What do you get when you cross an alcohol enthusiast with UofT’s top table tennis player, Mahdi Hajiaghahyi?
A beer pong champion; no, you get a university binge drinker. Binge drinking is defined by Dr. Dzung Anh Le, an expert in the pharmacology of alcohol abuse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as having 5 drinks or 4 drinks for women, in a period of 2 hours. In other words, drinking a lot very fast.
If this sounds like you, don’t be surprised. Dr. Le states that 30% of Canadians between 15-19 and 41% between 20-24 binges 12 or more times a year. The reasons for doing it are even less shocking: young people lack knowledge about the consequences, are impulsive and susceptible to peer-pressure.
For those who wear your drinking ability like a badge and wish to be a beer pong king, beware. U of T Associate Professor Dr. Karen Leslie specializes in adolescent substance abuse at Sick Kids. She cautions that “alcohol is a central nervous system depressant” and can lead to slow breathing and alcohol poisoning. She also stresses behavioural risks like unprotected sex and violence.
Worse, binge drinkers have a higher probability of becoming alcoholics. There’s a cost to being the beer pong boss.
For more information on binge drinking visit http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/
A beer pong champion; no, you get a university binge drinker. Binge drinking is defined by Dr. Dzung Anh Le, an expert in the pharmacology of alcohol abuse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as having 5 drinks or 4 drinks for women, in a period of 2 hours. In other words, drinking a lot very fast.
If this sounds like you, don’t be surprised. Dr. Le states that 30% of Canadians between 15-19 and 41% between 20-24 binges 12 or more times a year. The reasons for doing it are even less shocking: young people lack knowledge about the consequences, are impulsive and susceptible to peer-pressure.
For those who wear your drinking ability like a badge and wish to be a beer pong king, beware. U of T Associate Professor Dr. Karen Leslie specializes in adolescent substance abuse at Sick Kids. She cautions that “alcohol is a central nervous system depressant” and can lead to slow breathing and alcohol poisoning. She also stresses behavioural risks like unprotected sex and violence.
Worse, binge drinkers have a higher probability of becoming alcoholics. There’s a cost to being the beer pong boss.
For more information on binge drinking visit http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/
