Excessive use of alcohol is often associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Public Health reminds you about the effects of binge drinking on your health, and the dangers of drinking and driving.
Binge drinking is the most common and costly pattern of excessive alcohol use in the United States. Binge drinking is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks on an occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on an occasion for women.
Binge drinking is associated with many health problems, including:
- Unintentional injuries such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, burns, and alcohol poisoning.
- Violence including homicide, suicide, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault.
- Sexually transmitted diseases.
- Unintended pregnancy and poor pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage and stillbirth.
- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
- Sudden infant death syndrome.
- Chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and liver disease.
- Cancer of the breast (among females), liver, colon, rectum, mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus.
- Memory and learning problems.
Driving requires focus, coordination, good judgment, and quick reactions to the environment. Any alcohol or other drug use impairs the ability to drive safely. Experts know a lot about alcohol’s effects on driving, but more research is needed to fully understand the impact of drugs on driving skills. However, research has shown that both legal and illicit drugs impair the skills needed to drive safely. For example:
- Some of the effects of being impaired by marijuana that can affect driving include slowed reaction time and decision-making, impaired coordination, and distorted perception.
- Other drugs (such as cocaine or illicit amphetamines) can also impair skills like perception, memory, and attention, in both the short term and the long term.
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause many side effects that can impact driving, such as sleepiness, impaired vision, and impaired coordination.
Use of multiple substances (such as marijuana and alcohol) at the same time can increase impairment. If you would like to speak with someone about alcohol or drug misuse, contact Recovery Services at (937) 461-5223
