Texting program helps curb teen binge drinking

A text messaging program is proving to help teenagers prone to binge drinking, according to a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The program can reduce repeat drinking binges by 50 percent, according to author by Brian Suffoletto, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The study focused on 765 young adults who screened positive for hazardous drinking behavior and was instituted to teens who had been treated for a drinking binge in an emergency room. For 12 weeks, one-third of the participants were sent text messages inquiring about drinking behavior and received text-based feedback. Another third only received the inquiries and no feedback, while the third group was not sent any text messages. The text/feedback group reported decreasing binge drinking episodes by 51 percent and the number of daily drinks by 31 percent. The second and third groups reported an increase in the number of binge drinking days. Announcement