Binge Drinking on the Rise

Binge drinking is on the rise - more in women than men. We discuss the definition of binge drinking and look at some alarming trends with Morgan Ryan - an expert in drunk driving accountability and Growth Marketing Director at Smart Start. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've heard a lot of messages about drinking and driving,
including some things like the best thing that could happen
if you are is getting arrested. Heaven forbid you hurt
someone or yourself. This is West Michigan's Morning News. I'm
Steve Kelly. That's Tony Brooks filling in for Brett Makita
Schmidty back with us soon. Expert in drunk driving accountability

(00:20):
and the growth marketing director at smart Start, Morgan Ryan
on the liveline with us. Morgan, thanks for doing this today.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Absolutely new study is out and it shows that binge
drinking with younger women eighteen to twenty five is on
the rise. They now surpass young men. Talk to us
a little bit about what those numbers look like. What
is a binge drinking episode?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yes, sir so for here's the narrative around binge drinking
was mostly focused heavily on young men. And we have
seen that data shifting in our industry, which is the
ignition interlock space or car brathallizer space. These statistics are
not just earning their alarming. This to us is not

(01:04):
a small culture problem. This is a major reversal and
that trendshift which we believe is partly a symptom of
COVID nineteen and a few other things, is not showing
signs of change. Steeve.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
You know, we see a lot of disturbing things on
social media about I can't wait for the stressful dat
to end. I'm going to fire some drinks down. I
think we're kind of helping to feed this thing by
showing that such a thing as accessible. Do you think
that's working against us as well?

Speaker 2 (01:33):
I do see we've seen a lot of the mommy
wine culture, binge drinking and social media and what I
would call women's beer. This is an effort for alcohol
brands to create these rose all day seltzers. These are
your canned cocktails, their boat friendly, pool friendly sprintzters that
essentially come in a convenience can. And this is a

(01:55):
targeted effort. It is very intentional to establish addiction and
a high tolerance level in women. And what women don't
realize as well as that the percentage the ABV that's
the alcohol by volume is sometimes three times higher in
these strengths and seltzers.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
So it's sneaking up on you. And as we've mentioned,
I'm an alcoholic in recovery. I have a daughter who
speaks out loudly about this stuff too. When you talk
about and there's a paradigm shift that needs to happen,
it's a disease. And if it's one of those things
that you're dealing with, you're powerless against it. So we

(02:35):
need to find a way to make sure that the
word is out that there is recovery. And these cars
that you have to essentially do a breath leisure to
get to start, these forced programs, they call them a
nudge from the judge that puts you, like in an
AA group, whether you want to go or not, are
making a difference in helping Yes, sir.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
And here's the reality. Do you lie can happen after
just one bad decision. It can have to happen after
we say. The statistic is you people that generally find
themselves in a first time offender position have have maybe
driven up to two hundred times before being caught. And
for many women it's you know, they end up in
a first time offender situation. It's overwhelming. What I love

(03:17):
about Smart Start is we're here to break the stigma.
We don't even call our customers offenders. We call them people,
and we understand and want to meet you there in
that moment and give you some dignity back. We are
literally a company that you know. We're managed by several
powerful women. We're built for women. Our device is discreet.

(03:37):
You know, we have no contracts. Our support model is
built for busney moms and working women as well. But
we are the number one Ignition interlock provider because I
believe we are the only stigma free brand in the
country that's here focused on recovery. We don't see the infraction,

(03:58):
We see the person.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Talk to us a little bit more about resources that
your organization helps point people toward. There are a lot
of ways to get help, yes, and.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
The resources is a big part of what we do.
In fact, we don't call our what would be a
sales team a sales team. We call them program advisors,
very similar to how AA is established and set up.
We consider those individuals your first point of contact. They're
there to help you, support you emotionally, but also provide

(04:35):
local resources for you. We do offer have what I
would call a state specific library of content that we
generally point people to on our website. So every single
state is different functions and operates almost like its own country.
And if you are facing recovery or you're looking to recover,

(04:55):
this UI may be the best thing that's ever happened
to you. It can prevent you from the and down
a road that you know may have been much worse.
And so our state hubs on our website alone have
countless resources for you to get help, to find local
centers like victim impact panels, alcohol assessment centers and resources

(05:18):
and get you connected to really encourage support and recovery.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
And as an expert in drunk driving accountability, a growth
marketing director at smart Star at Morgan Ryan, thanks for
your time today.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Thank you Steve,