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Binge Drinking Common Among High Schoolers
> 1/10/2007 3:59:50 PM

Researchers working with the CDC and SAMHSA have released their analysis of data that has been culled from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The group was looking into rates of binge drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks in a row, among high school students. Nearly half of all respondents, 45%, reported having drank illegally in the last 30 days. Of those, 64% admitted to being binge drinkers, and 69% of these binge drinkers reported having engaged in binge drinking more than once in the last 30 days.

Putting aside the legal implications for a moment (clearly, high school students are not 21, therefore are breaking the law), the health consequences of being a binge drinker are enormous. As Forbes points out, drinking in general and binge drinking and particular are closely linked to other dangerous behaviors:

Compared to students who don't drink, those who reported drinking -- but not binge drinking -- were more than twice as likely to be sexually active, more than four times as likely to smoke cigarettes, and more than twice as likely to have been in a physical fight.

Binge drinkers were even more likely to engage in risky behaviors. They were more than five times as likely as nondrinkers to be sexually active, more than 18 times as likely to smoke cigarettes, and more than four times as likely to have been in a physical fight.

The more often the students reported binge drinking, the greater the likelihood of engaging in other risky behaviors, including using marijuana and attempting suicide.

Teenage drinking has certainly been around for a while, and as we�ve discussed in the past, it can have incredibly damaging consequences beyond the immediate health risks. While there isn�t a magic bullet that is going to drive the problem away, efforts to step up education, as with the case of drunk driving, have proven effective. Some places, like New York City have also recently begun to really step up efforts to identify and punish not only those who use fake I.D.�s but also those that make and distribute them. Law enforcement is also seeking to hold those who supply alcohol to minors more accountable for their actions.