Some of the key messages in the binge drinking issue of Vital Signs
include the following:

*         Thirty-eight million U.S. adults binge drink an average of 4
times a month.

*         On average, the largest number of drinks consumed is 8.

*         While more 18-34 year olds binge drink, binge drinkers aged 65
years and older binge drink more often than other age groups-an average
of five to six times a month.

*         Although more people with incomes above $75,000 binge drink,
those with incomes less than $25,000 drink more when they binge. The
largest number of drinks consumed averages between 8 and 9 in the lower
income group.

*         Adult binge drinking is most common in the Midwest, New
England, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii. However binge
drinkers in the southern Mountain states (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Utah), Midwest, and some states where binge drinking is less common
- including Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina – consume more
drinks when they binge.

*         Binge drinking is a costly and deadly behavior. Drinking too
much, including binge drinking, is responsible for 80,000 deaths each
year and cost the U.S. $223.5 billion in 2006, or $1.90 a drink. These
costs include health care expenses, crime, and lost productivity.

*         Evidence-based strategies, such as those recommended by the
Community Guide, can help prevent binge drinking.

Click here to read the full report from Vital Signs on binge drinking.

ALSO read this important Fact Sheet on Binge Drinking.

What’s Going on in Prevention?

New Jersey will begin to implement a new concussion law and new guidelines for managing sports-related concussions

A new test will be able to look for a biomarker that indicates exposure to alcohol in the umbilical cord of fetuses

A healthy pregnancy diet has been found to reduce the likelihood of birth defects

Toxic chemicals are being found in umbilical cord blood of babies and air pollution has been linked to pre-term births

A frightening new trend among youth has them able to creatively disguise underage drinking