Youth escaping limits on drinking: binging in Mexico

Aims. In Tijuana, Mexico, a loosely enforced age‐18 law and inexpensive drinks have given rise to a nightclub district frequented by thousands of young Southern Californians each weekend night. Surveys were designed to characterize the extent of the cross‐border binge‐drinking traffic and to support and evaluate the community’s response. Design. Over 1 year, two anonymous and voluntary breath‐test surveys were done. Drivers and pedestrians were pulled randomly from the stream of northbound border crossers and recruited to participate. Setting. Surveys occurred between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. on randomly selected Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Participants were recruited within the Port of Entry building. Participants. Of the 5849 border crossers recruited, 87.4% participated in the survey. Measurements. Information was obtained through a standardized verbal interview. All participants were asked to take an alcohol breath test. Findings. On weekend nights, more than 6500 people cross back into the United States between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. after drinking or visiting a bar or restaurant. Pedestrians represent the highest concentration of drinkers, with more than 30% having BACs of 0.08 or greater. Most of these pedestrians return to parked vehicles on the US side and drive or ride home. Conclusions. The flow of young binge drinkers at the Tijuana border is substantial and translates into a significant public health problem for the region as crossers use their vehicles to drive home. There are many such binge‐drinking locales. However, the border is unique in that it is amenable to scientific estimations of the problem with relatively high precision.