Fast Facts

 

Standard Drink

A standard drink is defined as 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol which equals:

      • 12 ounces of beer (with 5% alcohol content)
      • 8 ounces of malt liquor (with 8% alcohol content)
      • 1.5 ounces ( or a “shot”) of distilled liquor (gin, rum, vodka, whiskey) (40% alcohol content)

Average College Student Consumption

62% Full time college students consume alcohol with 33% engaging in binge drinking

Binge Drinking

Males – 5 or more drinks within 2 hours

Females – 4 or more drinks within 2 hours

Other Harmful Consequences 

      • About 1500 college students (ages 18-24) die annually to alcohol related injuries
      • Almost 700,000 students annually get assaulted by another person who has been drinking alcohol
      • 1 in 4 students who drink suffer academic consequences (missing school work or classes). Students that did weekly binge drinking were 6 times likely to do poor on a test or project than students who never binged.

 

 

Work Cited:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2021). College Drinking. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,  https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/college-drinking.

Mayo Clinic (2018). Alcohol Use Disorder.  Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20369243.