Essay On Binge Drinking In College

Binge drinking in college is a huge problem because of the availability of alcohol, genetic susceptibility, and because of strong social pressures. The availability of alcohol is extremely dangerous because majority of time, the alcohol is free. Many greek sororities, fraternities, and sports teams offer free alcohol to whomever joins. “4 out of 5 fraternity and sorority members are binge drinkers. In comparison, other research suggests 2 out of 5 college students overall are regular binge drinkers” (The Addiction Center). Greek houses are not the only problem, in a paper by Harvard University it stated, “Heavy alcohol consumption by college students and others is encouraged by a ‘wet’ environment, in which alcohol is prominent and easily accessible.20–21
Research done by The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence(NCADD) says that; “Numerous scientific studies reveal that alcohol and drug dependence runs in families. Research conducted on twins and adopted children has shown the impact of genetics in relation to alcohol and drug dependence, and in recent years, researchers have identified numerous genes as affecting risk for dependence on alcohol and drugs. And while no specific ‘addiction’ gene has been identified, a number of different genetic and biological factors make someone more or less vulnerable to becoming an addict” (NCADD, n.d.). College students whose family history shows many ancestors addicted to alcohol have a higher chance of being diagnosed with alcoholism than a college student whose family history shows less alcohol dependency. Researchers have yet to find a specific gene that causes addiction, but there is a certain pleasure that all humans experience when indulging in an addictive substance, varying from person to person. For many college students, the substance they turn to is