For the first time in history, women are binge drinking more often than men on college campuses, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Doctors with the institute say isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic is a major contributing factor to the increase in substance abuse. They attribute the rise in women’s binge-drinking to what they call a “rebound effect.”
In 2020, bars were closed and social gatherings were limited. But once bars and restaurants opened back up, more women wanted to go out and drink. So they did, and more often than before, outpacing men.
Doctors who were part of the study cautioned that binge drinking can be deadly. They said too much alcohol in a person’s body can be poisonous.
In 2021, deaths associated with alcohol were up 25% year-over-year.
