Pregaming

For the radio or TV broadcast preceding a sporting event, see Pre-game show.

Pregaming (also known as pre-booze, pre-drinking^[1] or pre-loading^[2]) is the process of getting drunk prior to going out socializing, typically done by college students and young adults in a manner as cost-efficient as possible, with hard liquor and cheap beer consumed while in group.^{[1][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Although pregaming is typically done before a night out, it can also precede other activities, like attending a college football game, large party, social function, or another activity where possession of alcohol may be limited or prohibited.^{[1][9][10][11]} The name "pregaming" spread from the drinking that took place during tailgating before football games to encompass similar drinking periods.^[8]

Other terms for the practice are pre-partying,^[12] prinking,^[4] prefunking and pres.^[12]

Background

Origins

Pregaming first became popular in the United States in the 1990s, becoming a common practice after Mothers Against Drunk Driving pressured the federal government to coerce states into increasing the legal drinking age in the United States to 21.^[13] It is also an unintended consequence of alcohol laws that prohibit happy hours and other discounts on alcohol,^[14] as well as rising tuition and other costs for students.^[15] Pregaming minimizes the cost of purchasing alcohol at local bars and clubs and can reduce the problems associated with obtaining and using fake identification listing an age permitting legal consumption of alcohol.^[5][7][8] The high cost of bar tabs in nightlife and the difficult financial situations often faced by students and young adults has been a major factor increasing the rate of pregaming.^[3][8]

Pregaming appeals to persons under 21 years of age who may not otherwise legally enter bars or purchase alcohol in the United States.^[5][8] Pregaming also ensures that the drinker is drunk before going out in public, lessens inhibitions, and can stall the going-on process so that the group enters the local nightlife scene at a more exciting hour.^[3][8] Pregaming is also often motivated by the higher cost of alcohol in licensed venues, and many people also choose to pre-drink to achieve rapid intoxication, or to facilitate socializing with friends.^[16] Pregaming may also increase in probability after the age of 30 among people in Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States.^[16]

Activities

 

Friends pregame at an apartment before going to a bar.

Drinking games associated with pregaming include Power Hour, Quarters, Kings, and Asshole.^[1][8] One function of the pregaming games is to increase camaraderie, while offering competition and social interplay.^[1]

Pregaming sessions are often single sex, and can feature playing heavy drinking games or video games.^[1][5][8] Other activities that can accompany pregaming, especially for women, are primping and trying on different outfits.^[1][3][5] Another element of pregaming is texting friends to find out about social opportunities for the night, flirting, and trying to locate a sexual partner for later that night.^[5][6][17] Having a "shower beer" while getting ready to go out is also a form of pregaming.^[18]

Pregaming and the games that go with it can also build solidarity among the drinking group, mentally preparing them with the confidence needed to handle the experience of nightlife.^[1][8] Pregaming is also often more conducive to socializing with friends than the loud nightclubs and bars where the group will eventually arrive.^[15]

Pervasiveness

Experts believe that 65 to 75 percent of college-age youths predrink,^[12] while in the UK, a study reported that 55 percent of men and 60 percent of women acknowledged pre-drinking.^{[citation needed]} Researchers believe that the practice is becoming more widespread due to changing cultural mores, alcohol laws, and economics.^[15]

Effects

Local business

Local bars and clubs lose business from pregaming both because students purchase alcohol elsewhere and because pregaming can delay students' arrival, pushing these businesses toward failure.^[5] Young adults often don't arrive until 11:30 pm or midnight, relatively near the time bars are required to close in many U.S. states.^[3]

Local bars might sell only one or two drinks to students who have consumed alcohol heavily earlier in the night.^[15] In addition, nightlife establishments may become liable for fines and civil and criminal penalties under local laws prohibiting the serving of alcohol to an intoxicated person or permitting a person to be intoxicated in the bar, even when that person pregamed elsewhere and entered the bar before the alcohol caused intoxication.^[15]

