter,andHenryWechsler."MAGNITUDEOF
ALCOHOLRELATEDMORTALITYANDMORBIDITYAMONGU.S.
COLLEGESTUDENTSAGES1824:Changesfrom1998to2001."Annual
ReviewofPublicHealth26.1(2005):25979.Web.
Wechsler,Henry,etal."Collegebingedrinkinginthe1990s:Acontinuingproblemresultsof
theHarvardSchoolofPublicHealth1999CollegeAlcoholStudy."Journalof
AmericanCollegeHealth48.5(2000):199210.