Bay State Drinking Rate Tops Average

Massachusetts residents binge drink at a rate higher than the national average, according to a report released by the Department of Public Health last month.

The statewide survey of 7,500 adults found that 18 percent reported binge drinking in the past month, compared to 16 percent of people over the age of 18 nationally. Massachusetts’ rate has remained constant since 1995.

Forty percent of adults who reported binge drinking—defined as the consuumption of four or five alcoholic beverages in one sitting—were in the 18-to-24 age range.

And adults surveyed who had not graduated from high school were less likely to report heavy drinking, or consumption of more than 60 drinks in a month for men and more than 30 for women, than those with higher levels of education.

“I don’t think [a high rate of binge-drinking] is a Massachusetts-specific phenomenon,” said Michael Botticelli, the assistant commissioner for substance abuse services in the DPH. “We see it in the Northeast and in certain geographic parts of the country.”

The survey did not include college students living in dormitories, since Botticelli said doing so “might skew results” that were intended for residents. But college students living outside of institutions were included.

“Demographic differences may account at least in part for this difference—more college students living in Massachusetts, fewer members of fundamentalist religions that ban alcohol,” wrote Henry Wechsler, director of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Studies Program, in an e-mail. “In addition, it is speculated that the cold winter weather may limit outdoor physical activity, and offer fewer recreational alternatives to drinking.”

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 appointed a committee in the fall of 2003 to cut back on alcohol abuse on campus. In a report this fall, the committee recommended the creation of a post to oversee alcohol-related issues at the College and to make Harvard’s drinking policies clear to students.

According to University Health Services director David S. Rosenthal ’59, 66 undergrads were admitted for alcohol-related reasons this September, October and November, excluding admissions from the Harvard-Yale game. This is not substantially different from last year’s number, which was 68 in the same time frame.

“Informed speculation says that UHS admissions represent maybe one half or a third of the students who should be seen on a particular weekend,” said Joseph L. Badaracco, chair of the committee and Currier House Master.

But he added that “while Harvard College has a problem, it’s serious but not as serious as other colleges and universities. On the whole, Harvard College students are basically smart enough and serious enough not to put themselves at risk.”

Badaracco also said that a college’s culture can reinforce the use of alcohol, as can the availability and cost of alcoholic beverages.

“You can also look at how seriously leaders of these schools take the effort to educate students and persuade students to drink responsibly,” he said.