A recent report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that a significant amount of binge drinking was found in the Midwest.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, used data on national binge drinking trends from a 2010 study. Binge drinking is defined as when a woman or man drinks four or five alcoholic beverages respectively on one occasion.
The study consisted of phone interviews conducted by the CDC to over 450,000 people nationwide. Interviewees were asked a series of questions about their alcoholic consumption over the previous month.
According to the study, four of the top six states with the highest binge drinking prevalence were located in the Midwest, with Illinois ranking sixth highest in the nation. The top state on the list was Wisconsin with 25.6 percent of their population being considered binge drinkers, while Illinois had 21.4 percent.
The study also showed the intensity of binge drinking nationwide in regards to the average amount of drinks consumed during binges and the number of episodes in a given month. Topping the list again was Wisconsin at nine drinks and about five episodes. Illinois came close to those averages with 6.9 drinks and 4.5 episodes.
Zachary Buchanan, U. Illinois sophomore, said he was surprised about the Midwest’s statistics but noted that the problem is not only local.
“I think it’s as much of a problem in the Midwest as anywhere else,” Buchanan said.
A Center of Substance Abuse prevention survey shows that 42 percent of college students are defined as binge drinkers, although that number has recently plateaued, said Richard Lucey, Jr., special assistant to the director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
“The actual consumption isn’t what concerns me, what concerns me most is the levels of intoxication now when compared to 20 years ago,” said Skip Frost, University police captain. “It’s a very tough issue; anyone who knows the solution would be making millions because this isn’t just a University issue but a social issue.”
Due to increased prevalence, especially in the Midwest, some are suggesting that more can be done to let people know about the dangers of binge drinking and alcohol consumption. According to the CDC, the percentage of adult smokers in the U.S. dropped from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 19.3 percent in 2010 in large part due to billions of dollars being spent on advertising campaigns aimed at younger audiences as well as cigarette taxes being raised.
This has led some people to believe that it could work for alcohol, too.
“Smoking campaigns have created major positive changes, so why are we not taking alcohol abuse more seriously?” said Tonya Lawyer, co-owner of Allison and Lawyer Counseling Services of Champaign.
“Alcohol is the number one abused drug over any other combined, but most people don’t recognize it or take it seriously enough. We raise taxes on cigarettes, but why not alcohol?”
Lucey Jr. said he is confident that in time, alcoholic consumption will decrease as tobacco usage did.
“There’s still approximately 10 million underage drinkers nationwide,” said Lucey Jr. “But it took 30 to 40 years for tobacco to get to what it is now, so it’s not going to happen overnight. We believe that alcoholic prevalence rates one day can be as low as they should be with collective effort.”