Then asks the reader to count how many people smoke at the next meeting he attends. He states that a few years ago the room would have been filled with smoke. Thanks to widespread education about its harmful health effects, cigarettes have become a less common vice. If binge drinking is portrayed in the same way as cigarettes, then the general public will quickly realize how serious the threat of binge eating is. I completely agree that binge eating is a problem and that it not only endangers the students who drink but also others around them. They. Binge drinking is prevalent in America due to the social constraints our country places on alcohol consumption along with constant media messages that binge eating is a social norm. In the United States of America the drinking age is 21, established with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed on July 17, 1984. Prior to 1984 the national drinking age was 18. This is the age at which US citizens are considered legal adults. At age eighteen I could hypothetically go and vote, get married, join the military, and buy a lottery ticket all in one day. On the same day I could also be caught driving while intoxicated, only to be arrested and tried as an adult in the court of