College Drinking

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College Drinking

Finally, you're off to college!

You are probably either moving out with your friends to a dorm, or renting an apartment with them. The main thing on your mind is PARTY no parents, YES! But while you're happy about moving out waiting for the first big bash, your Mom is freaking out thinking "OH NO! No supervision, they're are going to drink, they are going to get drunk and do stupid things!!!" well sorry to disappoint you, but, most of these paranoid moms are right!

First of all, let's start off with what is a drink?

Well, a definition of a standard drink contains a half-ounce of alcohol-the amount you would find in a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of table wine, and a 1 oz. shot of hard liquor such as vodka or whisky. Right away you can see that not all drinks are created equal.

Even the seemingly innocent wine cooler can pack a punch-many wine coolers have nearly twice the alcohol content of a 12 oz. beer. Most college students tend to drink beer,

they drink and estimated 4 billion cans annually.

Every year, college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, mostly beer, which is more than they spend on pop, coffee, milk, juice, and books combined, averaging $466 per student.

While there is a number of students who do not drink, there is still a large amount that does drink, as the chart here shows. The total amount of alcohol consumed by college students each year is 430 million gallons, which is enough for every college and university in the US to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.

This chart also shows the amount of all the binge drinkers and the frequent binge drinkers.

What is a binge drinker you ask?

Let's say you're out with some friends and this one guy drinks an entire six-pack of pop, bizarre huh? I mean 72 oz. Wow! Now, lets say that guy drank a six pack of beer instead of the pop, just as bizarre.

This is what you would call binge drinking, putting away five or more drinks at one time, in one sitting for a male, for a female it would be 4 or more drinks.

Some of you may not think this problem is that big, but, consider this,

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