To many college students, drinking seems like a casual subject, the thing to do on a Friday night. What most students don?t realize is that the drinking habits they create now can lead to alcoholism.

Approximately 14 million Americans meet the criteria for alcoholism, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

According to a study done at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 31 percent of college women and 52 percent of college men are on the road to alcohol addiction by practicing binge drinking.

Binge drinking is considered consuming at least four or five drinks on one occasion. A single drink is considered a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a four-ounce glass of wine or a shot of liquor.

A study published by Henry Wechsler in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that white students are more likely to binge drink than other ethnicities. Other factors that increase binge drinking, according to Wechsler, include interest in sports and parties, and membership to fraternities and sororities.

“It seems like people in sororities and fraternities drink way too much. I have seen the way they lead their lives and the way it effects them; it just doesn?t seem right,” said junior Shannon Rose, a nursing major.

Aside from a life-long problem of alcoholism, drinking in excess can result in sexual promiscuity or bodily harm to those drinking or those around them. According to Wechsler, alcohol is a factor in 66 percent of student suicides. Wechsler also found that binge drinkers participate in more unplanned sexual activity and do not practice safe sex, resulting in 66 percent of sexually transmitted diseases being alcohol related.

Jeff Pennington, a senior economics major, says he keeps his drinking to a minimum, though he thinks most of his peers do not.

“I think college students drink for the wrong reasons. A lot of times I think it?s because they want to fit in and it makes them more comfortable,” he said. “But there aren?t really any right reasons to drink.”

Problems an alcoholic can be faced with are losing a job or family because of their behavior, being arrested for driving under the influence, or depression because of their addiction. Alcoholics tend to suffer from liver problems and there is no watching your weight with the extra calories alcohol contains.

If you think you may have a problem and would like to talk to someone about it, free counseling is available at the Student Health Center. Hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10-11:45 a.m. and 1-2:45 p.m., and Wednesday from 1-2:45 p.m. For more information about counseling services at the health center, call (916) 278-6416.