A new study from the National Collegiate Athletic Association offers data on the percentage of student athletes who drink alcohol or use tobacco and drugs and how these percentages compare to college students as a whole. Some of the data is broken down by gender.
More than 40 percent of student athletes reported that they participated in binge drinking in 2017. This is down from 55 percent in 2009. Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in one sitting. Women lacrosse players were the most likely to engage in binge drinking, followed by women’s hockey players, and women swimmers.
Some 13 percent of all student athletes reported the use of smokeless or spit tobacco products. This includes 13 percent of all women’s hockey players.
A quarter of all student athletes reported smoking marijuana in 2017. Among women, lacrosse players were the most likely to smoke marijuana at a rate of 34 percent. Some 4 percent of student athletes reported using cocaine. More than 5 percent of male student athletes used cocaine compared to 1.7 percent of women student athletes. Again, women lacrosse players were the most likely to use cocaine (6 percent).
Slightly less than 11 percent of student athletes used narcotic pain medication. Women’s gymnastic team members were the most likely to use narcotic pain medication at 18 percent.
The executive summary of the report, NCAA National Study on Substance Use Habits of College Student Athletes, may be downloaded here.