The crushing sound of a car striking
another with the velocity of a speeding bullet, the image of an entire family
lying motionless on the pavement while someone walks away from a head on
collision, and the thought of a young and naïve teenager not waking up the
morning after a party all go through your head when you contemplate the effects
of binge drinking on those who partake in it and those affected by careless
alcohol consumption. It is estimated that about 88000 people die from binge
drinking which makes excessive alcohol consumption the fourth leading cause of
preventable death within the United States (Alcohol Facts and Statistics 1).
This Statistic includes about 62,000 men and 26,000 women that are associated
with binge drinking who lose their lives annually (Alcohol Facts and Statistics
1).
You’re driving home from a late
night at the office as you are waiting at a red light. The light turns
green--as you pass the intersection you see a flash of light out of the corner
of your eye and you are struck by a car moving at full speed. You have become a
victim of the epidemic known as binge drinking.
The NIAAA reports that in 2014, alcohol impaired driving deaths
accumulated to 9,967 deaths or 31 percent of all deaths while driving (Alcohol
Facts and Statistics 1). There is no way that you could have avoided it, you
were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now a decision that someone
under the influence made could determine the rest of both of your lives.
The punishment for someone who is
driving above the Blood Alcohol Level, which is 0.08%, is a DUI charge which
would count as a misdemeanor in all states, but if they cause or are involved
in an accident, it would be considered an aggravated DUI. (Stim 1). A DUI
conviction could not only result in your insurance rates skyrocketing, but it
could also cause you to suffer severe penalties along with several civil
liabilities (Stim 1). Although it may not seem like a big deal, it is the
fourth most cause of preventable death in the United States, which makes it a
relevant issue in society and a social epidemic.
History
How could this happen to you? You
made sure to have a designated driver to ensure your safety. The number of
alcohol impaired deaths from vehicles, has increased to about 9967 people,
which accounts for about 31 percent of the overall number of fatalities
(Alcohol Facts and Statistics 1). Although the amount of people who lose their
lives due to driving incidents is just below 10 thousand, about 3.3 million
people worldwide, lose their lives to alcohol consumption in various different
ways (Alcohol Facts and Statistics 1). Even though the amount of people who
lose their lives due to alcohol consumption is about 5.9 percent of all deaths
worldwide, binge drinking affects the ratio of people who lose their lives
prematurely between the ages of 20 and 25 by about 25 percent of all deaths
within this age bracket (Alcohol Facts and Statistics 1).
According to the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health, in 2015, about 5.1 million people reported excessive
alcohol consumption or binge drinking in the past month (Alcohol Facts and
Statistics 1). If we look at this statistic on a larger scale, we can expect
the next months to have a similar percentage of those who participated in the
act of drinking above the recommended alcohol blood level percentage. The
National Survey on Drug Use and Health also conducted a survey that concluded
about 33.1 percent of 15 year olds have had at least one alcoholic drink within
their lifetime (Alcohol Facts and Statistics 1). The fact that there are some
people in society who partake in the consumption of alcohol before the legal
age is perplexing to me because an abundance of people would be breaking the
law. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study that
concluded about 18 percent of high school students binge drank alcohol in a
Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking 1). Although these
results were anonymous and based only on the previous 30 days, it is still a
large amount of students who consumed an abundance of alcohol despite the legal
drinking age of 21. The same survey also concluded that about 8 percent of
students who partook in alcohol consumption drove afterwards, which puts others
at risk due to the lack of motor skills that the driver has under the influence
of alcohol (Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking 1).
The National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence estimates that about 32 percent of fatal car crashes
involve an intoxicated driver or pedestrian, and about 2 in 3 people will be
involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime (Wilcox 1). Although these
statistics might scare the average driver into staying home on late nights,
they are real and hard facts that everyone should take into consideration the
next time they plan on drinking or driving under the influence of alcohol.
Examples
Binge drinking not only affects
those who are involved in drunk driving accidents but it also affects those who
put themselves in harm under the influence. Since most cases of binge drinking
begin in the early stages of someone’s life, it is hard to teach younger teens
the consequences of their actions and the affects it has on their bodies.
The Center for Disease Control and
Prevention also conducted a survey that reports about 90 percent of the alcohol
consumed by teens under the age of 21 is in the form of binge drinking (Fact
Sheets - Binge Drinking 1). This statistic not only shows the lack of
responsibility young adults have towards alcohol, but the naivety that they
possess towards the amount that they consume and the effects of excessive
consumption on the human body. The CDC also states that binge drinking is
associated with a numerous amount of health problems such as sexually
transmitted diseases, liver disease, high blood pressure, liver disease and
many more (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking 1). Although binge drinking may not
seem like a serious problem among teens and young adults, the consequences of
doing so outweigh any of the seemingly temporary benefits.
Many Americans in society turn to
alcohol as a way to alleviate the feeling of depression or stress that they may
feel in day to day life. Although alcohol may seem to be a solution to forget
about real world problems within someone's life, the consequences it has on a
long term scale affect the human body in a way that isn’t healthy or
beneficial. Alcohol subsides the normal thoughts that would play through
someone’s mind and lets them commit actions that they would usually never go
through with (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking 1). It may help some people face
their fears without thinking logically about the risks of their actions, or it
may influence others to go through with things that they will regret after the
effects of alcohol wear off (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking 1).
