Survey Finds Almost 1 in 4 Americans Binge Drink

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, July 21, 2011

A survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) revealed Thursday that nearly a quarter of Americans participated in binge drinking in the past month. The survey also indicates that 8.4 percent have used an illegal drug over the last thirty days.

The survey indicates that 8.8 percent of Americans aged 12-17 binge drink, and that 6.4 percent of Americans of all ages have used marijuana in the past month.

The SAMHSA survey found that Vermont had the highest number of reported underage drinking in the past month, with 36.6 percent of people aged 12-20. Utah reported the lowest amount of under-aged drinking, with 14.2 percent.

Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Peter Delany, told USA Today, “We have been improving the stat(tistic)s around alcohol over a number of years, but we’re still not where we want to be.”

Binge drinking, which is defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion, is considered highly dangerous and can have numerous health-related repercussions.

Usually taking place in social settings, binge drinking can cause both short term and long term health problems. With each drinking episode, chances of developing a serious alcohol abuse problem, including alcoholism, greatly increase, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Christian Post recently reported that most of the alcoholic drinks consumed by American teens are done so in binge form. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study on binge drinking among college students and found that binge drinking is heavily associated with sexual activity, violence, and other risky behaviors.

Binge drinking can also result in potential health problems such as alcohol poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, high blood pressure, and unwanted pregnancy.

Binge drinking can block vital receptors in the brain leading to the production of steroids that obstruct key brain functions. A report in the Journal of Neuroscience also indicated that excessive alcohol intake can cause problems with consolidating long-term memories.