Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Fans leave sporting events intoxicated
By Staff Writer
It is expected that individuals who attend sporting events where alcohol is readily available have fun, but know when to stop drinking. However, the results of a recent study show that not everyone exiting a stadium is fit to drive.
According to the study, which is published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, nearly eight percent of fans leaving football and baseball events were legally drunk.
To acquire these results, researchers asked fans exiting an event to submit to a breathalyzer test. These blood alcohol tests were conducted on 362 adult attendees following 13 baseball and three football games.
Researchers found that fans who were 35 or under were nine times more likely to have blood alcohol content above the .08 legal limit for driving. In addition, attendees who tailgated before the game reported consuming five or more alcoholic beverages.
This was a preliminary study according to the researchers. The number of participants was small due to the difficulty of getting fans to willingly take a breathalyzer test. However, they felt that if their sample size represented those who attended professional events, than about 5,000 attendees leaving one National Football League event would not be in a condition to drive.
Sports fans whose drinking at events is becoming problematic may want to seek substance abuse help from alcohol and drug rehab centers.
