Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is a phrase that can be applied: 

to any male who has had five or more drinks on a single occasion in a months time.

Four drinks on a single occasion if you are female.

This is commonly known as the five-four rule.

If you have done this on more than five occasions in a month you are considered a hard drinker.

So a person could have a drink before dinner, a couple of glasses of wine with it, and a night cap when they return home and meet the criteria above.

They may not ever even reach a BAC above .02 if they only have one drink per hour.

This isn't what I think of as binge drinking.

Following is how the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) describes it:

A “binge” is a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 gram percent or above. For the typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about 2 hours. Binge drinking is clearly dangerous for the drinker and for society. 

This definition doesn't work for me either but, the following one does.

The Journal of Studies on Alcohol emphasizes, binge describes an extended period of time (typically at least two days) during which time a person repeatedly becomes intoxicated and gives up his or her usual activities and obligations in order to become intoxicated.

This is the kind of drinking I know about. Believe me, if you are around somebody for awhile you will know if they are binge drinkers.

Here are some statistics from the Center for Disease Control .

According to national surveys

• Approximately 92% of U.S. adults who drink excessively report binge drinking in the past 30 days.² 
• Although college students commonly binge drink, 70% of binge drinking episodes involve adults over age 25 years.³ 
• The prevalence of binge drinking among men is 2 times the prevalence among women.⁴ 
• Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than non-binge drinkers.³ 
• About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 years in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.⁵ 
• About 75% of the alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.⁵ 
• The proportion of current drinkers that binge is highest in the 18- to 20-year-old group (51%).³ 

Binge drinking is associated with many health problems, including but not limited to

• Unintentional injuries (e.g., car crashes, falls, burns, drowning).
• Intentional injuries (e.g., firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence).
• Alcohol poisoning.
• Sexually transmitted diseases.
• Unintended pregnancy.
• Children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
• High blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.
• Liver disease.
• Neurological damage.
• Sexual dysfunction.
• Poor control of diabetes.

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