wtf? 5 drinks in two weeks is binge drinking??

[Ryan]

http://www.startribune.com/389/story/276785.html

According to a University of Minnesota student survey in February, 45 percent of students binge-drink. That means they had five or more drinks in one sitting within the previous two weeks.

apparently i'm a binge drinker.

i'm gonna need a few drinks to think about this...

[Frimp]

Sheesh...An old friend of mine was an AA member, and told me that if 2 non drinkers met for the first time one day, had a GREAT time, and fell in love that same day, and that same night, they have a glass of wine to toast it, get married, and live happily ever after. Every year on the anniversary of the day they met, they have a glass of wine. No other drinks ever for the rest of the year.

According to the AA, these 2 lovebirds are alcoholics. 

[crazy_scar_man]

alcoholism is a product of a person personality. it's the beast within.

to people that are prone to alcoholism, it doesn't matter how often or how much they drink.

[TonyB0D]

well im DEFINITELY an alcoholic then!

[Househead]

alcoholism is a product of a person personality. it's the beast within.

Thats a good description. 

[MaineDolFan]

I subscribe to the James Frey drinking solution.

I'm just not sure what that is.

[Dave Gray]

5 drinks in one sitting is a lot.  (for me anyways).  I do that like once a year...not once every two weeks.

[BeefStewert]

Binge drinking does not equate to alcoholism.  Binge drinking implies that you have a spike in your drinking habbits - you drink 5 drinks in 1 sitting when you have maybe 1 drink a day the previous two weeks.  If you drink 5 drinks everyday, you are an alcoholic.  If you don't drink until you go to a party and then go crazy, you are a binge drinker.

The difference is that binge drinking introduces a shock to your system.

[Denver_Bronco]

Binge drinking does not equate to alcoholism.  Binge drinking implies that you have a spike in your drinking habbits - you drink 5 drinks in 1 sitting when you have maybe 1 drink a day the previous two weeks.  If you drink 5 drinks everyday, you are an alcoholic.  If you don't drink until you go to a party and then go crazy, you are a binge drinker.

The difference is that binge drinking introduces a shock to your system.

This is ridiculous. What does it tell you if someone can sit down and have 5 drinks ? High tolerance maybe ?  5 drinks in one night is the same thing as 5 drinks going out once a week. You are an alcoholic.

Do you know that a person can be sober for 20 years, then pick up and they will start right up where they left off ? Its true.

[Frimp]

This is ridiculous. What does it tell you if someone can sit down and have 5 drinks ? High tolerance maybe ?  5 drinks in one night is the same thing as 5 drinks going out once a week. You are an alcoholic.

Do you know that a person can be sober for 20 years, then pick up and they will start right up where they left off ? Its true.

I have a very high tolerance, and I've cut down to only once a week and lowering the amount of beer that I drink. Are you saying that my tolerance will not decrease, and that my attempt to lower it will be futile?

[Denver_Bronco]

I have a very high tolerance, and I've cut down to only once a week and lowering the amount of beer that I drink. Are you saying that my tolerance will not decrease, and that my attempt to lower it will be futile?

Pretty much. You may catch a buzz in less amount of time, but you will still be able to drink just as much.

[BeefStewert]

From: http://www.sirc.org/publik/binge_drinking.shtml#LinkTarget_374

Definitions of binge-drinking were broadly consistent across the sample of Police, bar managers, bar staff and patrons. The most frequently cited were:
Drinking with the intention of getting drunk, often mixing drinks
Drinking to the point at which you lose control
Drinking as much as possible in a short space of time
Occasional, heavy drinking

From: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcoholism/DS00340

Alcoholism is a chronic, often progressive disease that can be fatal. The condition involves a preoccupation with alcohol and impaired control over alcohol intake. You may continue to abuse alcohol despite serious adverse health, personal, work-related and financial consequences. Alcoholism usually involves physical dependence on the drug alcohol, but genetic, psychological and social factors contribute to this addiction.

It's possible to have a problem with alcohol, but not display all the characteristics of alcoholism. This is known as "alcohol abuse," which means you engage in excessive drinking that results in health or social problems, but you aren't dependent on alcohol and haven't fully lost control over the use of alcohol.

So basically, if you binge drink (which implies occasionally) you are NOT an alcoholic.  You are abusing alcohol, but you are not dependent on it. 

Denver, would you say that a person that gets stoned once a year is a pothead?  I'm assuming not.  But if you go out and get drunk once a year, you are a binge drinker.  You aren't an alcoholic, though. 

[TonyB0D]

i second Denver....i used to drink every single day in college, and get absolutely hammered at least 3 nights of the week.  now that i've graduated, turned 21, and got more fond of the green stuff, i dont drink anymore.  last time i was drunk was my graduation party in may.  however, i went to the bar saturday night to take my best friend out for his b-day, and the 2 of us ran up a $150 bar tab, and i wasn't even buzzed.  he couldnt walk.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Alcoholism is such a joke. No one is addicted to barley, they just use booze to cover up whatever problems they have.

[Ryan]

Alcoholism is such a joke. No one is addicted to barley, they just use booze to cover up whatever problems they have.

Alcoholism (rel. drug abuse) is a chemical addiction to either or both the consumption of or the inebriating effects of alcohol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism