Drinking games may seem fun and innocent when you first start drinking alcohol, but they can actually prove extremely detrimental to your health. And they are nowhere near uncommon.
An overwhelming majority of Americans — 95 percent — have played a drinking game at some point in their lives, according to an American Addiction Centers online survey of more than 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older. These games include everything from flip cup to beer pong and more — all with unique, dangerous issues. Millions of people binge drink a year, resulting in alcohol poisoning and death.
Take flip cup, a game where “it only takes 32 minutes to reach a 0.16 BAC (blood alcohol content) … which can lead to amnesia, vomiting, or a loss of consciousness,” according to the American Addiction Centers. This amount of time is much faster than other drinking games. In flip cup, you’re part of a team whose goal is to finish drinking — then flipping all your cups — faster than the other team.
As for beer pong, which 90 percent of Americans have played, you and your teammate’s objective is to sink ping pong balls into your opponents’ cups of beer across a table. When that happens, your opponent has to drink out of that cup. The more alcohol in each cup, the more you could become seriously intoxicated.
While that 90 percent statistic may appear striking, there’s another insidious factor at play. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that 9.2 percent of Americans have a propensity for addiction. If a large amount of people are indeed playing drinking games, this means there are more people who are likely to initiate or exacerbate their alcoholism, according to Solutions Recovery CEO Dave Marlon. Solutions Recovery is an American Addiction Centers facility.
It’s not just the stereotypical fraternity brother playing these games, either. The survey found people of all ages like playing drinking games. “Between 11 and 22 percent of those surveyed said the quickly intoxicating Flip Cup was their favorite of the five games,” according to American Addiction Centers.
So, how can people — particularly college students being exposed to a party-friendly environment — steer clear of these dangerous games?
Marlon says they can pursue alternative physical activities like sports, but to also remember their schoolwork, employment and family obligations as good reasons to not get inebriated.
“I like defining alcoholism or addiction as compulsive use despite negative consequences,” he says. Recognizing these negative consequences is a good coping mechanism or way to help convince people not to take part in these games.
Marlon is particularly concerned about people who regularly play these games. Playing one at a family barbecue or with a group of friends may be fine for many, as long as participants acknowledge that 1 in 10 have the propensity to alcoholism that it could be triggering. The American Addictions Center also recommends harm reduction techniques for several drinking games. These include playing beer pong with water instead.
The be all end all? Get help if you think you need it.
” … If someone finds they’re drinking or using more than they intended to, or told themselves they weren’t gonna do this this time and they end up doing it again, that they shouldn’t be ashamed, they shouldn’t be embarrassed. What they should do is seek professional help.”
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These Drinking Games Are Terrible For Your Health originally appeared on usnews.com
