Binge Drinking Growing Problem Among Teens

Half of all teenage boys in South Dakota will go on a drinking binge their senior year.

Sioux Falls O'Gorman senior Joe Viereck died after a night of binge drinking last month. Viereck drown in a hotel pool. His blood alcohol was four times the legal limit to drive.

Just last fall, a Mankato college student died of alcohol poisoning after celebrating her 21st birthday.

Amanda Jax's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit not only against the bar where she partied but also against five of her friends for contributing to her death.

Binge drinking is a growing problem, especially in the Midwest. As we've seen in these recent cases the risky behavior can often have deadly consequences.

Thirty-four percent of high school students in South Dakota, both boys and girls aren't just experimenting with alcohol. They're drinking to get drunk.

"We call it binge drinking when they have five or more drinks at one setting at least once during the month," Darcy Jensen of Prairie View Prevention said.

Jensen says that most young people don't think binging is dangerous.

“The only time they think of it as deadly is if they are in a crash. They don't think of alcohol and alcohol poisoning. You actually can die from alcohol poisoning. You get too much alcohol in your system and your body shuts down.”

Jensen says the problem is that too many people don't see being drunk as a serious medical problem.

“Often times kids and even some parents don't think of it that way. They think they'll pass out, sleep it off or throw up,” Jensen said.

Jensen says in Viereck's case it was unfortunate he was left alone after getting drunk.

“When you think someone has had too much to drink, not slipping into that: ‘I'm sure they'll be okay,’ mode. And really thinking about if this were me or somebody I care about, what would I do? Instead of thinking of it as alcohol think of it as a poison or a toxin. At that point when someone is that intoxicated, that's what we're talking about," Jensen said.

Jensen says sometime kids and even parents are afraid to take someone to the hospital when they drink too much because they might get in trouble. But Jensen points out that it's better than planning their funeral.

Keloland