Anyone else agree the definition of "binge drinking" is overstated?

[ButterflyBlood]

I go to college, so I hear about it all the time. Usually defined as 4-5 drinks. I can have 4-5 beers no problem as long as I'm not too fast. 4-5 shots might make me a little tipsy though.

I say around 7-8 is when you're binging. I once ended up going way past that since I lost my judgement when I got so drunk I didn't know it would be a good idea to stop. I quit drinking that night when I couldn't lift up a cup anymore, and spent the rest the night hanging my head over a toilet.

[Djinn]

1. I'd say it depends on how fast

you're drinking, 4-5 drinks in quick succession may give your loved ones something to worry about - if you're having an all nighter and over the course of 12 hours you have 4-5 drinks I personally wouldn't call it binge drinking...but then again I'm a total piss-head! :evilgrin:

[Mojambo]

2. When I was binge drinking it was between 8-10 n/t

[LibLover]

3. All generalizations are wrong! :)

I'm a small girl (5'2, 100lbs) and I don't drink too often. I think 4-5 drinks would be a pretty big binge and I'd feel it the next morning. My oldest brother (best buddy) is 6'6, 250lbs. (The women in my family are tiny and the men are huge.) He could handle that many drinks easily. He outgrew his college drinking phase but in his heyday I saw him drink a case (24) at a time. He'd be falling down drunk but never got sick. THAT was a binge.

I think "binge" is overstated in it's importance. Each person is a law unto themselves.

[sandnsea]

4. It's mostly not even right

Binge drinking is the definition of a very specific kind of alcoholic. Some alcoholics drink to drunkeness nearly every night. Others are maintenance drinkers, drink regularly but aren't necessarily quite drunk. A binge drinker, binges. Maybe the week-ends only, maybe a 2-3 day binge once a month, once every 3 months. Has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of college party drinking they're talking about. The harm from party drinking is alcohol poisoning from drinking too much at one sitting, it does happen. Otherwise, it has nothing to do with alcoholic drinking at all. This new definition of binge drinking makes me nutso!

[NuttyFluffers]

5. alcohol is a tempermental drug...

it is hard to quantify because so many factors can change the reaction. it's also easily the most troublesome when it comes to bad interactions with other drugs.

that said binge drinking is easily figured out. you'll know it when you see it. and if you're searching for excuses exempting yourself then you're probably guilty ;)

and that x-y # of drinks thing is just an average. it has to cover the whole spectrum of humanity with so many interwoven factors so don't hold that comment as etched in stone. it's a KISS bumper sticker factoid to raise the awareness of the dangers of irresponsible drinking. kinda like that old statistical joke: men are roughly half the population of USA, women the other half - therefore each american has 1 testicle and 1 ovary! isn't statistics fun!? any oversimplification taken as gospel will always have problems.