Binge Drinking: Harm Reduction Approach

In Henry Wechsler’s, “Getting Serious about Eradicating Binge Drinking”, he discusses the issue of binge drinking. Binge drinking is an extensive problem on college campuses. The majority of colleges merely focus on the student, rather than what encourages students to drink. Fraternities, sororities, and athletics are huge sources of the students on campus who drink. There are many approaches colleges can take to decrease the problem, and many colleges are already getting a head start. It is also important to not ignore how often colleges indirectly encourage students to drink (20).

What do failing grades, frequent memory lapses, fights, brutal hangovers and unplanned sexual activity all have in common? They are all frequent results of binge drinking by college students. On a typical Friday or Saturday night you can find the average college student out drinking and having fun. Normally partying with friends at a party, bar, or club; most of these college students are underage consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, or as its better known, “binge drinking.”The term binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men and four or more drinks in a row by women, at least once in a two week period. “One” drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or one shot of liquor. Alcohol

Developing personal skills, through attending information classes, media campaigns, and information websites can improve healthier life skills or choices for an individual influenced by binge drinking, such as thinking before they drink.

January 20, Erica Bushick, 18, was found dead in her dorm room at Miami University in Ohio. Erica and her friend begin drinking at 10:00 PM on January 19. The two young ladies consumed two champagne bottles and vodka. Ericka had to be carried to her room by the cab driver due to her being unable to walk because she was too intoxicated. Erica roommate took pictures of her while she was sleep and posted them on social media at 1:00 AM. The next morning Erica was found cold and still lying, so the roommate called the police. The police department then came to the scene and pronounce Erica dead at 9:00 AM. (Hammil, 2017).

Research has proven that those under the age of twenty one are more likely to be heavy or binge drinkers and more specifically, twenty two percent of all students under the age of twenty one are binge drinkers. There are many beliefs on what is to blame for the irresponsible drinking habits of these teenagers. One popular belief is that because they’re not drinking with other adults or experienced drinkers they are not being guided into the proper direction to being responsible drinkers. However, the main reason is the lack of education on the topic. D.A.R.E. ® is a program executed through local Police Stations that does a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for a large array of age groups. The program teaches the students about the decisions they have to make in the future and the harms of drugs and alcohol and they teach students in the elementary, middle, and high schools all across the nation. The problem with this program is that they only present their education program once through the course of every student’s public school experience.

The first unit of the curriculum consists of the basics of binge drinking such as addressing what alcohol misuse is and what is considered a standard drink. Distinguishing what regular drinking is from problematic drinking will also be taught in this unit. The following unit addresses the negative consequences associated with alcohol misuse. The long term and short term consequences will be discussed in the section. Drinking norms, beliefs, and attitudes will be the following unit, individuals will learn to differentiate between common alcohol myths and facts. In addition, individuals will interpret current binge drinking trends. The fourth unit of the curriculum consists of skill-based strategies, where individuals will be able to assemble a resource list for alcohol abuse and learn how to respond to an alcohol related emergency. The last unit that will be covered in the curriculum is healthy living practices. From this unit, individuals will learn safe sex practices, healthy eating habits, and stress reduction

So far sixty universities have implemented this program for their students. Student engagement in this program is high. Their record shows that between the period of March 15 and April 26, 2009, nearly 100 Stony Brook students were trained but there is no formal evaluation about the knowledge and skills gained by students about binge drinking and its consequences on body. The purpose of doing this evaluation is to study the impact of RWB on students knowledge, skills and confidence to intervene in the times when every seconds

Underage drinking is on the rise despite harsher laws to stop it. Itappears to have always been around despite whether the legal age to drink is 18 or 21. One of the main issues with underage drinking is that the brain in the teenager is not fully developed in the region of judgment and decision making. Because of this teens are known for deciding to do the wrong thing. That often includes drinking alcohol or experimenting with illegal drugs. many teenagers do not just have onedrink, they usually participate in binge drinking. This can continue long into adulthood and soon develop into a full blown alcohol problem.

Knowledge is an important aspect in curbing and promoting behavior and health. In regards to the problem identified among the students of Indiana University, the University should come up with a way of sensitizing the dangers of excessive drinking to the students. This might through seminars or inviting a once upon a time alcoholic to give a speech on his past occurrences. We all that the power of knowledge is to create awareness. Therefore, once the students get to know of the consequences of excessive drinking they might look for ways of how to stop drinking. This is not certain as goes old adage that knowledge is

This article looks at new approaches that two colleges are using to reduce the amount of binge drinking students engage in. The article focuses on Frostburg State University, a college which has recently acquired joint jurisdiction, enabling campus police officers to patrol off-campus housing areas. The article covers several methods mentioned in the New York Times article, including education via “social norming” campaigns, responsibility of stores and bars to thoroughly check IDs, and reducing availability of alcohol to underage students. It also covers some topics we’ve discussed in class: harm reduction, parents’ involvement (or lack thereof), and alternatives to partying.

The term “alcoholism” describes a drinker who is mentally and physically dependent on alcohol, and who would most likely have withdrawal symptoms upon trying to quit. This dependence prevents most alcoholics from being able to control when they drink and how much they drink. For that reason, alcoholics usually drink to excess despite the consequences. Alcoholism, like any addiction, is a chronic disorder which involves continued use despite negative consequences and requires ongoing treatment and management. This research paper will cover many aspects of alcoholism including the causes and effects of drinking and different treatment approaches.

Australia needs to wake up and realize that society is influencing us to develop the binge culture. Thus, making binge drinking into a social issue. There is a sharp increase of binge drinking in the younger generation with the statistics showing 86.2% of Australian teenagers aged 14-18 years have consumed alcohol. The underage youth are stating that their parents are allowing it, that it is easy to get the alcohol, drinking’s cheaper and that they are getting highly influenced seeing the older (legal aged) youth drinking. Consequently, the younger youth cannot comprehend why they cannot drink

Three 10 minute lessons were put together for the Forest Lake SHS students in years 7 and 8. These lessons were taught to three different classes and data was gathered at the end. The purpose of these lessons was to implement a strategy that would reduce the lack of knowledge on binge drinking in the younger years of high school. The aim of this strategy is to acknowledge the inequity of lack of education about binge drinking from younger students and educate them through lessons. Each of the three lessons consisted of questions that the students had to answer which required students to think about what they thought binge drinking is, what are the effects of binge drinking, and what are ways to reduce the risks. At the end of each lesson, feedback

Alcoholism is a disease that not only affects the health and well-being of the alcoholic, but also everyone close to that person. Some people can control their drinking, but sadly, others cannot. Breaking the cycle of alcohol abuse can be difficult, and in many instances, almost impossible. However, FDA-approved medication for alcohol abuse can be used in conjunction with counseling and 12-step programs with effective results. What follows is a summary of some of the medications used to combat alcohol use disorder.

Statistics show that prevention programs decrease binge drinking in students 6th through 12 grades, as indicated by the successful intervention programs of Project Northland and Life Skills Training. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both programs, The Atlanta Public School System decided to use strategies from both program which addressed the closest positive results that matched the Atlanta Public School System’s objectives of decreasing substance use (alcohol), improvements in positive attitudes/behavior and reductions in negative attitudes/behavior, and reduce the possibility of automobile accidents and health problems related to alcohol abuse.