Open discussion: Would you "Stop at Buzzed?"

I don't think this campaign will stop college kids from getting drunk. I know it wouldn't have stopped me when I was in college and I wasn't even a big partier!

Julia, it's hard to say what kind of effect the ad campaign might have but as they say... "if it keeps one kid from killing themself or others, it's worth it." By the time I went to collage, I was kinda past that "finally out of the house, let's party mode" but I did see it in the kids fresh out of High School. Maybe that's why they all called me Grampa ;-)

Sarah, I hear you. I actually wonder if it will encourage people to ride an alcohol buzz longer and avoid the over-the-top (or over-the-toilet) level of drinking.

Hard to argue with that statement, Stevie. Maybe the fact that this is student-run will enhance that "one person is worth it" effect.
p.s. Hope that nickname didn't last forever ;-)

"Stop at Buzzed" will not work. In college, you're an inexperienced drinker and really don't know when you're at buzzed, let alone drunk. You think that you're just fine and can keep drinking more. Besides college kids, most people start to loose a little bit of their rationality once "buzzed".

"Stop at Buzzed" is what works for me.

I am a limited imbiber.

But I wasn't always that way. Like many, I had to prove my adulthood when I was in my late teens and early twenties by "proving" that I could drink.

Eventually, I realized that I didn't care if others would pick on me for not drinking. They weren't the ones dealing with the consequences when I drank too much.

"Stop at Buzzed" only works if people choose to drink that way; and the major complication is always peer pressure. A person has to be committed to drinking within their limits, and not letting others push them past that point. A hard place to be when you are young and in college, or just plain young.

"Stop at Buzzed" sounds like a tack that would strengthen a person's character.

Here's to hoping it catches on.

Cheers!

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One can only hope. As a older teen and early twenties I was a heavy social drinker but if I'd vomited even once, I would have cut my drinking in half. I believe being willing to vomit is a huge red flag for a real alcoholic... I know that was true of my ex husband. If I'd known it earlier, I would never have married him.

How did vomiting and being drunk come to stand for being and "adult"? It's the most foolish and childish behavior possible.

Who knows if it will make a difference? Since alcohol both lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment I would say that KNOWING when one is past the point of being "buzzed" is a problem. Also, those who binge drink may not feel drunk immediately but go quickly past buzzed to sick. That would be my best guess anyway.

That poor girl. All those people and nobody's holding her hair back.

Guess we won't know until the campaign's tried. I disagree slightly with Ellie's comment that college-aged kids are inexperienced drinkers. I think they quite likely have a few years under their belts.

And I agree with Janna, no one's hold her hair. Yuck.

Studies have consistently found that those in their teens and early twenties are impulsive, do not have a fully developed sense of judgment, and don't have the ability to fully think through the consequences of their risky actions. Kids find it hard to stop drinking after the first few, and the accumulating effect of the alcohol lowers their inhibitions to the point where they won't stop. It just "seems like the thing to do" at the time.

That being said, I can think back to my crazy college years and the times I put myself in a certain amount of potential danger by drinking more than I should have. I also had a friend who was date raped after drinking too much - she was simply not able to defend herself. That's what we were most afraid of putting ourselves in danger of, rather than alcohol poisoning.

I honestly don't recall EVER engaging in the kind of extreme alcohol binging that I read about in the newspapers these days.I thoroughly disliked the loss of control, the spinning ceilings and getting sick, and the horrible day after, so I learned to moderate my drinking. I don't remember having more than 8 or 9 drinks of hard liquor, or more than 10 beers, in a single evening. The idea of doing 21 shots in an hour sounds like a death wish to me.

On that note, I figure it can't hurt to try education. If it saves even one promising young life, it will be worth it.

I think the best way to stop this is to stop pretending it's cute and normal.