Responsible drinking helps keep spring break fun

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. William Banton
  • 1 SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  For many, Northwest Florida is synonymous with spring break, bringing thousands of young adults to the area for fun, relaxing and partying.

"The majority of young adults will make responsible decisions and remain safe while having lots of fun," said Earl Rivers, a certified alcohol and drug counselor at Hurlburt Field. "Unfortunately, some of them will make the mistake of engaging in risky behaviors like driving under the influence of alcohol, underage drinking and binge drinking."

Stay safe while drinking by following the Air Force's "0-0-1-3" policy. Remember: zero underage drinking, zero DUIs, one drink max per hour and no more than three drinks per day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 percent of alcohol consumed by U.S. youths under the age of 21 is in the form of binge drinking. Also, approximately 75 percent of the alcohol consumed by U.S. adults is in the form of binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent. This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks and women consume four or more drinks.

The CDC estimates that there are approximately 1.5 billion episodes of binge drinking in the U.S. each year causing more than 40,000 deaths.

In 2009 the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 10,839 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, representing 32 percent of all traffic-related deaths.

According to Mr. Rivers people should plan in advance before they begin drinking. Eat a real meal before, continue to snack while drinking and alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the period of consumption.

"If you know someone who is about to drive drunk or impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to safely get to where they are going," Mr. Rivers said.

Always ensure there is a sober designated driver, when drinking. If the designated driver has even one drink, make other arrangements.

"The issue of ensuring a culture of responsible drinking is leadership and supervisory imperative," said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Bennett, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program manager at Hurlburt Field. "While everyone is individually accountable for responsible use, leaders and supervisors need to set the standard for how we talk about and promote good choices around alcohol use."

Don't let your spring break fun be abruptly ended by irresponsible drinking.

For more information on alcohol and drug abuse prevention, education, outreach, evaluation, treatment and referral services contact the ADAPT program office at 881-4237.