Lights, Camera, Drink!

Old School, The Hangover, American Pie, Beerfest, Animal House. . . These were all listed in the top ten binge drinking movies of all time.  Which one do you think received the number one spot?  It’s no surprise that The Hangover is the number one binge drinking movie, according to the daily top 10 website.  It’s very popular and many people that have seen it love it.  Just a week ago the second installment of this film was released at the box office.  Entertainment Tonight said it was number one for the weekend and it brought in about $137.4 million. 

(tvtuc.com)

The Hangover and the others mentioned have all become popular among the younger crowd.  Why is this?  Because it shows binge drinking as fun, exciting, entertaining, and reasonably harmless.  All of these movies, except The Hangover, target teens and young adults directly.  They all show high school and college age students drinking at parties and having the time of their life.  It shows freedom and rebellion without little or no consequences.  There is always a happy ending and the geeky boy gets the hottest girl.  It’s the perfect way to show binge drinking and a good light and make students think that they will have the same exhilarating experience. 

Reality is never like the movies.  As much as we want happy endings, the movies fabricate what really occurs during nights of binge drinking.  If The Hangover really happened, one of the characters would have most likely died from alcohol poisoning or the drugs unintentionally taken.  Movie makers would never put death in an over the top comedy such as this.  They want viewers to be happy and laugh at every scene, not shocked and upset.  Portraying drinking as a good and positive thing gives teens and young adults the wrong impression.  They don’t realize until something bad happens that binge drinking is dangerous.  These comedic movies, although entertaining, are teaching the wrong ideas about drinking to all ages, but especially young people.

Red Bull and Vodka

In a previous blog I used the example of drinking Red Bull and Vodka to show the short term effects of drinking.  Red Bull and Vodka is a very popular drink choice nowadays among many others such as Monster and Jagermeister.   The combination of an energy drink and alcohol is appealing because it allows you to remain awake and alert instead of drowsy, which is a side effect of alcohol.  What people don’t realize is that mixing an energy drink with alcohol can be dangerous in many ways.

The reason itself for mixing energy drinks and alcohol is said to be unsafe.  According to the College Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center, fatigue is the body’s way of saying it has had enough.  The energy drink pushes your body to its limits by masking the fatigue, but it is still present.  The alcohol will still have the same effects even though the energy drink makes you feel better or less impaired.  The energy drink itself has certain effects on your body like increased heart rate and blood pressure which causes heart palpitations.  When alcohol is added to this these effects increase further which causes more heart problems. 

A new drink has been on the rise which mixes alcohol and energy into one can.  There are multiple companies who make such a combination, but the most well known and criticized is the company responsible for Four Loko.  This drink contains the alcohol equivalent to five beers or 12% alcohol by volume.  There has been a major debate on whether this product is safe enough to keep on the market and many families have sued the company Phusion Projects claiming that Four Loko lead to the death of their child. 

No matter what form it comes in, the combination of an energy drink and alcohol has been shown to greatly affect the body more than drinking the ingredients individually.  These drinks should be handled with caution and not consumed too often. 

Think Before You Drink

Binge drinking is the main cause of alcohol poisoning according to the Mayo Clinic.  The majority of binge drinkers are below the age of 26.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning are reported each year.  22,073 of these resulted in death. 

These are pretty frightening statistics and most college students don’t realize how risky binge drinking can be.  Alcohol poisoning is a very serious side effect of drinking and the results can be fatal.  There are still those that are sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning and survive, but they are the lucky ones.  They most likely had a friend who knew something was wrong and immediately took action, but some students that suffer from alcohol poisoning are not so fortunate.  Their friends might not realize that they are suffering from the signs of alcohol poisoning and assume they are fine.  They may not even have friends around them at the time.  Whatever the case may be, anyone who is going to drink should have a plan for their night and make sure that they are never alone.  Safe drinking is better than death by drinking.

Before you leave to out with your friends discuss who the designated driver will be and what they should do to prevent binge drinking.  Each person should know their own limit, but the DD should also be aware of the signs that someone is beginning to drink too much.  The designated driver should also know the signs of alcohol poisoning in case of an emergency.

What are the signs of alcohol poisoning? 

(generalcuestar.com)

·         Mental confusion, stupor, coma, or person cannot be roused.

·         Vomiting.

·         Seizures.

·         Slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute).

·         Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths).

·         Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness.

(collegedrinkingprevention.gov)

If you see someone with these symptoms seek help immediately.  Call 911 if there is any suspicion of alcohol poisoning.  Do not wait for all of these signs to occur.  Remember that it is better to be safe and call for help then to be sorry.

If those who are drinking are responsible and get help from friends who are sober, then alcohol poisoning can easily be prevented.  Drinking can be fun and harmless as long as it is in moderation and everyone is safe.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... To Drink!

