Facts on Tap
Alcohol Poisoning
- Overdose becomes possible when blood alcohol levels (BALs) reach .28, with 50% of people dying at BALs of .40.” (http://www.alcohol.vt.edu)
- 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes in 2005 (Hingson et al., 2009).
- A binge is a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 gram-percent or above. For a typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about 2 hours (NIAAA National Advisory Council).
- 44% of students attending 4-year colleges drink alcohol at the binge level or greater (Weschler, 2008).
- In California, the BAC limit for a person 21 years old or older to drive legally is 0.08%. For people 20 and younger, the legal limit is 0%.
- In 2005, 28.9% of college students drove under the influence of alcohol (Hingston et al., 2009).
- It is estimated, 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 were unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol in 2005 (Hingson et al., 2009).
- In 2001, it is estimated 599,000 college students were injured because of drinking (Hingson et al., 2009).
- In 2001, 97,000 college students were victims of sexual assault or date rape perpetrated by another student who was drinking (Hingson et al., 2009).
- Alcohol can cause academic problems. College students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall (Engs et al., 1996; Presley et al., 1996a, 1996b; Wechsler et al., 2002).
- In 2005, 3,360,000 college students reported driving under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2009).
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/StatsSummaries/snapshot.aspx
Bringing It Home
According to the Fresno State Social Norms Report 2009 for:
- Almost three-quarters of respondents fall into “0-3” range for the “number of drinks.”
- Self-reported heavy drinking (5+ drinks/occasion) decreased between 2008 and 2009.
- Driving-after-drinking was less prevalent among women in 2009 than in 2008, including a decline in driving-after-heavy-drinking, from 2.7% to 0.7%.
- Significantly fewer respondents attributed difficulties in academics with alcohol, with 5.8% in 2008 to 3.0 % in 2009. Alcohol did not rank in the “Top 10” of academic impediments.
- The National College Health Assessment survey results show that in the past 30 days, 25.6% of males and 31.7% of females have never used alcohol.
- The NCHA shows that 19.9% of males and 21.9% of females used alcohol but not in the last 30 days.
- The NCHA results show that the last time students “partied” that 34.4% of males and 46.9% of females reported having 4 or fewer drinks.
About Fresno State's Social Norms Project
Its primary goals are to reduce alcohol abuse, alcohol-impaired driving, and alcohol-related harm among Fresno State students. Posters and other materials, and activities are developed specifically for Fresno State, based on campus research. The campaign is designed by students, for students. Every year the Social Norms Project hosts a survey of randomly selected Fresno State students called the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). The NCHA is a nationally recognized research survey that assists the Social Norms Project in collecting precise data about students health habits, behaviors, and perceptions.