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The only factor contributing to binge drinking and alcohol abuse among people in general and college students in particular is the character and upbringing of people in question. A person old enough to strike out on his or her own, go to a college away from home and live there for the duration of his or her education, should be prepared to face peer pressure and make intelligent choices regarding sex, drugs and alcohol. Ultimately, nobody twists the arms of college students to drink themselves sick - they choose to do so, be it a part of some stupid initiation ritual or simply a skewed perception of what college life is supposed to be like.

Over a decade ago, one of the most prominent engineering colleges in the United States - Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) - was struck by a tragedy, when several students became dangerously ill and one or two died of alcohol poisoning after one of the routine dormitory parties. The same year the then RIT President Dr. Albert Simone prohibited all alcohol on campus. Parties involving dangerous levels of alcohol stopped... on campus. However, students went off to drink at the bars and clubs surrounding the campus. When one of the most popular spots was shut down and fined for serving alcohol to underage students, a portion of college population moved out of the campus dorms and apartments and continued having parties in private homes and apartments. They wanted to get drunk on a regular basis at their own discretion - and that was precisely what they did. Alcohol is banned on RIT campus to this day, but students still find ways to binge.

It is quite possible that the situation is exascerbated by the American cultural attitude toward alcohol - while many people drink and quite a few people drink excessively, the official attitude is rather high-handed with the "forbidden fruit" implications. However, culture and upbringing are only the contributing factors - but not the critical ones. I myself come from the Soviet Union, whose culture of widely spread binge drinking is sadly well-known all over the world. There were four alcoholics in my own family, one of whom drunk himself to death and the rest are still suffering health consequences from their excesses. I was exposed to alcohol from a very early age (first glass of champagne at the age of seven) - and yet, I did not become an alcoholic, not even after I moved to the United States on my own at the age of nineteen and attended college, despite culture and family history. I remain a wine lover to this day, but binge drinking holds no attraction to me - I choose not to engage in it.

Interestingly, the region, where the binge drinking problem is the least prevalent, is the one with the most relaxed but at the same time respectful attitude toward alcohol - the Wine Belt of Europe (France, Italy and a large portion of Mediterranean). Perhaps Americans could derive a useful lesson from this example: it is possible to cultivate a sensible and health-conscious attitude toward alcohol, enjoy your daily glass of wine with dinner and not end up with a generation of alcoholics.

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