Alcohol and Other Drugs

 

Is alcohol a problem for college campuses?

Compiling results from a number of general health surveys, NIAAA’s A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges estimates that in the United States, as a result of alcohol use, every year:

  • 1,400 college students die from alcohol-related causes, and 1,100 of these deaths involve drinking and driving
  • 500,000 students suffer nonfatal injuries
  •  400,000 students have unprotected sex
  • More than 100,000 students are too intoxicated to know whether they consented to sexual intercourse
  • 1.2–1.5 % of students attempt suicide because of alcohol or other drug use
  • More than 150,000 students develop a health problem related to alcohol
  • 11 % of students damage property
  • 2.1 million students drive while under the influence of alcohol

Problems encountered by college students when others drink too much:

  • 60.5 % had study or sleep interrupted
  • 53.6 % had to take care of a drunken student
  • 29.3 % had been insulted or humiliated
  • 20.1 % experienced an unwanted sexual advance (women)
  • 18.6 % had a serious argument or quarrel
  • 13.6 % had property damaged
  • 9.5 % had been pushed, hit, or assaulted
  • 1.3 % had been a victim of sexual assault or date rape (women)
     see http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs parents.html)