How to reduce fire deaths

The Herald ~ September 29 2005

If there is an event more devastating than an unexpected death, it is one that is also avoidable. The observation was made yesterday by Catherine Dyer, area procurator-fiscal for Glasgow, who has had numerous dealings with the distraught families of those who die in accidental house fires. In the west of Scotland, such deaths have declined significantly. A generation ago, before smoke alarms and fire-retardant upholstery material and when many still relied on open fires for winter heat, 100 a year was a typical figure. Last year, it was down to 31.

Even so, Strathclyde fire deaths are still worryingly high compared with the rest of the UK. Why? Evidence points in one direction: drunkenness, especially when combined with smouldering cigarettes or unattended chip pans. Last year, alcohol was a contributory factor, directly or indirectly, in 87% of domestic fire deaths in the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue area.

Many of these deaths could have been avoided if the premises had been fitted with functional smoke alarms. Note the word "functional". It is estimated 90% of Scottish homes are fitted with smoke alarms, including all social rented housing, but a significant number do not work because the battery is flat or has been removed. Significantly, in nearly one-third of homes where there was a fatal fire last year, alarms were not fitted and in another third they were not working. A shift in policy emphasis towards prevention in the fire service and co-ordination with housing and social work departments and the police can result in identifying vulnerable individuals. Tell-tale burn holes in sofas and bedding can indicate a tragic accident waiting to happen. Fire officers can then visit, offer advice and install a new-style tamper-resistant smoke alarm with a long-life battery and even offer a thermostatically-controlled fryer. In an important pilot scheme in Renfrewshire, an alcoholics' support group is helping to identify those who might benefit.

Such schemes can succeed only if they are executed in the spirit of supporting vulnerable individuals, rather than pillorying them as a menace to their communities. And, given the number of fire crews subjected to attacks, it is important that firefighters can maintain their neutral status, rather than being seen as a branch of law enforcement agencies or the local authority. A softly, softly approach is key. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently testing a new generation of sprinkler systems, such as those installed in residential homes in the wake of the Rosepark nursing home tragedy last year. Sadly, until such technology is adopted at a domestic level, the combination of heavy drinking and cigarettes will continue to be lethal in more ways than one.

Bush Quit Drinking 'On His Own'

About: Alcoholism / Substance Abuse ~ 24/9/05

President George W. Bush, like most who decide to quit drinking, did so on his own without help, press reports following the revelation of his 1976 DUI arrest reveal. An estimated 70 percent of people who decide to quit drinking do so without any outside help, professional counseling, or support group meetings, and Bush is apparently among that majority.

"Well, I don't think I had an addiction," Bush told the Washington Post for a July 1999 profile. "You know it's hard for me to say. I've had friends who were, you know, very addicted. . .and they required hitting bottom [to start] going to AA. I don't think that was my case."

Speculation in the national press, which went into a media frenzy over the report that Bush was arrested 24 years ago for drunk driving, ranged from the suggestion that if he never went to A.A. he is not really recovered, to the opinion that if he quit on his own, it was not a big problem in the first place.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Alcohol abuse can be a very serious problem in itself, but if it progresses into alcohol dependence, the solution can become much more complicated.

Merely Decided to Quit
The highly publicized case brings to the public's attention the difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, or alcoholism. Most people who abused alcohol, even to a dangerous extent at some point in their lives, never fit the criteria as alcoholics, or alcohol dependent.

For those who abuse alcohol, but who are not chemically or psychologically dependent, quitting is usually a matter of merely deciding to quit -- many times prompted by a particularly painful or embarrassing incident.

Those who have become alcohol dependent usually find they that cannot simply decide to quit and require medical treatment, counseling and/or peer group help and support.

It appears from all reports, that candidate Bush did abuse alcohol for a long period of his life, but in 1986 decided to quit, because it began to "compete for his energy."

"I am a person who enjoys life, and for years, I enjoyed having a few drinks. But gradually, drinking began to compete with my energy," Bush wrote in his autobiography. "I'd be a step slower getting up. My daily runs seemed harder after a few too many drinks the night before."

There are many in the alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation profession, and within the Alcoholics Anonymous program, who would say that if Bush quit cold turkey "on his own" he probably was not an alcoholic or alcoholic dependent in the first place.

Celebrity chef tells of seven-year torment addicted to morphine

Tom Peterkin ~ Telegraph ~ 24/09/2005

One of Britain's leading television cooks yesterday admitted she has been hooked on morphine and other prescription drugs for the last seven years and that her addiction had led to her considering suicide.

