6
vernonia prevention coalition
august1
2013
The content on this page is provided by the Vernonia Prevention Coalition
Be a Piece of the Puzzle ~ Binge Drinking
Going on a
bender, drinking to
get drunk, getting
smashed,
sowing
his/her wild oats,
drinking spree and
binge drinking. No
matter the term one uses, it is the intent
of drinking large amounts of alcohol
in a short period of time in order to get
drunk.
Binge drinking is the most
common way alcohol is both enjoyed
and abused in many parts of the
world occurring during social events.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), a “binge” is a pattern
of drinking alcohol that brings blood
alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08
gram percent or above. In the typical
adult, this pattern corresponds to
consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or
4 or more drinks (female), in about 2
hours.
Interestingly, most people who
binge drink are not actually alcohol
dependent – they’re not even necessarily
problem drinkers. The frequency of
binge drinking among men is twice
the frequency among women. The age
group that most drinkers binge is 18-
34 years. The impact of binge depends
on the intensity of the effect of alcohol
on the body, not the type of alcohol
ingested, and is directly related to the
amount consumed.
Alcohol is a central nervous
system depressant that is rapidly absorbed
from the stomach and small intestine into
the bloodstream. Alcohol is produced by
the fermentation of yeast, sugars, and
starches. Alcohol is metabolized in the
liver by enzymes, however, the liver
can only metabolize a small amount
of alcohol at a time, leaving the excess
alcohol to circulate throughout the body.
The body continues to absorb alcohol
more than 90 minutes after the last sip,
so the drinker may not realize right away
how it will affect them.
The greatest number of binge
drinking occurrences for teens is during
special events teens attend such as proms
and graduations to “celebrate.” While
most youth don’t drink, those whom do
are more likely to drink 5x’s more per
incident than adults. Unfortunately,
1500 teens are killed every year due to
underage drinking during special events.
Hence the partnership between Vernonia
parents and the Vernonia Prevention
Coalition to sponsor a ATOD Free Grad
Night. Planning is already happening
for 2014 and parents of this year grads
are encouraged to participate.
For youth, 15-24yrs, binge
drinking typically results in acute
intoxication not allowing the body to
process the alcohol. This is compounded
in adolescents due to lack of brain
development to recognize levels of
inebriation. If alcohol is consumed
rapidly and in large amounts it can and
has lead to coma and death. Local
facts: 14% of 8th and 37% 11th graders
reported they have participated in binge
drinking the last thirty days. Youth still
are getting access to alcohol and use is
Help light up Vernonia
for Christmas
The Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia Committee
wants to replace our old lights with new LED lights
for downtown.
Round~up your receipt at
Sentry Market during Jamboree Weekend!
Look for donation jars around town or donate to
Vernonia Area Chamber of Commerce
at Wauna Fed. C.U.
Contact: VernoniaSpiritofChristmas@googlegroups.com
continuing to rise.
Unfortunately, for both youth
and adults, adverse health effects
specifically associated with binge
drinking include unintentional injuries
(eg, motor vehicle crashes, falls,
drowning, hypothermia, and burns),
suicide, alcohol poisoning, hypertension,
acute myocardial infarction, gastritis,
pancreatitis, sexually transmitted
diseases, meningitis, and poor control
of diabetes. Many consequences of
binge drinking have especially high
social and economic costs, including
interpersonal violence (eg, homicide,
assault, domestic violence, rape, and
child abuse), fetal alcohol syndrome,
unintended pregnancy, child neglect,
and lost productivity.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control, new estimates show
that binge drinking is a bigger problem
than previously thought. More than 38
million US adults binge drink, about 4
times a month, and the largest number
of drinks per binge is on average 8. This
behavior greatly increases the chances of
getting hurt or hurting others due to car
crashes, violence, and suicide. Drinking
too much, including binge drinking,
causes 80,000 deaths in the US each year
and, in 2006 cost the economy $223.5
billion. Binge drinking is a problem in
all states, even in states with fewer binge
drinkers, because they are binging more
often and in larger amounts.
According to National Institute
of Alcohol Addiction (NIAA), one of the
first impacts of drinking is the loss of our
brain’s reasoning skills. In an effort to
reduce the impact of drinking or binge
drinking, you can do several things.
Only take a few sips of your drink at a
time. Do not drink multiple drinks in an
hour by tracking your drinks.
• Start with drinking a soda or other non
alcoholic drinks
• Go out with a friend who doesn’t drink
or who has similar low limits in mind.
• Don’t drink on an empty stomach.
• Limit the amount of money you have
on you and leave your credit card at
home.
• Avoid drinking rounds or shots.
• Stay away from alcopops: Alcopops
contain a lot of sugar, so they taste and
drink like sodas.
• Stay busy: Once you remove alcohol
as the focus, you’re less likely to drink
as much.
Adults often binge during
festivals and sporting events. Like
youth, they also struggle to resist the
pressure one can feel from their drinking
buddies. According to the NIAA,
drinking behavior is influenced by your
community and your relationships.
Alcohol use in a community is affected
by its price and availability. Youth
drinking behavior is affected by exposure
to alcohol marketing. Youth drinking is
also influenced by the drinking behavior
of adults; youth often try to behave like
young adults, and often get alcohol from
adults.
Want to be part of the solution to reduce
access of alcohol to minors, contact
DeAnna Pearl @ (503) 369-7370 or
DeAnna@vernonia-or.gov.
