College Binge Drinking Still Out of Hand

More than 7 million people under the age of 21 are current binge drinkers in the U.S.

While overall drug use among adolescents has continued to decline in recent years, there has been little change in the alcohol consumption of young people under the legal drinking age of 21.  The latest statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health report that over 7 million young people under the age of 21 are current binge drinkers, which is defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion in the past month.

In addition, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) concluded that 30 percent of Americans aged 18-20 were binge drinkers in the past month. Frequent binge drinkers were eight times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured, and damage property. College campuses have been notorious for heavy alcohol consumption, and last year several schools made national headlines because of deaths on campus due to alcohol poisoning.

According to the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), anecdotal evidence suggests that the first 6 weeks of the first semester are critical to a first-year student's academic success. Because many students initiate heavy drinking during these early days of college, the potential exists for excessive alcohol consumption to interfere with successful adaptation to campus life. The transition to college is often difficult and about one-third of first-year students fail to enroll for their second year.

Lucas Catton, now a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor at Narconon Arrowhead's successful drug rehabilitation and education program, was one of those students nearly ten years ago who didn't make it through their first year of college.

"I was a complete mess back then, a total failure," admits Catton, "I was lost in my alcohol abuse and threw away everything positive that I had going for me at the time." 

After several years of abuse he wound up getting help through the Narconon program and he credits Narconon for helping him turn his life around.  Like many other staff members at Narconon Arrowhead, Catton later decided to devote his life to helping others who have stay out of the trap of substance abuse.

Much of Mr. Catton's time is now spent helping to educate people about the true dangers of alcohol and other drugs through the media and live presentations.  Narconon Arrowhead's education program works with young people from elementary school through college, working to combat the alcohol industry's advertisements as well as the misinformation they get from alcohol- and drug-using peers.

A survey conducted by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth claimed alcohol companies placed more than 760,000 commercials on television from 2001 to 2003 and spent over $2.5 billion.  During those three years young people between the ages of 12 and 20 were nearly 100 times more likely to see an advertisement for an alcoholic beverage than a "responsibility" ad by the industry about underage drinking.

For more information about alcohol and other drugs, to schedule a presentation for your school or college, or to get help for a loved one in need, contact Narconon Arrowhead today by calling 1-800-468-6933 or visit www.stopaddiction.com.

As one of the nation's largest and most successful alcohol and drug rehabilitation and education programs, Narconon Arrowhead attributes its effectiveness to the application of L. Ron Hubbard's drug-free methodology.

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