Female binge drinking

More than seven million underage youths between ages 12 to 20 admitted in 2004 to binge drinking -- or consuming five or more drinks in one sitting -- according to a March 2006 study conducted by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.

Although the study, titled "Underage Drinking in the United States: A Status Report, 2005," found that males generally binge drink more often than females, it reported an alarming increase in female binge drinking, especially of "alcopops" -- sugary flavored beers, such as Smirnoff's and wine coolers.

The increase in binge drinking is especially hazardous to women because they are more susceptible to alcohol's negative effects, according to National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism. Women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in their blood streams faster after drinking the same amount as men.

Study conductor David Jernigan, the executive director of Georgetown's Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, was hesitant to speculate why women were engaging in more binge drinking. However, Jernigan said the number of advertisements that market alcoholic beverages has increased in magazines geared towards young women, such as Cosmopolitan, Allure and InStyle. In addition, the average number of alcohol commercials on television viewed by people ages 12 to 20 increased 32 percent between 2001 and 2004, according to the study.

More alcohol advertisements are targeted towards women than in previous years, said William Dejong, director of the Youth Alcohol Prevention Center at Boston University's School of Public Health.

"It's similar to the increase in female cigarette smoking when cigarette companies began to market cigarettes towards women," Dejong said.

Dejong added that he thinks young people are generally well educated about most immediate dangers incurred by drinking -- such as impaired motor skills -- but many are unaware of alcohol's permanent effect on brain development. According to the Georgetown study, alcohol-dependent 15- to 16-year-olds performed worse on both verbal and non-verbal memory tests.

Although the study indicated that drunk-driving accidents and binge drinking rates have significantly declined overall in the past few decades, three teens die in drunk driving accidents each day. Six more youths under the age of 21 die each day, as well, because of other alcohol-related causes, such as suicide, homicide and drowning. In addition, 70,000 college students each year are victims of sexual assaults linked to alcohol, the report stated.

Ralph Hingson of the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism said many colleges have not acknowledged that binge drinking is a real problem because drinking is associated with the college experience.

"Many colleges do not recognize the problems that binge drinking is causing and do not realize that the majority of young people would favor enforcement of drinking policies," Hingson said, adding that a significant number of underage people abstain from drinking.

Hingson said that to curtail binge drinking, colleges need to create "strict policies and strict enforcement" as well as open communication among community leaders, school officials and underage youths.