The Facts About Drugs and
Alcohol On Campus
College is a time of personal growth, independence, and experimentation. And although only
about half of all college students are of legal age to purchase and consume alcohol, the reality
is that alcohol and drug use is prevalent on today’s college campuses, and it is important to
know the risks and dangers that this trend portends. Become educated on the potentially
disastrous effects of drug and alcohol abuse on your body, your life, and the lives of those
around you. Be smart.
Did you know?
• Alcohol Abuse Can Kill You.
The Core Institute, an organization that surveys college
drinking practices, estimates that alcohol use will be a main cause of death for over
300,000 of today’s college students. Causes of death linked to alcohol usage include drunk
driving accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, various types of cancers, and heart disease.
• Alcohol Abuse Can Make You Broke.
According to the Phoenix House, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and recovery of alcohol abuse, the
average college student spends over $900 on alcohol per year, but only about $450 on books.
• Alcohol Abuse Can Ruin Your Grades.
Just one night of heavy drinking can impair
your abstract-thinking abilities for up to 30 days, making it more difficult to understand
the difficult subject material you will be studying in college, and more difficult to
succeed on exams.
• Men and Women Metabolize Alcohol At Different Rates.
This is because men have a
much larger quantity of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol in their bodies than women.
A muscular male who weighs 185 lb. will have a higher tolerance than a slightly-built
female weighing in at 105 lbs.
Some Tips For Avoiding Alcohol and Drug Abuse:
Get A Life.
Make healthy choices and build your social life around activities that are relaxing
and good for you. There are a wealth of social, recreational, and intellectual options of
alternative activities on your college’s campus. You won’t even have to look hard to find
them on your campus.
Be Real.
When attending social gatherings where alcohol is in use, don’t make the alcohol
the focus of your night. If you look around you, you will see that the person at the party
who is drinking excessively sticks out like a sore thumb. Trust us, you don’t want to be
that person.
COLLEGE SUCCESS TIPS
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