Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students

Despite laws in every State that make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol, young people report that alcohol is easy to obtain and that many high school and college students drink with one goal to get drunk. 1 Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for boys and four or more in a row for girls 2 Prevalence of Binge Drinking Binge drinking, often beginning around age 13, tends to increase during adolescence, peak in young adulthood (ages 18 to 22), then gradually decrease Highlights of SAMHSAÂ’s 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse6 include: Why didn't it decrease for me? Is something wrong with me? Why am I not normal? Read the Big Book of Alcoholic Anonymous!