Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84GoodLifeFamilyMag.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2016 55 goodTO KNOW Binge Drinking UNSAFE, UNHEALTHY, UNPREDICTABLE by Karyn Brodsky There’s something happening on college campuses in epidemic proportions, and unfortunately, it’s not learning. Today, more than ever, binge drinking has become a trend, and its results are disturbing. In the U.S., binge drinking has become the most common example of excessive alcohol use. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “Binge drinking is a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent or above. This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks, and when women consume four or more drinks, in about two hours.” So why is this happening on college campuses? John Lieberman, CEO of Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers in Malibu, California, says more and more kids are binge drinking because access to alcohol is greater when they’re away at school. He also feels that parents of today’s college students used more illicit drugs than any other generation, and they don’t perceive the full danger of binge drinking for their children. The statistics associated with binge drinking are alarming. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that: • One in six U.S. adults binge drinks about four times a month, consuming about eight drinks per binge. • Binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more than among those with lower incomes. • The prevalence of binge drinking among men is twice that of women. • Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol- impaired driving than non- binge drinkers. • In the United States, about 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 and more than half of the alcohol consumed by adults is in the form of binge drinks. continued on Page 77 “Binge drinking can also result in brain damage…” -John D. Lieberman, Visions Adolescent Treatment Center