Holiday Hangover? Just One of the Side-Effects of Binge Drinking

When it comes to social engagements between teens, one of the most popular activities includes drinking. Whether it’s playing beer pong or “I Have Never,” drinking is very prevalent in many teens’ social lives, especially when it comes to the holidays. With time off and holiday parties comes the excuse to drink. In BC, anyone drinking under the age of 19 is doing so illegally. Of course, it still happens, as it has for decades. However, in recent times, drinking among teens has become alarmingly common. In particular, binge drinking.

By definition, binge drinking is consuming more than five alcoholic beverages in one sitting or night according to a source on MADD Canada’s website. Statistics on the site also report that road crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among teens. This statistic was found to be even higher when the factor of driving while so heavily intoxicated was also added. When a person reaches a blood alcohol level of 0.10, they are 51 times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash than a non-intoxicated person is.

So, if the risks are so high, why are so many teens binge drinking? It seems that one of the main reasons is that teens don’t know when to stop. When you’re new to something it’s hard to know what’s acceptable. It’s even more difficult when you’re in a social situation where there’s a lot of pressure to fit in.
According to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, almost 21 per cent of Canadians aged 12 years and older binged on alcohol 12 or more times a year. The McCreary Centre Society found that 46 per cent of male and 43 per cent of female high-school students in BC who drink admitted to binge drinking in the past month. The numbers are scary because they are so large, and it’s happening to people in our age group; someone in this group could easily be one of your closest friends.

I decided to ask a few of my close friends about their experiences and opinions on the topic. Mary (name changed for privacy), a good friend of mine, had a few things to say about why she drinks and how she started: “I had my first alcoholic drink in grade 9 with my older brother and some of his friends. I didn’t have plans that night so I decided to just hang with them in the basement. They offered me a drink and I took it. It wasn’t all that bad; I stopped at one and called it a night.” The sad truth is that this is how a lot of drinking among teens starts.

It’s no surprise that teens succumb to drinking with their friends in social situations. We want to fit in and have fun with our peers. Sometimes, it means doing things that we wouldn’t necessarily do with the absence of pressure. Of course, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Some of us have one drink and stop at that. In Mary’s case, her first drink was just the beginning. She explains: “When my friends and I were at a party one weekend, another guy offered us a few drinks. None of my friends had taken any and I did. They asked me about it and I told them that I’d already drank before and that it wasn’t a big deal. So, they joined me.” Mary admits to only drinking casually with friends and never having more than two drinks a night at the time. But things didn’t stop there for Mary. “After a while, I could drink more drinks at one time, and soon enough I could drink four or five in one night.”

Mr. M. Johnston, a counsellor at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary agrees that Mary’s situation is a common one for teens: “It’s really easy to get into it when you start with some of the “easy” drinks – the sweet ones like Mike’s Hard Lemonade that contain very little alcohol compared to Scotch or whiskey. You can get a few in really fast without realizing the harm it’s doing.”

Mary is still drinking and is starting to become more dependent on alcohol. But what is her motivation for consuming more and more of her poison? “I’m going into my senior year. I want to remember it as a really fun one, not one doing homework and studying for tests. I’ll look back on it in 10 years and think that I had a great time with some great friends. I won’t regret it,” she states.

Right now, Mary’s just having a good time. But what about 10 years from now? Will she really look back with no regrets? The World Health Organization found teens who start drinking between the ages of 14 and 17 are more likely to suffer alcohol-related medical problems later on in life. Even at present, the risks of alcohol-related injuries such as falling down and breaking a bone while stumbling to walk or crashing a car while driving are enough to make you think twice about having too much to drink. Being responsible about what you’re consuming and why you are consuming it is key to preventing yourself from being another statistic.

Now the question remains: what can we do about this growing epidemic? The answer is simple: education. “Programs like MADD are really effective because they give you real information,” continues Mr. Johnston. The more knowledge you give teens about drinking and its risks, the more able they will be to make smart choices.

As a last piece of advice, Mr. Johnston says, “What’s really important to remember is that the parties are not going to be your lasting impressions of high school, the memories you made with good friends are. I don’t remember a single party from my high-school days aside from grad. I just remember the good, clean fun we had.”

It’s important to understand and recognize the dangers of binge drinking if only for your personal safety. Just because your friends decide to drink, it doesn’t mean that you should too.