Health

Pregaming has been associated with binge drinking and other dangerous activities, leading some universities to attempt to crack down on the practice.^[19][8][13] Government agencies at both the state and federal level have studied the problems created by pregaming.^[7]

The furtive nature of pregaming and bingeing can lead to massive quick consumption, acute alcohol poisoning, hospitalization, and death.^[13]

A 2012 study of more 250 Swiss students indicated that those who "pre-loaded" ended up consuming more total alcohol over the night (seven drinks rather than four) and engaged in riskier behavior.^[12] They had a 24% chance of reporting negative consequences for drinking (such as injury, unprotected sex, and unplanned drug use), compared to 18% chance for those who did not pre-drink.^[12]

References

1. Vander Ven, Thomas (2011). Getting Wasted: Why College Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard. NYU Press. pp. 37–44, 193. ISBN 9780814744413. pregaming.
2. "Government tries to curb alcohol 'pre-loading'". BBC. 23 March 2012.
3. Holland, Gale (31 August 2012). "On the L.A. club scene, it's all in the dress rehearsal". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 21 September 2012.
4. Hughes, Karen; Quigg, Zara; Bellis, Mark; van Hasselt, Ninette; Calafat, Amador; Kosir, Matej; Juan, Montse; Duch, Mariangels; Voorham, Lotte (2011). "Drinking behaviours and blood alcohol concentration in four European drinking environments: a cross-sectional study". BMC Public Health. 11 (918): 918. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-918. PMC 3252292. PMID 22151744.
5. Rubin, Courtney (26 September 2012). "Last Call for College Bars". New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013.
6. Gold, Jacob (29 April 2004). . Daily Princetonian. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.
7. Koutsoudakis, Mike (2 November 2006). "Pre-gaming: A college pastime under attack". GW Hatchet. from the original on 8 November 2012.
8. Grazian, David (2008). On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife. University of Chicago Press. pp. 22, 109–112, 146–147. ISBN 9780226305677.
9. Cimarusti, Nick (29 August 2012). "Game day etiquette extends into fall season". Daily Trojan. from the original on 20 September 2012.
10. Munzenrieder, Kyle (31 August 2012). . Miami New Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012.
11. Plaza, Ray (10 August 2011). "Pre-gaming causes issues for students". Collegiate Times. from the original on 10 December 2011.
12. Morin, Monte (8 November 2012). ""Pre-drinking" or "pre-funking" common among young alcohol users". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 19 November 2012. They call it "pre-drinking," "pre-partying" or "pre-funking," and it usually involves chugging cheap alcoholic drinks before heading out to a bar, club or sporting event. While addiction experts estimate that 65% to 75% of college-age youths engage in such boozy behavior, a Swiss study concludes that such "pre-loaded" evenings are far more likely to end in blackouts, unprotected sex, unplanned drug use or injury.
13. Seaman, Barrett (21 August 2005). "How Bingeing Became the New College Sport". Time. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
14. Wells, S.; Graham, K.; Purcell, J. (January 2009). "Policy implications of the widespread practice of 'pre-drinking' or 'pre-gaming' before going to public drinking establishments—are current prevention strategies backfiring?". Addiction. 104 (1): 4–9. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02393.x. PMID 19133882.
    • "Alcohol and licensing policy could be changing the habits of young drinkers". (e) Science News (Press release). 15 December 2008.
15. Gillespie, Ian (21 February 2012). . London Free Press. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012.
16. "The Role of Sex and Age on Pre-drinking: An Exploratory International Comparison of 27 Countries". Alcohol and Alcoholism. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agz040. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
17. Neighbors, Clayton; Foster, Dawn W.; Fossos, Nicole; Lewis, Melissa A. (2012). "Windows of Risk". In Correia, Christopher J.; Murphy, James G.; Barnett, Nancy P. (eds.). College Student Alcohol Abuse: A Guide to Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9781118222331.
18. Fleishman, Cooper (11 December 2013). The Internet history of the showerbeer, The Daily Dot
19. McMahon, Madeline (7 September 2012). . Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012.