Binge drinking "typically ends when a student leaves the environment that propagated it," says Amanda T. Thomas '00.

Unhealthy Habit

Many students have a misconception that if they are not drunk, they are avoiding risk.

According to Rosenthal, the quantity of alcohol matters most, whether or not a person feels the effects.

According to Clark and Rosenthal, the long-term impacts of binge drinking are primarily the continuing fallout of acute drinking-related risks. As long as people confine their binge drinking to college, the primary dangers are the result of their activity while under the influence, like unwanted and unplanned sex, stunts and driving.

But college binge drinking can put students at a greater risk of long-term alcohol abuse because it creates a habit that can lead to alcoholism. An ongoing dependency could lead to greater health consequences later in life.

Alcohol-related health problems like liver disease, heart disease, hypertension, and emotional and mental health problems "tend to accrete," Clark says.

The list of health problems either caused or exacerbated by alcohol abuse includes a broad range of organs and systems from the heart and liver, to the stomach, esophagus, and mouth.