Preventive Medicine and College Alcohol Abuse

University students at a large northeastern university were surveyed in two successive years to determine their drinking habits and the extent of medical intervention with respect to those habits. Of the students surveyed, 87 to 90% drink and 7 to 8% can be classified as moderately heavy or heavy drinkers. The extent of medical intervention in the drinking behavior of these students was minimal. Only 15% of all students who drink said they were ever asked about their use alcohol by a physician or other health professional. Over 90% of the students who drink said that they would change their drinking habits if so advised by a physician. This expression of receptivity, considered with the impact some simple interventions have had on smoking behavior, indicates a neglected opportunity for cost-effective prevention.