Binge drinking is a period of continuing alcoholic intoxication lasting for at least two days, during which time the drinker neglects usual responsibilities. It is an activity that is sometimes associated with crime, particularly street fights after the closing time of clubs and bars. It can also be associated with alcohol-related traffic accidents, employment problems, legal difficulties, financial loss, family disputes and other interpersonal problems. The accepted clinical definition of binge drinking is a period of being drunk for at least two days during which time the drinker neglects usual responsibilities. There are also non-medical, non-clinical definitions of what constitutes "binge drinking". It is is sometimes defined as drinking alcohol solely for the purpose of intoxication. Popular press accounts prefer to define it as a man consuming five or more drinks on one "occasion" and a woman consuming four or more drinks on one occasion. However, the so-called "occasion" can extend over an entire 24-hour period. The concept of a "binge" has been somewhat elastic over the years, implying consumption of alcohol far beyond what is socially acceptible. In earlier decades, going "on a binge" meant drinking over the course of days until one was no longer physically able to continue due to "blacking out" or total collapse. The usage is known to have entered the English language as early as 1854; it derives from an English dialectal word meaning to "soak" or literally "fill a boat with water" (i.e. "scuttle"). (OED, American Heritage Dictionary) A similar phrase might be "on a bender" or "on a drinking spree". Research has found that almost half of persons labeled "bingers" on the basis of the five/four definition do not achieve a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. Therefore, by this definition, a drinker doesn't even need to be intoxicated to be labeled a "binger". For this reason the five/four definition has been criticized in scientific journals and by professional organization. Other people consider such factors as social setting, how quickly the drinks were consumed, the type of drinks and perhaps even the drinker's age and body type when defining binge drinking. A problem with evaluating quantities of drinks consumed is that standard units of beer, wine and liquor (distilled spirits) must contain equivalent amounts of pure alcohol for proper comparison. Binge drinkers are not necessarily alcoholics, although many alcoholics are bingers. While it is known that different people or ethnic groups have different capacities for metabolizing alcohol, these varying capacities do not avoid all health risks inherent in alcohol consumption. Alcohol abuse is associated with a variety of negative health and safety outcomes. This is true no matter the individual's or the group's perceived ability to "handle alcohol". The person who believes himself or herself immune to the effects of alcohol may often be the most at risk for health concerns or the most dangerous of all operating a vehicle. According to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the heavy chronic drinker who develops alcohol tolerance "does not experience significant behavioral impairment as a result of drinking." This is so "even at high blood alcohol concentrations (BAC's), which in others would be incapacitation or even fatal." Nothing in this article should be interpreted as promoting the idea that it is acceptable to drive while intoxicated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_drinking The 5/4 binge patterns. A pattern of heavy drinking that occurs during an extended period of time set aside for drinking. Has been described as 5/4 binge drinking: five or more drinks in a row on a single occasion for a man or four or more drinks for a woman. When a woman has 4+ drinks or a man has 5+ drinks at a sitting within a 2 week period who normally do not drink. The consumption of five or more drinks on a single occasion, which is approximately the amount of alcohol needed to raise the average sized person's blood alcohol concentration to about 0.10%. In other words, it is the amount of alcohol consumption that would raise the presumption of intoxication.