Alcohol
Original posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Alcohol is probably one of the strangest drugs out there. It is legal, but it costs Americans more in terms of damage to society and lives lost than basically all of the illegal drugs combined.
Approximately half of the adult population of the United States consumes alcohol at least once a month. The fine line between social drinking and a drinking problem defines the powerful grip that toxins have on our culture. Prohibition didn't work, but this also gives a glimpse as to what might happen if more drugs were made legal today.
Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that more than one fifth (22.7 percent or about 55 million) people ages 12 and older participated in binge drinking in 2005 within the past month. The binge drinking rate among young adults ages 18-25 was 41.9 percent, and the heavy drinking rate was 15.3 percent. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion. Heavy drinking is defined as binging at least five days out of the last month.
In 2005, 6.6 percent of the population ages 12 and older (16 million people) engaged in heavy drinking. This rate is similar to the reported rate of 6.9 percent in 2004.
Overall, about 10.8 million persons ages 12-20 (28.2 percent) reported past month alcohol use in 2005. Nearly 7.2 million of these underage drinkers (18.8 percent) were binge drinkers and 2.3 million (6.0) were heavy drinkers.
Binge and heavy drinking among adolescents and younger adults appears to be an expected behavior in many circumstances, such as college parties. The problem with this acceptance is that it is actually not okay. In fact, the results of this behavior, according to the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) is:
- 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes, and there are an additional 599,000 injuries.
- More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking, and more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
- 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex.
- 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year.
- The NIAAA also says that 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking.
So, parents, this is what some of your money is really going to when you send your kids off to college. If not closely monitored, your child could become one of these statistics too, and possibly more than one category. Your money could also be diverted to paying for treatment instead of tuition and living expenses for a year.
As for people in substance abuse treatment, two thirds (66 percent) of the number of clients seeking help had a problem with alcohol (19 percent alcohol only and 47 percent alcohol and other drugs). The survey of substance abuse treatment services was performed at the end of March in 2005 and found there were 1.08 people currently in treatment, which was up 8 percent in five years.
Article by Eric Mitchell
Alcohol is probably one of the strangest drugs out there. It is legal, but it costs Americans more in terms of damage to society and lives lost than basically all of the illegal drugs combined.
Approximately half of the adult population of the United States consumes alcohol at least once a month. The fine line between social drinking and a drinking problem defines the powerful grip that toxins have on our culture. Prohibition didn't work, but this also gives a glimpse as to what might happen if more drugs were made legal today.
Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that more than one fifth (22.7 percent or about 55 million) people ages 12 and older participated in binge drinking in 2005 within the past month. The binge drinking rate among young adults ages 18-25 was 41.9 percent, and the heavy drinking rate was 15.3 percent. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion. Heavy drinking is defined as binging at least five days out of the last month.
In 2005, 6.6 percent of the population ages 12 and older (16 million people) engaged in heavy drinking. This rate is similar to the reported rate of 6.9 percent in 2004.
Overall, about 10.8 million persons ages 12-20 (28.2 percent) reported past month alcohol use in 2005. Nearly 7.2 million of these underage drinkers (18.8 percent) were binge drinkers and 2.3 million (6.0) were heavy drinkers.
Binge and heavy drinking among adolescents and younger adults appears to be an expected behavior in many circumstances, such as college parties. The problem with this acceptance is that it is actually not okay. In fact, the results of this behavior, according to the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) is:
- 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes, and there are an additional 599,000 injuries.
- More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking, and more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
- 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex.
- 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year.
- The NIAAA also says that 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking.
So, parents, this is what some of your money is really going to when you send your kids off to college. If not closely monitored, your child could become one of these statistics too, and possibly more than one category. Your money could also be diverted to paying for treatment instead of tuition and living expenses for a year.
As for people in substance abuse treatment, two thirds (66 percent) of the number of clients seeking help had a problem with alcohol (19 percent alcohol only and 47 percent alcohol and other drugs). The survey of substance abuse treatment services was performed at the end of March in 2005 and found there were 1.08 people currently in treatment, which was up 8 percent in five years.
Article by Eric Mitchell
Labels: alcohol
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