Doctors Raise Concerns Over Link Between Lollapalooza, Teenage Binge Drinking

(CBS) -- Musical festival season is upon us and two doctors from Lurie Children's Hospital found a troublesome connection between Lollapalooza and teenage binge drinking.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports those teens ended up in the hospital.

It's one of the hottest tickets of the summer. Tens of thousands of people, many young, descend upon Grant Park for Lollapalooza, but Lurie Children's Hospital doctors Sarah McAndrew and Robert Tanz say the music fest comes with dangerous, binge drinking behavior.

"I happened to be working in the ER the weekend of Lollapalooza and what we saw was just an incredible increase in the number of adolescents that were coming into our ER," said Dr. McAndrew.

They decided to compare the number of adolescents they saw in the ER during Lollapalooza with the number they saw in the two weekends before and after the fest. They found a clear spike.

During Lollapalooza, about 85 young teens entered the ER compared to about 70 the other weekends. The average age? Sixteen. Most were girls from the suburbs.

"These kids were intoxicated, some of them had alcohol levels that were approaching a potentially fatal level," said Dr. Tanz.

The doctors say the numbers should be a red flag to parents, pediatricians and the city. To the organizers of Lollapalooza, Dr. Tanz says, "You have a problem."

CBS 2 reached out to Lollapalooza organizers for comment. They did not respond.