Virtual Medical Centre

Binge Drinking (Alcohol Intoxication Disorder)

• Introduction to binge drinking
• What is binge drinking?
• What do Australians drink?
• Rates of binge drinking
  • Australia
  • Global
• Why do people binge drink?

Introduction to binge drinking

Alcohol consumption is embedded in our culture. Over 62% of Australians drink at least once a week. There is, however, a big difference between having a beer or glass of wine, and binge drinking. While the responsible consumption of alcohol may be beneficial, binge drinking is a very serious matter that has important health, personal and community consequences. 

What is binge drinking?

Alcohol intoxication disorder, more commonly known as binge drinking, has several different definitions, and the definition keeps changing. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines binge drinking as more than 7 drinks a night for men, and more than 5 for women. A newer definition of binge drinking, supported by the NHMRC Australian Alcohol Guidelines, is more than 4 standard drinks per night.

It is important to realise that all of these numbers are standard drinks and not 'drinks'. A single can of full strength beer is actually 1.5 standard drinks, while an average restaurant serve of wine is up to 1.8 standard drinks. This means that it is very easy to underestimate how much we are actually drinking.

What do Australians drink?

In middle aged and older people, beer accounts for 46% of total alcohol consumed, wine for 31% and spirits for 20%.

Young Australians have very different preferences. Of youths who drink only a small amount of alcohol, 58% had beer, 26% pre-mixed drinks, 16% spirits and 8% wine. However, of young binge drinkers, 59% drank beer, 51% drank pre-mixed drinks, 46% had spirits, and only 2% consumed wine.

There has been a steady change in alcohol preferences among binge drinkers over the last decade. Beer and wine drinking has decreased, while the percentage of binge drinkers who consume pre-mixed drinks has soared from 18% to over 50%.

Rates of binge drinking

Australia

In 2004 in Australia, about 48% of adult males and 32% of adult females participated in binge drinking at least once a year. About 12% of males and 4% of females were binge drinking at least once a week.

The rates of binge drinking have increased significantly since that time. It now seems that about 18% of Australians aged 20-29 are binge drinking at least once a week. Females under 19 have overtaken males under 19 in binge drinking. 28.3% of females aged under 19 binge drink, while only 24% of under 19 males binge drink.

Binge drinking was once considered to be predominantly youthful behaviour. It is now becoming more and more clear that not only young people are binge drinking. In fact, the rates of binge drinking are similar in all age groups up to 55 years old.

Global

In the US, around 24% of adults binge drink. More young people under the age of 29 drink in the US compared to other age groups.

In Europe, the rates of binge drinking vary considerably, with up to 40% of people in Poland binge drinking at least monthly. However, these people drink around 8 standard drinks during a binge. This is in contrast to the UK and Ireland, where only 35% of people binge drink on a monthly basis, but the average consumption is 14-16 standard drinks. The lowest rates of binge drinking are in Romania (8% of the population), Portugal (9%) and Greece (10%). In the rest of Europe, the rates of people binge drinking on a monthly basis are 10-20%, with varying amounts of alcohol consumed.

Why do people binge drink?

The reasons why people binge drink are complex. There have been many explanations of binge drinking as a way of escaping problems or forgetting crumbling relationships. When asked, people say that they binge drink for fun, to loosen inhibitions and do silly things, because their friends are also drinking, to relax or relieve stress, to enhance confidence, to celebrate and, most significantly, to socialise.

Certainly a lot of these reasons will be true for some people who binge drink. However, there is one very important and quite simple explanation why the rates of binge drinking are so high. That explanation is society's culture of alcohol.

Research is now showing that how a community views alcohol determines how much people drink in that community. Communities that have a culture of drinking have much higher rates of binge drinking, while communities where drinking is frowned upon have much lower rates of binge drinking. It is now thought that a community's views on alcohol are more important than individual or family views on alcohol. The reason for binge drinking is much more complicated than one single factor, but it is important to realise that how a community perceives alcohol does influence binge drinking rates.