Jeanne Rankin, a regular on Ready Steady Cook and the wife of the celebrity chef Paul Rankin, confessed that she had been a poor mother having spent the last few years in a "haze of drugs".

Although Mrs Rankin was addicted to legal prescription drugs, she likened her problem to that of the model Kate Moss, who has been dropped by several fashion houses after it emerged she was a habitual cocaine user.

"My addiction may be to legal, prescribed medication, but I am no better than the heroin junkie on the street or the celebrity crack addict," Mrs Rankin said.

This week Moss, 31, apologised for her behaviour after yet more revelations about her wayward behaviour including allegations that crack cocaine was smoked at parties at her country home near Lechlade, Glos. Moss has denied being involved in crack cocaine, a stronger version of the drug.

Mrs Rankin, who has made frequent television appearances with her husband, written several cookery books and runs a world class restaurant in Belfast, said she had thought about taking her own life.

"I did think about ending it all," she said. "It got so bad that if it weren't for my kids and Paul I probably would have attempted to kill myself.

"I knew I had a problem but until I went into rehab, I didn't know it was my fault. The most important thing I learnt is that I have an illness."

The cook, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, spoke of the pain it had caused her three children Clare, 19, Emily, 16, and Jamie, eight. "I haven't been there for my children over the years and that kills me, but I am learning to forgive myself and getting help means that I will be there for them in the future.

"One of the toughest things for me was when I told the kids that I was going away for a while to get help to make me better. Clare said, 'That's OK mum, you haven't been here for a long time anyway'. Imagine hearing those things as a mother. I knew what she meant, but it broke my heart and made me even more determined to get better for them."

Until eight weeks ago, when she booked herself into the Priory clinic, Mrs Rankin was taking morphine plus a cocktail of other drugs as she battled depression, muscle spasms and sleeplessness. Attempts to wean herself off had failed in the past.

"The truth was I was scared to death," she said. "Every time I came off some of the morphine I experienced severe withdrawal symptoms and the DTs. It was terrifying and I knew I needed help."

The Canadian-born cook's habit had its beginnings eight years ago after the birth of her youngest son. When he was nine months old she was prescribed anti-depressants. The drug-taking increased in 2002 when she had to two major back operations following a fall from a horse and morphine was administered to dull the pain of disintegrating vertebrae.

"I begged my doctors to help me, but everyone seemed to think I was coping well and that, given my injuries, I needed to be on that level of medication," she said.

Mrs Rankin conceded that not everyone on prescribed medication for a long time would become addicted. But she believes that her family history meant that she could be genetically programmed to be more susceptible.

"My grandfather was an alcoholic, and there is also depression in the family. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression as well - that is what the drugs have done to me."

Thank you for not drinking

By Marc Ringel, M.D. ~ Brush News Tribune~ Wednesday, September 21, 2005

I laughed at the scene in the movie, "Clean and Sober, in which Michael Keeton opens his address to a gathering of Alcoholics Anonymous comrades, in a room blue with tobacco smoke, with the words, "Thank you for not smoking. That was no accident. It's estimated that 60 to 90 percent of active alcoholics smoke. And a large number of recovering alcoholics, hang onto their smoking habit.

It's a tossup as to which substance, tobacco smoke or alcohol, is more toxic physically - the former primarily to lungs and arteries, the latter to liver and brain. Though smoke may turn a lot of people off, there's no question that, in excess, ethanol (the chemical name for the kind of alcohol that humans consume to make us giddy) is the more socially toxic substance. An addicted smoker may be controlled by his addiction to the extent that he needs to take regular, disruptive breaks from working or socializing. An addicted drinker, on the other hand, may find his whole life revolving around obtaining and consuming a substance that renders him incompetent to work or to socialize.

So I encourage addicted smokers and drinkers who want to straighten out their lives to quit drinking first. Then, once they're sober, they can work on the smoking. As "Clean and Sober correctly depicted, many recovering alcoholics never do give up tobacco. Still, though their smoke-filled lives may be shorter, they are certainly happier out of the clutches of that devil booze.

Research reported last year in the "Journal of Studies on Alcohol lends ammunition to the argument against adding smoking cessation to alcoholism treatment. Dr. Anne Joseph, the report's author, found that people whose alcohol treatment program included smoking cessation quit drinking at a significantly lower rate, measured at six, 12 and 18 months, than did people who'd not been expected to quit tobacco at the same time as they did alcohol. Overall, an alcoholic smoker was up to 15 percent more likely to not be drinking if he had six months of sobriety under his belt before tackling the smoking habit.

