FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Call to Stop Use of Binge Drinking Terminology

September 5, 2000
Calling for a more accurate and realistic reporting of problematic student alcohol use, the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues, a coalition of 21 higher education associations announced this week that a proclamation has been issued asking members of their associations, government agencies and researchers to refrain from further use of the term "Binge Drinking" in defining student alcohol use.

According to Drew Hunter, convener of the group and executive director of The BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network (a member association), "this proclamation is long overdue and it is time that the higher education community take a more direct stance on how student drinking is reported. For several years now the term itself has served to lump an artificially large portion of students in what is widely understood as problematic and even dangerous behavior."

As reported by the Harvard School of Public Health, the definition of Binge Drinking is defined as 5 or more alcohol servings for males and 4 or more alcohol servings for females in one sitting during a two week period. Unfortunately, this definition fails to give an accurate indication of intoxication levels, or risk factors such as the time period during which the drinking occurs, the size of the person drinking or other physical and mental characteristics known to impact intoxication or cause harm to self or others. For this reason it is misleading at best to report such a high number of students as "binge drinkers" using this definition.

Instead, the Task Force Proclamation asks that researchers report problematic drinking in the following manner so that a more realistic account of student drinking can be determined both nationally and locally. Specifically, the Task Force asks that people interested in student drinking issues:

1. Refrain from using the term "binge drinking" except as it is generally and historically used to denote a prolonged (usually two days or more) period of intoxication (BAC > or = to .08) that interferes with the student's ability to perform customary social and academic obligations and responsibilities. (This definition appears in "Recovery", the newsletter of the American Council on Alcoholism 10/98 and as an editorial in the Journal of Alcohol Studies.)
   
   
2. Use terms such as "high risk" and "harmful use" and "low risk" or "less harmful use" to describe a range of risks related to alcohol consumption looking at factors such as harm to self and/or others.
   
   
3. Use definitions that are objectively defined by health research data that account for weight, gender, quantity of alcohol, and frequency and duration of consumption. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is a well-documented measure of risk already generally used in both health and legal professions.
   
   
4. Become familiar with epidemiological methods of determining student BAC (Objective measurement uses "breathalyzer" technology and subjective measurement uses self-report surveys and interviews.) and the epidemiological analysis of such data.

By doing so, we can more accurately determine a realistic level of student drinking and to better assist our campuses in spending their time and resources developing programs and policies to better impact all students. For more information on this effort including viewing of the full proclamation visit the Task Force Website: http://www.iatf.org

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