That’s how many alcohol-related injury deaths occur in college students (aged 18 – 24) every year. That means that, on any given night, five college students will succumb to death following an evening of binge drinking.
And the drinking doesn’t stop in college: alcohol and drug abuse related charges make up the lion’s share of criminal arrests throughout the U.S. According to the Times Leader, in Pennsylvania, 25 percent of criminal offenses are attributed to DUIs, and 20,125 adults were admitted to state-supported facilities for alcohol abuse in 2013. In Pennsylvania alone, more than 3,500 people died because of excessive alcohol use, and 470 of those died in motor vehicle accidents.
What Is Alcohol Poisoning?
Alcohol is a depressant drug that slows down the body’s involuntary actions, including breathing and a gag reflex, according to CollegeDrinkingPrevention.gov. While having a drink or two may be seem like a fun night out with friends, and completely innocent, a fatal dose of alcohol can cause a person to stop breathing or choke on his or her own vomit if left unattended.
If a friend drinks to the point where he or she passes out or is about to pass out, it may be tempting to put that person in bed and let him or her “sleep it off.” However, this may be signing a friend’s death certificate. After a night of binge drinking, there is alcohol in the stomach that will continue to enter the bloodstream and raise the blood alcohol level long after drinking has ceased. Further, putting someone to sleep who may roll onto his back can cause a person to choke to death on his own vomit.