Placing Blame on College Campuses

Low prices and frequent promotions serve as a major factor to blame in binge drinking on college campuses.

The Stanford Institute of Education conducted a survey of all 126 state universities and colleges and concluded that almost three quarters of on-premise establishments offered specials on weekends, and almost one half of the on-premise establishments and more than 80% of off-premise establishments provided at least one type of beer promotion. The availability of large volumes of alcohol (24- and 30-can cases of beer, kegs), low sale prices, and frequent promotions and advertisements at both on- and off-premise establishments were associated with higher binge drinking rates on the college campuses. In addition, an overall measure of on- and off-premise establishments was positively associated with the total number of drinks consumed.

In order to curb the high levels of alcohol overdose, disasters and mistakes involved with young adults and alcohol, there needs to be a more universal industry standard of educational advertising and marketing to minors and teens, as opposed to focusing on taste, price and image.

For more on this study:
Stanford Institute of Education Study http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/
Institute of Alcohol Studies http://www.ias.org.uk/
Teens and Binge Drinking http://www.focusas.com/Alcohol.html