Binge drinking a nation-wide campus issue
Studies show large numbers of students drink in excess, despite dangerous consequences
Nicole Gifford, The Brunswickan (University of New Brunswick)
Photo by Warren Britton.
FREDERICTON, N.B. (CUP) — As post-secondary institutions across Canada welcome students back for another academic year, the need for alcohol-related awareness campaigns has come into focus.
A recent Canadian Campus Survey found that 63 per cent of students had consumed five or more drinks in a single sitting in the previous year — technically qualifying as binge drinking. Because of the increased risks related to binge drinking, as opposed to moderate drinking, this number is tough to ignore.
In response to the alarming trend, the City of Fredericton recently began a public education campaign to target alcohol-related behaviour. The campaign includes posters and coasters to be distributed in bars throughout the city, as well as radio and newspaper advertisements.
The idea is not to discourage drinking, but to encourage responsible drinking.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that a safe level of drinking (without the risk of alcohol-related injury or illness) is “up to two drinks per day for men and one per day for women and older people.”
The occurrence of binge drinking, especially among those aged 15-25, has increased over the last decade, whereas the use of illicit drugs has declined.
While only approximately five per cent of Canadians are alcohol-dependent, a 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey found that almost 21 per cent of Canadians aged 12 and over binged on alcohol 12 or more times a year.
Dr. Bill Dyson, director of campus Health Services at the University of Victoria in British Columbia — a school that has come to be associated with binge drinking — believes that alcohol is now used more often as a tool for escape than celebration.
Dyson said that many students facing the anxieties and pressures of university turn to alcohol to alleviate their fears and to self-medicate.
“Since alcohol acts as a depressant and numbs the brain . . . in excess, it often leads to depression,” said Dyson.
Excessive amounts of alcohol can also cause permanent brain damage. Studies show that binge drinking kills brain cells needed for studies. The American Journal of Medicine reported, “Very heavy drinking over many years, especially without adequate food intake and proper nutrition, can cause permanent damage to the brain, such as complete memory loss, including the inability to learn new material.”
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, so drinking too much too fast can shut down key bodily functions like gag reflexes, breathing, heart rate and brain function. Choking on vomit, lapsing into a coma, or suffering from cardiac arrest can all result from over-consumption.
A 1999 survey by Harvard University’s School of Public Health found binge drinkers 21 times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss class, fall behind in school work, damage property, get hurt or injured, engage in unplanned sexual activity, not use protection when having sex, get in trouble with campus police, and drive a car after drinking.
The study also found that binge drinkers are more likely to damage property and engage in unwanted sexual encounters with other students and members of the community.
As well, there are risks associated with binge drinking to be considered by party hosts. If you serve alcohol to someone who is intoxicated and that person harms themselves or others, you are at risk of being sued. Even if you serve no alcohol, you could be liable for injuries sustained by someone who is drunk while on your property.
Regardless of the risks, students continue to binge drink. At 41.4 per cent, the percentage of Canadians between ages 20-24 who binge drink 12 or more times a year is more than double the national average.
With files from Deena Kinarthy (The Martlet)
Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include (note: not all symptoms are always present):
- unconsciousness or semi-consciousness; the person cannot be awakened; mental confusion
- no response to pinching the skin
- cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin
- slow breathing (eight breaths or less per minute or lapses of more than 10 seconds between breaths)
- vomiting, especially when sleeping or unconscious
- seizures
What to do:
- call 911 or get medical help immediately
- do not leave the person alone
- do not leave the person on his or her back (he or she may choke on vomit)
- gently turn the person on his or her side
- perform the Bacchus Manoeuvre
- stay with the person until help arrives
Percentage of binge drinkers, 12 or more times a year:
| Year | 1994 | 1998 | 2003 |
| Total, 12 years and over | 13.9 | 19.5 | 20.7 |
| 12-14 years | - | - | 4.2 |
| 15-19 years | 18.2 | 33.3 | 30.5 |
| 20-24 years | 23.8 | 37.9 | 41.4 |
| 25-34 years | 17.9 | 23.0 | 26.3 |
| 35-44 years | 13.5 | 18.3 | 20.9 |
| 45-54 years | 12.9 | 16.7 | 17.6 |
| 55-64 years | 10.1 | 12.1 | 13.1 |
| 65-74 years | 5.4 | 6.3 | 7.2 |
| 75 years and over | - | 2.1 | 2.5 |