I doubt that what I've said here would surprise anybody who has been deeply into alcohol and tobacco. People who've quit smoking can sometimes be heard to say, over a drink, perhaps years after their last puff, "You know, a cigarette would go real good right now. On the other hand, I've never heard an ex-drinker say, upon lighting up, "You know, a drink would go real good right now. Since smoking does not trigger drinking, it makes sense to not add the stress of nicotine withdrawal to the stress of achieving sobriety.

So, try not say to a recovering alcoholic who is sitting within a self-made cloud of tobacco smoke, "Thank you for not smoking, because not drinking is the really, really big deal.

Robbie talks about being teetotal

Teen Today

Robbie Williams has confessed he gave up drink the morning after he decided to drink himself to death. The singer, who is now teetotal, says he realised he had to stop after he thought an alcohol-related death would be a good way to go.

He revealed: "The big revelation was about five years ago when the night before I thought, 'You know what? I may as well just drink myself to death. What a great way out. That'll be brilliant.' "And then I woke up the next morning and thought, 'No, that's not a good idea.' And I haven't really drunk since then."

Robbie claims he first realised he had a drink problem when he was just 19 years old. He recalled to Britain's Radio 2: "The first time I realised I'd probably got a problem with drink and drugs I was walking round Chelsea Harbour and I was 19. I'd just got back from the MTV Berlin awards with Take That and we'd gone on this bender, which literally nearly involved me throwing my insides up. And I was walking round and I thought, 'Yeah, I've got a problem. Oh dear. I'm only 19.'"

The star now claims being teetotal is "rock 'n' roll". The reformed alcoholic believes his life is wilder since he gave up alcohol because he always has to be himself. He explained: "It's kind of rock 'n' roll because you've got to go with however you're feeling on any given day. I drank because I felt bad and was depressed but now if I feel like that I've got to go with it and ride it though. Each individual day can be quite an interesting journey and I wake up without a hangover or a headache. It's brilliant."

Staying out: Glenn citizens discover, celebrate recovery

By Barbara Arrigoni ~ Staff Writer ~ Chico Enterprise-Record ~ 9/18/2005 08:32 PM

ORLAND - It's often said the majority of people who end up in jail are repeat offenders who can't stay away from drugs or alcohol.

But filling a room at the Glenn County Community Recovery Center on East South Road on a recent Thursday morning were men and women actively trying to stay out of custody, and out of the prison of addiction.

They're some of the 101 people on the winding pathway of recovery in Glenn County drug and alcohol programs, and they're succeeding.

"Recovery Happens" was the county's annual National Drug and Alcohol Recovery Month celebration, sponsored by the Glenn County Health Services Agency. The event featured refreshments, speakers, special music and personal testimonies of people working hard to stay clean and sober.

What they said was that recovery doesn't just happen - it's hard work; that sobriety doesn't mean recovery; that programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and several offered by the county do help.

Most of those who shared their experiences on the pathway to recovery revealed past - and repeated - incarceration. Their addictions were either alcohol or other drugs such as methamphetamine.

What they celebrated were recoveries ranging from a woman just beginning the journey, to a man celebrating his eighth year clean.

Celebrating these individuals were county employees and others who provide help through various programs.

Cecilia Hutsell, director of Glenn County Mental Health Services, and Jim Bettencourt, founder and chairman of Glenn County Not in Our Town, referred to the recoverers as "heroes."

Providing resources for recovery is a journey Bettencourt embarked on four years ago after the near-fatal methamphetamine overdose of his teen son.

That resource is "Not In Our Town," which has made presentations about the evils of methamphetamine to more than 4,000 school-age children and provided more than 12,000 free handouts to adults.

To those on the journey, Bettencourt said thanks "for making the choice to deal with and recover from methamphetamine addiction. You're all very much heroes ..."

To Glenn County employee Chellie Gates, the program's title, "Recovery Happens" was wrong. Recovery doesn't happen; it's hard work, she said. And while they were there to celebrate each individual's hard work through "the aches, the pains, the struggles that got you here," she reminded each of the impact of drugs on children.

Recovery is not only hard work, but those who shared their experiences revealed it's a sometimes slippery slope back to the bottom, followed by a long road back. There were cheers and applause for those brave enough to share experiences.

One man, on recovery through Proposition 36, had been sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous for five years when he said he decided to drink again, and use drugs. He said he wound up in jail and only then thought of his wife and children, who didn't know he used drugs.

His showdown with drinking and drug use came 20 minutes after he got home from jail, where one of his children looked up at him and said, "Daddy, you disappoint me."

The experience made him feel cold all over, and it was then when he decided to get back on recovery's path, he said. He's been clean almost nine months and has a good job.

Another testimony came from lanky, gray-haired Larry Beck. Beck didn't pull punches.

