One More Drink Won't Hurt...Or Will It?

"Submitted by Phialy Noun:"

In our society today, we treat certain activities as if it was a social norm. Some of the activities are morally, traditionally wrong and even illegal. We as the people of the society had created bad things to be legal but are constantly abused such as alcohol. One of the major problems that goes uncovered is binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as drinking an excessive amount of alcohol. In pennsylvania, the legal limit of blood alcohol content is 0.08. Some see binge drinking a right of passage, while others just do it for fun. Our culture makes it a norm to binge drink. Drinking makes people feel curious and older. Alcohol is highly promoted in ads, songs and tv shows such as Jersey Shore. College parties invented games to make binge drinking exciting but encourages more consumption.

Binge drinking can lead to health and financial problems. About 76% of binge drinkers say they do it because its fun, 65% says it makes them more sociable and 41% says it helps them forget their problems. Hangovers and drinking related illness costs about 17 million job days a year. Binge drinking causes about 223 billion dollars in property damage, criminalization, health care and loss of work production. One third of auto accidents and deaths are related to alcohol intoxication.Binge drinking causes neurological, intestinal, cardiovascular, and financial damage. The brain can get highly effected by alcohol and cause a stroke. Alcohol damages the liver and causes metabolism problems or liver cancer. Too much alcohol consumption can cause the body to shut down and become unresponsive. About one in twenty females are sexually assaulted due to alcohol. STDs are a risk factor when binge drinking. Nearly 50,000 cases of intoxication are reported yearly. For example, a 19 year old student name Danny Daniels at California State University died from alcohol poisoning. In 2009, a 20 year old student at Penn State died from his injuries after falling off a balcony and ending up in a stairway.

In conclusion, binge drinking relates to some of the health problems in our society. The pressure from our peers and social norm to drink makes it difficult to fight against at times. Being responsible and socializing with the right people helps prevent alcohol related injuries. Life is too sort so by binge drinking that life span is decreased dramatically. In some cases that one drink too many could be the last drink you'll have.