Student Health Center

Student Services Building, 567 N. 5th St, Terre Haute, IN 47809 | 812.237.3883, 812.237.7955 fax

Alcohol Abuse

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Here are some facts about Alcohol

  • Alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in this country

  • Alcohol is a depressant.  (It slows your body down.)

  • Short-term effects include lowered self-control and inhibition, dulled senses and memory, impaired muscular coordination and impaired judgment.

  •  Long-term effects include damage to organs such as the liver, heart, and brain.

  • Effects of overdose include shallow breathing, cold and clammy skin, weak and rapid pulse, coma and possible death. Some effects of withdrawal can include anxiety, insomnia tremors, delirium, hallucinations, convulsions and possible death.

  • Woman get drunk faster because of the way alcohol works in their bodies. In addition, people who weigh more need more alcohol to be drunk.

  • The more alcohol, the stronger the effects. A person may drink beer, wine, or whiskey; what matters is the amount of alcohol that is consumed.
    (1 drink= 12oz beer=4oz wine=1oz liquor)

  • Death: 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes

  • Injury: 500,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol

  •  Assault: More than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

  • Sexual Abuse: More than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

  • Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex.

  • Academic Problems: About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

  • Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use.

  • Drunk Driving: 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year.

  • Vandalism: About 11 percent of college student drinkers report that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol.

  •  Property Damage: More than 25 percent of administrators from schools with relatively low drinking levels and over 50 percent from schools with high drinking levels say their campuses have a "moderate" or "major" problem with alcohol-related property damage.

  • Police Involvement: About 5 percent of 4-year college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking and an estimated 110,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence.

  •  Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31 percent of college students met criteria for diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking.

  • If you are under the age of 21, drinking alcohol is illegal in the State of Indiana.  Buying or giving alcohol to someone under 21 is also illegal.

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