HHS HealthBeat (January 02, 2007)

Drinking, bingeing, and more teen trouble

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

When teens drink, it means trouble. When teens binge drink, the trouble is worse. And a lot of teens drink. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the numbers to show it.

The report on a survey of more than 15,000 high school students is in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics.

Almost half of high school students drank in a given past month. Of the drinkers, almost two thirds binged, which the study defines as five or more in a row.

Bingers were more likely to do other dangerous things. The CDC's Jacqueline Miller lists some:

"Riding with someone who had been drinking, driving after drinking themselves, sexual activity, being involved in a fight, attempting suicide, and other drug use." (9 seconds)

To Miller, it's a call to action.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 17 2007