Binge Drinking Healthiest State Summit David Golden Director, Public Health and Communications Boynton Health Service
History To binge, the Oxford English Dictionary reveals, was originally a Lincolnshire (and, it implies, East Midlands generally) dialect word meaning to soak (a wooden vessel).
History The metaphorical extension of meaning from soaking wood to soaking yourself was an easy journey, and by 1854 a book called A Glossary of Northamptonshire Words had recorded this figurative use for the word: A man goes to the alehouse to get a good binge, or to binge himself.
History A dictionary of slang published in 1889 said of binge that it was used at Oxford to mean a big drinking bout. By the early 20th century the word was being used for parties at which large amounts of drink were consumed, with no particular sense that there was anything to criticise: the OED has a quote from 1922: This is only a binge... just a jolly old bachelor-party. From Martyn Cornell s Zythophile, Binge drinking and Brief History http://zythophile.co.uk/2008/06/02/binge-drinking-a-brief-history/
History If you contemplate some enterprise against the enemy, the commissary must scrape together all of the beer and brandy that can be found en route so that the Army does not lack either, at least during the first days. As soon as the Army enters enemy territory all of the brewers and distillers, especially of brandy, must be seized so that the soldier does not lack a drink, which he cannot do without. Frederick the Great on the Art of War (New York: Free Press, 1966), 110.
Definition NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dl. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men in about 2 hours.
National Rates Prevalence* of binge drinking Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2011
Binge Drinking One in six U.S. adults binge drinks about four times a month, consuming about eight drinks per binge
Binge Drinking While binge drinking is more common among young adults aged 18 34 years, binge drinkers aged 65 years and older report binge drinking more often an average of five to six times a month
Binge Drinking Binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more than among those with lower incomes
Binge Drinking 70% of binge drinking episodes involve adults age 26 years and older
Binge Drinking Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than nonbinge drinkers
Binge Drinking About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.
Binge Drinking More than half of the alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinks
College and University students: 40% Binge Drinking Rates
Impact 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 Spectrum Disorders High blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases Liver disease Neurological damage Sexual dysfunction, and Poor control of diabetes.
Impact
High Risk Drinking University of Minnesota 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 43 39.6 41.6 37.5 35.2 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013
Impact Drinking too much, including binge drinking, cost the United States $223.5 billion in 2006, or $1.90 a drink, from losses in productivity, health care, crime, and other expenses In Minnesota the cost is 3,547,400,000 or $1.65 per drink.
Questions Looking ahead- do we expect these numbers to change?
Questions Education?
Questions Do we tolerate binge drinking as a society?
Questions Do we know what to do?
Solutions?
Evidence Based Recommendations Increase Minnesota s alcohol tax
Evidence Based Recommendations Limiting the number of retail alcohol outlets that sell alcoholic beverages in a given area.
Evidence Based Recommendations Holding alcohol retailers responsible for the harms caused by their underage or intoxicated patrons (dram shop liability).
Evidence Based Recommendations Enforce existing policies and laws
Evidence Based Recommendations Increase police enforcement of underage and social host laws Increase community action related to enforcement, including calling 911 for disruptive or illegal activity Enforce underage consumption laws
Evidence Based Recommendations So if we know what to do, why don t we do it?
Binge Drinking Is there hope?
Good Luck