Taylor Hileman
English Composition 2
Professor Hammett
Fall 2023
Argumentative Proposal
Word Count: 1000-1500 (approximately 4 pages)
Binge Drinking
Imagine being in college to get a degree, and having a severe binge drinking problem, and no idea how to stop it or get the help you need. In some scenarios people are not able to get the help they need, and some are too afraid to ask. By building binge-drinking awareness, people will feel more comfortable talking about the subject and more help centers could be built. With people learning more about binge drinking and the consequences it comes with people will be more educated for themselves and other people.
Binge drinking is classified as a pattern of drinking alcohol concentration to 0.08 grams of alcohol or higher. When a woman has 4 or more drinks, and a man has 5 or more drinks in about 2 hours, this usually happens. Full time college students are more likely to have a binge drinking problem than most adults over the age of 65 with the statistics of this being 27.4 for college students ranging in ages 18-22 and 11.4% for adults 65+. Just one episode of binge drinking can cause all sorts of health conditions including acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Long-time binge drinkers are more at risk to have many more chronic diseases and several different types of cancers. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023, paragraph 1-7).
When binge drinking, at some point of that time you will more than likely forget any and everything that you do, better known as blacking out. When this happens you will still be walking and talking and doing everything you were doing before, while continuing the drinking, you just won’t remember any of it until the next day. “It is defined as a period of amnesia during which a person actively engages in behaviors like walking and talking but does not create memories for these events as they transpire.” Capatides, C. (2019, September 5). Blacking out is the prime time for someone in an unfortunate circumstance to be sexually assaulted, all because they are so intoxicated that they won't be able to remember who did it most of the time or why it happened in any way shape or form. 2000 or more people a year that are in college that end up dead due to overuse of alcohol or doing something while under the influence of alcohol, which is why something needs to be done about this as soon as possible. People who start drinking at 13 and 14 years are at a five times more risk to become an alcoholic or have a disorder that they associate with alcoholism compared to if you were to start at 21 years or older. [Capatides, C. (2019, September 5) paragraph 8.]
Unfortunately it is inevitable for people in college to be drinking, and it is even harder to try to prevent it. There is always a way, and if they want to do it that bad, they will one hundred percent find a way. It mostly starts in college because if the parents were sheltering their kids, they never got the chance to do it before, and more than likely, they will do it at least once just for the experience. Or the bragging rights to say that “Hey! I went to a college party” which is so common. You want people to have a great time at college, yes. That’s exactly why colleges try to have different activities in the evenings, movie nights, game nights and other activities that keep the students from drinking and partying like they know they shouldn't be.
According to the CDC, binge drinking is most common in younger adults ages ranging from 18-34. So more likely people that don’t have children come home from work or school after a long day and decide that they “deserve” a drink, and then take it too far. It is more commonly known to be done by men than women, although women do also do it. Binge drinking is more common with adults who have a higher household income who are white, and live in the midwest. One in four US adults who partake in binge drinking more likely than not consume eight or more drinks in a row per binge occasion. 467 drinks are consumed annually on average per adult who binge drinks. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, November 14) entire article.]
The outcomes of a binge drinker and what ends up happening to a lot of them is also a serious problem. The probability of someone who is intoxicated and has been driving is 5 times more likely for them to be an active duty military personnel. These people are also more likely to get physically hurt, have unplanned and unprotected sex and end up with a baby, and all sorts of things. People that binge drink tend to have poor mental and physical health, and have lots of sleep problems like trouble falling asleep and even more problems staying asleep at that. Binge drinking also entices that you’re more likely to drive after drinking as well. People who binge drink tend to be on higher measures of anxiety and depression, and knowing they’re depressed makes them want to drink because in the moment it makes them feel better, but in reality it just takes the pain away for a little while. These people tend to stay depressed because instead of getting the help that they need, they just turn to alcohol to save them from their thoughts. Excessive binge drinking has also been known to do worse to someone with mental illnesses, especially if they’re alone. So, therefore if you know someone or are someone that has a mental illness and you are a binge drinker, please seek help and try some healthier ways to block out whatever is eating you up inside.
Onto ways that you can help someone who has a binge drinking problem. If you know someone who does this often or at all, try to distract them. Go for a drive out to the lake and watch the stars while listening to music. Go to a movie, as it's pretty hard to get alcohol into a movie theater. Just try to distract these people into sobriety as best you can. One or two beers wont hurt you to drink every once in a while, but when you drink one or two, and decide to finish off the 12 pack, then you definitely have a problem. This will make it hard for you to wake up in the mornings, and your body will make it hard for you to fall asleep in the evenings because you’re so used to drinking your way to sleep at night. Alcoholism is an illness, an addiction, and everyone has an out with it. You just have to have the faith that you’re strong enough to overcome it.
In conclusion, Binge drinking is one of the most dangerous things you can get yourself into, so just decide not to have the drink. Decide not to ruin someone else’s night, and or potentially their life. All these people have died and yet people still manage to binge drink. Whether it’s you getting into a car accident while driving intoxicated and you kill yourself, as well as the people with you, and the people you hit, or you get pulled over and go to jail for the night to sober up while you’ve got school work to do, or kids to come home to. Nothing about binge drinking is okay and I for one suggest getting the help you need before you do something that can change your life in an instant. So be good, change it for the better, and make yourself have a happy, healthy life with Sparkling Cider instead of a wine, a regular sweet tea instead of a long island iced tea, a can of soda rather than a can of that beer you know doesn’t taste that great. Do better, if you don’t change your life, the act of binge drinking surely will.
References
Capatides, C. (2019, September 5). From binge drinking to blacking out, the disturbing epidemic putting America’s kids in danger. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/binge-drinking-blacking-out-alcohol-culture-threatening-americas-kids-cbsn-originals/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, November 14). Binge drinking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm
Cu, M. A. (2023, June 1). Rising rates of binge drinking among students, survey shows. The Stanford Daily. https://stanforddaily.com/2023/05/31/rising-rates-of-binge-drinking-high-risk-behavior-among-students-survey-shows/
Krieger H, Young CM, Anthenien AM, Neighbors C. The Epidemiology of Binge Drinking Among College-Age Individuals in the United States. Alcohol Res. 2018;39(1):23-30. PMID: 30557145; PMCID: PMC6104967.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Understanding binge drinking. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/binge-drinking
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