21st Birthday Booze Ritual Can Be Deadly

Four out of five American 21-year-olds drink alcohol to celebrate their birthday. The legal drinking age in the United States is 21 and many consider celebrating this milestone with alcohol to be a right of passage. Unfortunately, new research indicates that many of these neophytes aren't drinking just to celebrate--they are drinking to extremes.

Among the 2,518 students surveyed by University of Missouri researchers, 34 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women reported consuming 21 or more drinks. The report, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, is believed to be the largest study of the drinking ritual, which often involves shots of alcohol. The data is likely to reflect the drinking culture at large, public universities.

While researchers admit it's possible some students overstated how much they actually drank, the consistency of the answers suggests that students are consuming large quantities of alcohol when they celebrate a 21st birthday. The popularity of the ritual is spreading as a result of videotapes and photos of the drinking binges posted on YouTube and MySpace.

One of the biggest worries of the drinking binges is alcohol poisoning. The body's ability to metabolize alcohol depends on several factors, including gender, weight, type of alcohol, the time period during which the alcohol is consumed and whether the person vomits during the binge. In some cases, as few as 10 drinks can push blood alcohol levels to 0.30, the point at which the respiratory system slows enough that death is possible.

As a mother of three, I see several serious issues here. One of the problems is that these kids don't realize that drinking to excess can kill you. Another problem is that they don't seem to understand that shots are straight 90 to 100 percent alcohol. Unlike mixed drinks, beer or wine, these shots are small and can be consumed quickly before kids realize how much they've had to drink. By then, they and their compatriots are totally drunk and devoid of all judgment.

Both parents and University administrators should be extremely proactive in educating kids about the risks of alcohol poisoning. I believe that children approaching the age of 21 should be introduced to responsible social drinking by their parents or other adults. While they're being lectured about the dangers of drinking and driving, they should be warned about the hazards of taking straight shots.

One of most impressive aspects of my son's freshman orientation at NCSU was the 3-hour Web-based tutorial that all incoming students were required to complete. This interactive tool showed the students how to calculate their blood alcohol level based on weight, amount and speed of consumption. It also gave them a bench mark for understanding exactly how little it takes to qualify as extreme drinking.