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Alcohol
awareness event comes to The Beach
By
Kristi Gohn
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
With spring break just around the corner,
Cal State Long Beach Dietetic Interns, Students
Active in the Community Health (SACH) and
FCS 531 are hoping to educate fellow students
about proper alcohol use on Wednesday with
their event, Alcohol Awareness.
These
groups are concerned with alcohol abuse
on college campuses around the country.
A report released recently by the Harvard
School of Public Health and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention also
claimed that college students spend more
than $5.5 billion on alcohol.
According
to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA) about 40 percent
of college-age students engage in binge
drinking.
"On
one hand, I can see how that is the truth
because I do know quite a few people who
drink and I have seen the parties in the
dorms," says Nicole Silva, a second-year
dorm resident at CSULB. "Also, there
are quite a few people on campus that are
older. It is easy for them to drink. On
the other hand, I know quite a few people
who choose not to drink. Strange...It's
sad though."
Binge
drinking is on the rise across the country.
A binge is considered having five drinks
in one outing for a man and four drinks
for a woman (NIAAA). Although alcohol can
be beneficial for one's health (two drinks
per day for men and one or less drinks a
day for women), four to five drinks is excessive
and can lead to alcohol poisoning.
With
binge drinking comes impaired thinking and
suppressed inhibitions. This can lead to
sexual assault and even rape. A study released
by the Research Institute on Addictions
concluded that on days when women drank
five or more drinks they were nine times
more likely to "experience sexual aggression
than days when they did not drink."
Over
time, alcohol abuse can have more serious
repercussions than a hangover Monday morning.
Studies show that 25,000 Americans die each
year from chronic liver disease, with 70
percent of those deaths attributed to alcohol
abuse.
The
numbers do not get better from there. The
NIAAA also reported that 1,400 college students
die each year from alcohol related injuries.
Not to mention the 500,000 injuries, more
than 70,000 cases of sexual assaults and
400,000 instances of unsafe sex.
Myths
surrounding alcohol are rampant, especially
among young people. Many people do not know
their limit because they do not know what
constitutes a drink. A drink is a 12 oz.
bottle/glass of beer, a 1.5 oz. shot of
hard liquor or a 5 oz. glass of wine. One
is not safer than the others. A glass of
beer is just like downing a standard single
shot of 80-proof liquor.
It
only takes 30 seconds for the alcohol to
first hit your brain. According to the Health
Resource Center, five drinks in two hours,
depending on your body weight, will raise
one's blood alcohol content (BAC) to approximately
.10 — .02 over the legal limit in
California.
Many
people believe they can sober up in just
a few hours but this is another myth. Collegedrinkingprevention.gov
states that it takes up to three hours to
get rid of the alcohol amount in two drinks.
Drinking coffee, water or taking a cold
shower will not speed up the sobering process.
These
trends worry and puzzle many researchers
and students. Groups like SACH and the Dietetic
Interns want to help reduce these numbers
by helping students know their limits and
drink responsibly.
"This
event will educate students about appropriate
alcohol consumption, portion sizes of common
alcoholic beverages, alternatives to alcohol
and the risks involved with drinking too
much," says Jenny Kidd, a graduate
nutrition student at CSULB.
Alcohol
Awareness Day will be held outside of the
Psychology building from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
this Wednesday.
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