Binge Drinking in College Students

What is drunkenness and its consequences?

There are numerous health effects, both short and long term that can come about for both males and females with binge drinking. Binge drinking is considered to be not only deadly, as it is seen as a pattern of excessive alcohol use. Binge drinking is also costly, as it can contribute to health illnesses, injuries, and even death.

Binge drinking is defined by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism External as a pattern of drinking that elevates your BAC (blood alcohol concentration) to 0.08 grams percent or above. It is estimated that 90 percent of alcohol in the blood is ultimately broken down by your liver, with the remaining being passed through the kidneys and lungs. On average, the liver is limited in regards to how much alcohol can be broken down, which is one standard drink per hour. In regards to binge drinking, the issue comes about when you consume more alcohol than your liver can adequately process. When this happens, the blood alcohol content elevates, which will have an effect on the human body.

Though there are other factors that can contribute to the elevation of the blood alcohol content, such as your age, weight, and gender, the overall impact it has on your body is considered to be troubling. According to a study that was done by the CDC, it is estimated that nearly half of alcohol-related deaths are connected to acute intoxication. Acute intoxication is connected to binge drinking, as it’s produced by consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time.

Acute intoxication is also known as alcohol poisoning. As previously mentioned, nearly half of all alcohol-related deaths are connected to acute intoxication, but there are other symptoms that one could experience before death, which includes a change in body temperature, shortness of breath, irrational thinking, and an increased heart rate.

There is also a connection between alcohol and suicide, as studies show that alcohol is often discovered in the system of those that committed suicide or attempted to. Not only could the consumption of large amounts of alcohol lead to danger for others outside of yourself, but it could also cause great damage to your immune system, as it threatens vital organs within the human body. With irritation of the organs, heavy alcohol consumption brings inflammation to the stomach, liver, and pancreas.

The heart is impacted as heavy drinking is associated with an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. It impacts the kidneys which could lead to dehydration and a cause of vital minerals becoming dangerously low, further putting you at risk for other health issues. Binge drinking has been shown to increase your chances of engaging in unprotected safe, which can lead to STIs. Alcohol increases your risk of developing numerous forms of cancer, which includes throat cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and rectum cancer,

A research study that was done by the University of California at San Francisco found that binge drinking sessions could cause symptoms of early-stage liver disease. Though more research would need to be done to validate the study, this is alarming to researchers, as it shows the long term effects that could come with heavy amounts of alcohol consumption. There are other long term effects that one should consider when binge drinking, as it is shown to have an impact on your bones and muscles, central nervous system, sexual health, and also your mental health, which are consequences that many are unequipped to handle.

There are multiple risky behaviors that are associated with binge drinking in young adults. Drunk driving is something that I would like to change, as it is a risk that could not only cause damage to yourself but also others as well. Drunk driving is more common amongst young adults, as studies show that every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. This risk of being involved in a driving-related accident is greater for young adults, as the CDC reports that drivers with a BAC level of 0.08% or higher were involved in fatal crashes where nearly three in 10 were considered to be young adults between the ages of 25 and 34.

The second largest group outside of 25-34, were 21 to 24-year-olds, as they made up 26% of fatal crashes. With the advancement of technology in 2019, there are a plethora of options that one could take to avoid driving drunk behind the wheel. I would also aim to change the behaviors of engaging in risky sex. The impact that alcohol has on cognitive processing could increase your chances of engaging in unsafe sex, which could lead to unplanned pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. This is not only a risk for yourself but also to others, as such risky behaviors could cause significant harm to their physical and mental wellbeing,

The fight against drunkenness

The objective of this campaign is to bring awareness to binge drinking to young adults. Often, many are unaware of the negative impact that drinking could have on themselves and others, as they see the consumption of alcohol as a positive in social settings. By providing information, my goal is to significantly decrease the number of young adults that engage in drunk driving and risky sexual behavior. The plan is to also bring awareness to an issue that not only causes short term effects but also long term effects. There’s so much more life to experience and live; why not live it injury and disease-free? Not only can binge drinking ruin your chances of experiencing the best that life has to offer, but it could also ruin others.

The information for this campaign will be delivered in multiple ways to reach emerging adults. The Pew Research Center found that 90% of young adults actively use social media as of 2/7/2019, with YouTube and Facebook being the most popular. My plan is to use social media to bring this information to young adults about binge drinking and the impact it could have on not only their lives but the lives of others. Through video ads, humorous but informative memes, the message of this campaign will be disseminated.

Resources from the Chicago Department of Public Health goes beyond financial support, as connections to the multiple colleges and Universities throughout Chicago will be needed in order to spread the message to emerging adults. I believe the campaign would be stronger with the collaboration of the CDPH and the universities/colleges of Chicago. Grant opportunities, and access to reports, statistics, and data sets will be useful in giving us a greater understanding of how we should approach the dissemination of our message, in order to have successful results amongst emerging adults.

For this informational campaign to tackle binge drinking in young adults, I plan to partner with community colleges and universities in Chicago. Through this partnership, their social media platforms will be used to disseminate the message of the campaign. Alerts via email and text will also be sent out to students on both Friday and Saturday night, as a reminder to students on the dangers and risks of binge drinking. With assistance from colleges and universities, our marketing presence will be stronger and consistent in reaching students.

Positive feedback through social media will be monitored, along with surveys that will be given to students. This data will ultimately help us understand if the campaign is effectively working amongst our target group. We will also collect data from the colleges/universities in connection to the alcohol-related incidents that occurred on and off-campus with registered students before and after our campaign. I firmly believe that this data will give us a deeper understanding of our impact and success or failure. Students will also be followed up with on a consistent basis after the dissemination of our message to gauge the growth in their knowledge of binge drinking and the risks of it.

Bibliography

1. College Alcoholism and Binge Drinking. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/college-alcohol-abuse/.
2. Corte, C. M., & Sommers, M. S. (2005). Alcohol and risky behaviors. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16350769.
3. Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States. (2019, June 12). Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/.
4. Lautieri, A. (n.d.). Signs of Alcoholism: Symptoms of Early, Chronic & End Stages. Retrieved from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/stages.
5. Partnership News Service. (n.d.). Text Messages Can Help Reduce Young Adults' Binge Drinking. Retrieved from https://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alcohol-news/text-messages-can-help-reduce-young-adults-binge-drinking/.