Iowa Fall 21-Winter 22 - 44

o 1,000 from homicides
o 208 from alcohol overdose, falls, burns and
drowning
o 596 from suicides
College tragedies:
o Binge drinking: 33% of full-time college students
ages 18 to 22 reported binge drinking in one
month; 8.2% reported heavy alcohol use in one
month.
o Deaths: 1,519 college students ages 18 to 24
die each year from alcohol-related unintentional
injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
o Assaults: 696,000 students are assaulted by
another student who has been drinking; 97,000
report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault
or date rape.
brain that control breathing, heart rate, and body
temperature and cause death. Six people in the U.S.
died from alcohol poisoning every day during a twoyear
span in the 2010s.
* Binge drinking is defined as downing approximately
four drinks during one occasion for women,
and five drinks for men. In the first quarter of 2021,
the deaths of at least two college students were
blamed on binge drinking. One, an Ohio college
student, died from alcohol poisoning following a
fraternity event. His BAC was 0.35%.
Health costs and death:
* Health costs: Excessive alcohol use is a leading
cause of preventable death in the nation, costing
about $249 billion annually.
* Death: Each year, 95,000 people die in the U.S.
from excessive alcohol use-more than 261 deaths
per day. In 2019, 10,142 people died due to drunk
driving-28 percent of all 36,096 traffic fatalities.
Long-term health issues from drinking too much over
time include forms of cancer, liver disease and heart
disease. Other alcohol-related deaths include suicide
and use of alcohol in combination with illicit drugs.
Adolescent angst:
* Not a smart choice: Alcohol use during the
teenage years can interfere with brain development
and increase the risk of developing alcohol use
disorder.
* Unintended consequences: Underage drinking
contributes to injuries, sexual assaults, alcohol overdoses,
deaths and other tragic consequences.
* Candles snuffed out way too soon: Thousands
of young people under 21 die from alcohol-related
causes in the United States each year, including
o 1,072 from motor vehicle crashes
44 IOWA SPIRITS
o Lifetime problems with AUD (alcohol use disorder):
8.7 percent of full-time college students ages
18 to 22 meet the criteria for AUD, increasing
chances for alcoholism.
Alcohol and gender:
* Expectant moms and their babies: 9.5% of
pregnant women in the U.S. used alcohol in one
month. Fetal alcohol syndrome in the United States
is estimated to be between 0.5 and 3.0 cases per
1,000. As many as 1% to 5% of first-grade children
are estimated to have fetal alcohol spectrum
disorders.
* Effects on testosterone: Heavy, chronic drinking
decreases men's testosterone levels, which can negatively
affect sex drive, muscle and energy, and cause
weight gain, depression, irritability, body hair loss
and erectile dysfunction.
Immeasurable: Feeling responsible for another
person's injury or death
* That drunk friend you gave keys to
* The teenager you bought booze for who does
something stupid while drunk or develops drinking
issues
* The person-or people-who die because you
didn't say " enough. "
CONCLUSION
The numbers are clear: Overdrinking can be harmful
to health; drunk driving is a crime and dangerous
to the driver and potential victims; and being
inebriated can lead to a range of regrettable activities.
These numbers can help ensure you never
see the scariest numbers: the blood alcohol content
after you've been pulled by police, pulled
from the wreckage, or seen lives lost and scarred
by your actions.
Iowa Fall 21-Winter 22

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Iowa Fall 21-Winter 22
