Question: I don’t like being called a binge drinker. I am not some college partier and I am not an alcoholic. It’s just not a big problem. What’s the harm of getting drunk at your sister’s wedding?

 

Answer: Lot’s of issues here. First, let’s define binge drinking. It is a pattern of drinking that brings your blood alcohol level to .08%-drunk in Maine and several other states. Usually this is 4-5 drinks in less than 2 hours and usually done for the purpose of getting drunk. You might not like the name but binge means indulging in an activity to excess. Let’s call a spade a spade.

 

You are right about one thing, most people who binge drink are NOT alcohol dependent, or “alcoholics”. But 70% of binge drinkers are over the age of 26, so it is not just a college problem. The CDC reports that 75% of ALL the alcohol consumed in the US is consumed in binge drinking, so it is a REALLY BIG problem. Why? Maybe you only binge drink once in a great while, but, taken together, we binge drink a lot in this country. Binge drinkers report driving impaired 14 times more often than non-binge drinkers.

 

Your health coach asks about your drinking habits because they would like you (and others on the road with you) to get home safely from your sister’s wedding! That’s the problem with binge drinking- you are impaired and make bad judgments, wind up with an unintended pregnancy or a broken marriage to deal with, take your anger out on the wrong person in the wrong way, slip and fall and break something, or drive yourself into oblivion.

 

All your health coach wants to convey by assigning you the binge drinking risk is for you to realize that if you do binge drink, stuff can happen.

 

So, just remember the consequences and do what you can to avoid them. Stay well.