Rocker Kim Mitchell belted out words of wisdom in his '80s hit song "Go for Soda." The lines "Nobody hurts and nobody cries" and "Nobody drowns and nobody dies" are a clear reminder of the benefits of drinking nonalcoholic beverages. Alcohol-related trauma is the number one preventable cause of death among young Canadians. Approximately 45 per cent of youth deaths involve motor vehicle crashes, and nearly 40 per cent of these traffic deaths are alcohol related, according to a Smartrisk 2005 survey.
With approximately one in four teens engaging in a popular high-risk pattern of drinking referred to as binge drinking, the potential for disastrous consequences is a painful reality.
Binge drinking
Binge drinking is episodic drinking, defined as anything over five drinks in one evening or sitting. It's prevalent among 23 per cent of students in grades seven through 12. It's lowest among seventh graders (3 per cent) and peaks at 42 per cent among 12th graders. Whether it's experimenting with alcohol for the first time at a party or a regular pastime, binge drinking welcomes reckless behavior that can lead to dangerous and life-changing consequences such as death, injury, rape, and possible legal charges and indictments.
Dr. Sharon Cirone, Addictions Consultant to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service at St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto, cautions that it's imperative parents open the lines of communication with their teens to educate them about the perils of binge drinking. "Youth are going to university at a much younger age than they used to and they're really quite ill prepared for much of the partying that goes on at campus," says Cirone. "Most of us were 18 or 19 before we got to campus. Some of them are 16 and 17 now. Just that year makes a big difference in their maturity to handle some of these scenarios, let alone handling the scenarios with their brain lubricated with alcohol."
Peer pressure
Dr. Cirone says peer pressure is a common reason teens experiment with alcohol at parties during high school and university. Some teens will socially engage in alcohol occasionally, maybe because they feel less inhibited and not as shy once they've had a few drinks, whereas other teens may be "genetically loaded." These teens are "genetically more at risk for progressing from alcohol use to alcohol dependence." They come from families where there is alcohol dependence and/or other illicit substance abuse, or a history of mental disorders.
For example, Dr. Cirone says there is strong evidence to suggest that sons of fathers with antisocial personality disorder will become drinkers, and binge drinking is typically a pattern of drinking that kicks off the cycle of alcohol dependence. This type of youth will oftentimes be the one who can "drink everybody under the table" on a regular basis, says Cirone. They may also drink as a form of self-medication because they discover that alcohol helps their anxiety or helps them to feel comfortable in a group.
(Know the signs of teenage depression.)
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