A way to decrease the occurrence of binge
drinking would be to raise the price of alcohol which would not only decrease
the availability of it to minors but also motivate people to stop consuming as
much as they used to (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking 1). Another way to decrease
the occurrence of binge drinking among minors would be to create a more
consistent and strict enforcement of drinking laws against underage drinking
and alcohol impaired driving (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking 1). Doing so would
motivate people who are underage to decrease the amount of alcohol that they
consume or stop drinking alcohol all together until they are of age to do so.
If law enforcement creates more laws that restrict the permissible alcohol
levels within people who choose to drive a vehicle, they will be more careful
with the amount that they consume while also being conscientious of driving
under the influence.
Solutions
Decreasing the maximum blood alcohol
level, or BAC, from 0.08% to 0.05% will not only make the drinking population
be more conscious of how much alcohol they consume but it will also encourage
people to make sure that they don’t drive if they have had too much to drink.
Decreasing the amount of alcohol that someone can drink and still be able to
drive would decrease the occurrence of drunk driving accidents and scenarios
related to the mass consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. The
less amount of alcohol that someone is allowed to have legally, the less they
will partake in drinking that alcohol on a unsafe level. The NCADD conducted a
survey that states 3,952 fatally injured drivers tested positive for drug
involvement so there is a chance that people start resorting to drugs instead
of alcohol if we take steps to decrease the legal blood alcohol level (Wilcox
1). Even if we are able to decrease the blood alcohol level to 0.5, theres a
large chance that people will try to supplement the lack of alcohol with drug
substances.
Another possible solution to avoid
the death rate of binge drinking would include increasing the legal drinking
age from 21 to 25 years old (Castella 1). Kylie Lang from The daily telegraph
talks about the point in her article that when Ronald Reagan increased the
legal drinking age from 18 to 21 using the Legal Drinking Age Act of 1984, it
resulted in a 16 percent decrease in the number of accidents involving the
younger population (Lang 1). The article from the daily telegraph also shows
reports that the brain is still evolving into a person’s late 20s according to
Jay Gledd, a neuroscientist (Lang 1). By increasing the legal drinking age from
21 to 25 we can substantially decrease the accessibility of alcohol to young
men and women, and it would directly affect the amount of people who drink
alcohol under age or partake in the act of binge drinking (Castella 1). Since
the brain doesn’t fully develop until your mid to late 20’s, it would be safe
to assume that the occurrence of fatalities caused by binge drinking would
decrease substantially.
Absurdity and the Plague
Albert Camus was an atheist as well
as an anarchist, who didn’t believe in a higher power of god. Camus felt like
it was impossible to help rationalize an event such as an epidemic, which would
include binge drinking. The people living in the colonial times must have
thought that the hard drinking rum was absurd at one point. Binge drinking has
affected many teens and young adults who had an opinion about alcohol which
caused them to commit actions they weren’t allowed to while they were sober.
Camus also concluded that religion
is somewhat a waste of time and that having faith in someone or something won’t
help or hurt it in any way. Camus wouldn’t like the fact that hundreds to
thousands of people are losing their lives to this harsh epidemic but he would
have been satisfied to know that people of the 21st century went against their
own government. Camus would have also been stressed at how much the government
imposes laws on people such as the legal voting rights act because he believes
the government imposes too many laws and regulations during epidemics like
binge drinking. Camus would have been happy that the epidemic caused people to
start public protests and a movement that involves fighting for the safety of
others. Camus supported the belief that we should be equal and we should have
freedom, which goes against the increasing the legal drinking age but it would
help because the more people to be attached to a movement the more they feel
like they have the power to make a difference.
Conclusion
Although the effects of alcohol may
cause damage to both the body and put other people's lives at risk, it will
still be hard to influence people within the walls of society to stop drinking
so we can eliminate the risk of fatalities due to excessive alcohol
consumption. History has showed society that no matter what laws may be in
place, people will always find a way to rebel in order to fit their needs. We
have seen this many times within history one being in the form of the
prohibition that was put in place between 1920 and 1933, where people began to
sell alcohol at an inflated price in order to meet the demand of those who felt
like they needed it (Prohibition 1). It is possible that by increasing the
price of alcohol will create an underground flow of the substance so that it is
more available to the average consumer (Prohibition 1). The Prohibition caused
America to go into a state of panic where people started bootlegging alcohol
and the selling of alcoholic beverages so it would not be surprising if something
similar happened in modern day society (Prohibition 1). Although we will
probably never be able to eliminate the influence of alcohol on society, we are
able to decrease the circulation of such detrimental substances within our
communities which will help reduce the risk of innocent people losing their
lives and falling into the trap of addiction.
The subject of binge drinking is
important to society because those who partake in such acts could do something
under the influence that they could regret for the rest of their lives. Binge
drinking is not only dangerous but it is also illegal for those under the legal
drinking age to commit or encourage. It is both a prominent issue in everyday
society and within the media so we as a society have to learn to move away from
it and promote support all around school and outside in our communities.
Works Cited
Castella, Tom De. "10 Radical
Solutions to Binge Drinking." BBC News. BBC,02 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
Stim, Rich. "What Happens If I Am Driving Drunk and I'm
in an Accident That Is Not My Fault?"
Drivinglaws.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
“Alcohol Facts and Statistics” National Institutes of
Health. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.
"Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking." Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
"Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking." Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
"Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
Wilcox, Stephen. "Driving While Impaired -- Alcohol and
Drugs." National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Pictures
No comments:
Post a Comment