According to the temperance scolds over at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, you are a binge drinker if you consume more than five alcoholic beverages during one occasion. We always thought that just means you're a New Yorker, but apparently drinkers nationwide go on crazy, multi-drink "binges" just as much as we do here. A study released today finds that 15% of New Yorkers cop to "binging" at least once a month, compared to 16% nationwide.
The report combined local survey responses with data obtained from interviews with men in gay bars and other venues. And surprise surprise, gay binge drinkers were found to be the most promiscuous; that demographic is twice as likely to have five or more sex partners as non-drinkers. Both drinkers and non-drinkers reported high rates of sex without a condom, which is bad idea jeans given the rise of syphilis among young gay men.
And then there are those boozing, fornicating teenagers. 35% of public high school students reported drinking alcohol, 14% reported binge drinking in the past month, and 17% (one in six youth) reported having four or more sex partners in their lifetime. And those who drank alcohol in the past 30 days were more than twice as likely to have had multiple sex partners as those who did not drink (27% vs. 11%).
