US campus under threat of 'Drug Abuse and Binge Drinking'

A new study has found that as much as half of young American college going students are inclined towards dangerous form of binge drinking or drug abuse and prescription substance abuse such as painkillers than the general population.

This ratio gives the fair idea of the increase in the substance abuse among the college going students, the study was conducted by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York. Various methods such as surveys, research methods and interviews were held in order to get the complete picture of the problem.

The report claimed to be most extensive one done on substance abuse on US campus, being released Thursday, also looked at the flourishing trend of alcohol consumption among the students in the campus itself during the various activities and thus urged the educators to curb this going trend and increase awareness among students.

Joseph Califano, chairman and president of the center, asked various colleges along with NCAA to stop flaunting alcohol advertisement during various activities in the college like NCAA men's basketball tournament and added, "If they make this a priority they can do something about it."

According to the report half of the young generation college going students between ages 18 to 22 binge drink (consume five or more drinks at a time), or abuse prescription drugs like painkillers or illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.

The report further said that from year 1993 to 2003 the ratio of the students who abused prescription drug such as Abbott Laboratories' Vicodin and Purdue Pharma LP's OxyContin etc increased more than threefold, to 24, 000 students.

During this phase the increase was also found for stimulants such as Novartis AG's Ritalin and Shire Plc's Adderall which got twofold to 225, 000 students. And, there was four times increase in the abuse of tranquillizers such as Pfizer Inc.'s Xanax and Roche Holding AG's Valium to 171,000, the reports says.

Joseph Californo said, "The percentage of kids who drink and binge drink is essentially the same between 1993 and 2005, but the intensity of the drinking has dramatically changed.”

He added, "There's an intensity to the consumption we see here that we don't see in the general population."

The people working with the research group and addiction treatment says that nowadays the students are getting the wrong message that it is fine to drink in excess and nothing is wrong about it. Though, the college authorities know about the problem but they say they can’t do much regarding it. But according to the researchers of the report it all depends upon the commitment factor.

According to Kim Dude, director of the University of Missouri-Columbia Wellness Resource Center, stopping college student drinking ‘is not solely the responsibility of administrators.’

“Administrators can provide part of the solution, but a campus is not an island," Dude said. "It is the responsibility, too, of families, law enforcement, alumni and local businesses. Part of the problem is the availability of alcohol, the price of alcohol. All of those things have an impact on whether a student drinks."

Some of the students feel that even after knowing about the substance abuse or drug usage in the campus, the authorities are turning blind eyes towards it.

It has been seen that the various crime against woman or the injuries due to fight or accident or general crime increased under the influence of drugs, when one is not in their senses. They could also get involved in the risky sexual behavior. will get Though smoking did came down a bit from 15 percent in 1993 to 12 percent in 2005 in college going students.

The report also said, "College presidents, deans and trustees have facilitated a college culture of alcohol and drug abuse that is linked to poor student academic performance, depression, anxiety, suicide, property damage, vandalism, fights and a host of medical problems.”

The center recommends tighter controls on alcohol and tobacco advertising that target young people. Schools should put up a ban on smoking on campuses, and state and federal funds should be used for programs that prevent the unlawful use or possession of alcohol or illicit drugs, the authors said.

Last year in a government funded study conducted by University of Michigan, the researchers had found that the teenagers were indulging in the usage of prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin and stimulants like Ritalin, in order to be high. The survey also concluded saying that the abuse of such drugs is widespread.