| Alcohol Binge DrinkingPage 1 |
BINGE DRINKING
In Australia there is a culture that incorporates heavy drinking into social and sporting events and has become an accepted a rite of passage and used to celebrate the various age milestones. Binge drinking has become prevalent among many communities, for example at high schools, universities, at parties and in sporting clubs. It seems that those who can consume large amounts of alcohol are often held in high regard by their peers. Binge drinking and getting drunk to a point of complete loss of control is not only accepted but encouraged. Drinking to this extent often begins, in some social circles, as young as 12 and 13, and is then often widely practised and accepted by 16 or 17 years of age. This seems to be the main issue with binge drinking in Australia; is that it is often just excused as keeping up the Aussie tradition and "being Australian" and is seen as a perfectly normal cultural practice rather than the concerning reality it has become.
Is the Alcohol Industry Targeting and Marketing to Young people?
The growth in the range and popularity of alcoholic sodas, milkshake or pre-mixed drinks is of particular concern. There are now over 700 different types of pre-mixed drinks and they all tend to be sweet and palatable, which critics say encourages teenagers to drink earlier and more. Also known as ‘alcopops’; pre-mixed drinks are alcohol mixed with carbonated water or fruit juice milk based products and come in a range of flavours and bright attractive colours. They are relatively cheap and appealing to young people. Many of these drinks have, in one bottle, up to the same alcohol content as three standard drinks. As they are sweet and pleasant tasting and mask the taste of alcohol, it can be very easy to drink more than you planned.
What’s the Difference between having a couple of drinks & Binge Drinking?
'Getting smashed', or 'drinking to get drunk’ describe binge drinking which is having five or more alcoholic drinks in a row over a short period of time, or drinking continuously over a number of days or weeks. A person who binge drinks, may not usually drink a lot or drink very often, but when they do they drink at an extreme level. You may not necessarily plan to binge drink, but if you are not sure of your limits, feel a bit nervous or shy in a social setting, be over tired, or have not eaten food you may find yourself drinking too much over a short period of time and getting really drunk.
How Much of a Problem is Binge Drinking anyway?
The practice of binge drinking has implications for young people from a wide range of social groups and financial backgrounds. The figures released by the National Drug Research Institute indicate that over 80 % of alcohol drunk by 14 - 17 year olds is drunk at high risk levels. In Australia over a ten year period from 1993 to 2002, 2643 young people aged between 15 and 24 (501 were aged between 14 and 17) died from alcohol related injury and disease caused by risky/high risk drinking. The highest rate of alcohol related hospitalisations for both young males and females came from assaults from being caught up in violence. Male alcohol related deaths are 4 times higher than females. The most common causes of alcohol related deaths for young people are road accidents (this includes in car accidents and as pedestrians), followed by suicide while intoxicated.
You Know You’re Drinking Too Much When You:-
- Regularly have 5 or more drinks in a row or a couple of days of drinking.
- Experience back outs (memory loss and can’t remember parts of the night before or how you got home).
- Have felt sick, vomited everywhere and woke up with a hangover.
- Wake up with scratches, cuts and bruises and can’t remember how they happened.
- Loose keys, wallet or other personal belongings after drinking.
- Have tried other drugs because you were too drunk to think it through.
- Have to go to accident emergency from falls, accidents or from being really sick from being too drunk.
- Have sex with people you don’t know or don’t really like.
- End up in fights either violent brawls or verbals where you say things you later regret.
- Upset your friends and they start complaining about how you act when you drink. You’re too high maintenance and wreck their nights out.
- Have wet yourself, had your face scribbled on or experienced some other humiliating incident whilst being passed out.
- Have had an encounter with the police because of drinking.
- Get into cars with a driver who is drunk without even thinking.