Binge drinking down among college students, up for those not in school

(WTOP, July 27) — A long-term study of binge drinking by young adults and problems related to binge drinking reveals both positive and negative trends. 

Percentages of binge drinkers ages 18-24 are declining among college students but rising in that same age group among people not in higher education, according to a study in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Specifically, binge-drinking percentages increased among people in the age group not enrolled in college from 36 to 40 percent between 1999 and 2014, the study found. It reports that binge-drinking percentages declined in college students from 45 to 37 percent between 2005 and 2014.

Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on an occasion sometime within the past 30 days.

Alcohol-impaired driving dropped as a whole. Read more.