Why is it that sporting events are popular places to get drunk?  Is it the social aspect of being with friends?  Is it the competitive spirit?  Is it the rowdiness that surrounds the game?  Whatever it may be it is definitely seen at every game across America.  There are always those fans that get belligerent and have to be dragged out of the stadium or cut off at the concession stands, but there are also fans that aren’t so extreme and drink because of the atmosphere. 

(www.seejessicago.com)

I went with some friends to a Royals game over the weekend and since I am 21 I drank before and during the game.  Before the baseball game there were a lot of people tailgating and drinking in the parking lot.  As we walked through, we saw many college students that were getting wasted before going into the stadium; some of them didn’t even make it into the game because they were so drunk.  What is the point of being there if you aren’t going to go in and enjoy the game?  These people go overboard and take binge drinking to another level.  They may have never intended on going to watch the game at all, but just wanted to drink with their friends.  Tailgating is definitely fun and a great part of the sporting event experience.  The purpose of it is to eat and have a good time before going to the game, not to get hammered and pass out in the parking lot. 

I enjoy tailgating, but my favorite part of going to any sporting event is the game itself.  I like to drink a beer and eat hot dogs while I watch my favorite team play.  I don’t care about getting drunk during the game because I want to enjoy it and know what’s going on.  The atmosphere at games is very fun and some people do get caught up in moment.  There are still those who drink too much, and drink all day for before a game.  The bottom line is: no matter how much a person drinks at a sporting event, they are partaking in the atmosphere of the game and joining in on the drinking festivities. 

Numbing Reality

You go to a bar with your friends and order a Red Bull and vodka.  After that drink you loosen up a little, but you feel about the same.  You order another drink and once it’s gone you start to feel even looser, maybe you start to feel happier and more confident.  Another Red Bull and vodka slides down your throat and now you feel more euphoria, more talkative, have a shorter attention span, and your face feels flushed.  At this point you’ve had four drinks in two hours and are pretty drunk.  If you continue drinking more these short term effects continue to worsen and you start to have blurred vision, bad coordination, and memory loss. 

This is the typical scenario for many college students during a night of binge drinking.  They wake up the next morning with a major headache and can’t remember most of the night, depending on the amount of consumption.  We know how the short term effects and the hangovers feel, and yet we still go out the next night and do it all over again.  Why?  Because they only affect us for a day and then it’s gone.   If these effects lasted much longer, say a week, I bet many of us would rethink how often we drink or the amount we consume.  Since these things are so minor we don’t give them a second thought about whether or not we want to do it again.  The experiences we have while we are getting drunk are what we care about, not how many drinks we have or what beverage we choose.  Most people get drunk for emotional reasons like to be happier, to be stress free, or to find affection.  Sometimes they want to forget the things happening in the real world, forget their sorrows and pain.  Whatever the reason may be, it’s not necessary to get drunk to feel better.  There are other ways to feel better that are better for your well-being such as going to a movie with friends or working out at the gym.  You’ll still forget the pain and more often than not it will help you to cope with bad situations better.  I know I’ve learned that getting drunk doesn’t solve any problems and usually makes things worse.  It’s also more likely for you to drink more because you want to get drunk as fast as you can, which leads to worse consequences.  I no longer get drunk when I’m upset about something.  It’s not worth the after math and doesn’t fix anything.  What do you think?

Binge Drinking 101

            Being a college student, I know the effects and consequences of alcohol and have experienced them firsthand.  College is known for the crazy parties and wild things that happen at them.  And it’s obvious that behind any good party is alcohol.  Alcohol transforms us into a new person; we’re more outgoing, more spontaneous, and more confident. 

The reasons why college students drink so much are infinite: to be popular, to be someone different, to meet people, etc.  We never realize though that all of us who get wasted on the weekends are binge drinkers and there can be some serious consequences from it. 

So what exactly is binge drinking?  By definition it is the heavy consumption of alcohol over a period of two hours.  So, what constitutes heavy consumption? For men it means five or more drinks and for women it’s four or more.  Binge drinking can go even further into heavy binge drinking where this occurrence happens three or more times in two weeks.  Obviously by this definition the majority of college students can say they are binge drinkers, or even heavy binge drinkers.

(istockphoto.com)

I will have to admit that throughout my college career I have been a heavy binge drinker and it happened the most when I was a freshman.  We are new to the scene and wanna go to all of the cool parties and meet the hot fraternity boys.  We get drunk because everyone else is and it’s more fun.  We play the drinking games like beer pong and flippy cup.  We dance on tables and do beer bongs.  That’s what college kids do.  But in the end is getting wasted really worth it?

In the next five weeks I’m going to explore binge drinking and decide for myself if getting drunk on the weekends is worth risking my health, my future, my life.  What will you decide?