He began using drugs at age 14, he said. By the time he was 19, Beck had been in and out of prison and was addicted to heroin.

"I always thought I was going to have a needle stuck in my arm and stay in a prison cell the rest of my life - till I got into NA," Beck testified.

Today, Beck no longer considers cops his enemy because he isn't breaking the law. Recovery took a lot of hard work, he said. Clean since March 1995, Beck said he's been involved in Narcotics Anonymous, especially getting NA into lockdown facilities.

"If it wasn't for NA, I would not be here today," Beck said, adding, "It's been a lot of work and I continue to work on it daily."

During the program, a woman went out to a patio for a smoking break. New to recovery, Misty Ann Lawrence was recently released from Glenn County Jail.

Lawrence told the Enterprise-Record a month earlier about what it's like in jail, about how she was high on meth at her arrest, and how she hopes to stay out. She admits she slipped shortly after her release and ended up back inside the jail for a few hours.

Now, Lawrence attends drug and alcohol programs Mondays and Wednesdays and attends meetings at night whenever she can. She also gets drug tested regularly, which she said helps keep her clean.

Also outside, away from the balloons and celebration, was Diana Daniels. She, too, is in recovery.

Daniels is also one of those who has been in jail multiple times. She said the first two times were for domestic violence against her husband. The other two times were for violation of probation, for dirty drug tests.

In her opinion, it's impossible to quit methamphetamine without help.

"Once you're hooked on meth, it's so hard to stop," she said.

Daniels said she's the first to admit she has relapsed. At one point she was using drugs for about seven months before quitting.

"I finally realized I was on my death bed," she said. She suffered constant nosebleeds, was tired all the time and went from 120 pounds to 89 pounds in a month, she said. "I was killing myself."

The last relapse was on prescription drugs, but she's back on recovery's pathway, eight months clean.

To stay clean, Daniels attends a drug and alcohol program at the Community Recovery Center twice a week and individual help every other week.

Daniels is blunt about the importance of programs.

"If this program wasn't here, I'd be dirty today," she said.

A key to staying clean is calling people for help, attending meetings such as NA, and listening, Daniels told Lawrence.

"The more you keep your ears open, the more you learn."

Still thin and pale, Daniels said recovery is happening - slowly - but she still has a long road ahead of her.

"It's day by day," she said. "I wake up every day praying I have a good day clean, or even a bad day clean, as long as I'm clean. Day by day."

Back inside, 41-year-old Glenda Jiminez listened intently for a number to be called for a prize windmill. When her number was called, she whooped with delight. During much of the program, her voice rang out with excitement.

Jiminez is also new to recovery, only five months along. She spent 20 years of her life behind bars, through the revolving door of the prison system, and has used every drug you can think of, she said.

Jiminez said she didn't know she could get help until recently. "I didn't know that I was capable of completing the things I've completed in the five months I've been here," she said.

Before getting into a county recovery program, she was on the verge of going back to prison. Now, she's getting off of parole after 13 years. Jiminez described the hard work involved in recovery.

"You have to dig deep down inside and make a lot of choices," she said. "You've gotta want it in order to achieve it. Now I know how to make choices, and think about the consequences. Before, I didn't care."

Thanks to her counselor, the short-haired, thin woman said she's grown so much in the program and she has learned to love herself. She urged people to reach out and get recovery.

"You gotta want it to get it," she repeated. "Unless you're willing, nobody can help you."

Jiminez cried, tears spilling down cheeks that were also smiling.

"It's a good feeling," she said. "A good feeling."

UK Industry loses billions to drink and drugs

n-e-life ~ 14/9/05

A recent report shows that over £12 billion is lost each year to drink and drugs in the UK work industry.

PROMIS, a leading addiction and recovery centre found that 75% of alcoholics in full-time employment, and up to 15% of those in upper management, are reliant upon drink and drugs.

These findings are mirrored by a national newspaper report, which found around 14 million working days are lost every year through alcohol and drug-related illnesses.

It also showed that people with substance abuse problems are between two and eight times more likely to be absent from work for more than a week than those without such problems.

As well as the financial loss, there are other issues involved.

Addiction in the work place can lead to low productivity and poor performance.

Alcohol and drug abuse accounts for 25% of all accidents at work.

In 1991, the Cannon Street rail crash led to the introduction of the Transport and Works Act 1992, which made it a criminal act for transport workers to be unfit because of drink and drugs.

And now many employers, particularly those who work in safety critical jobs, are looking at drug testing as a justifiable procedure.

Drug testing in the workplace is common in the USA, and there have been suggestions from senior UK policy makers that it should be more widely adopted by UK companies.

Preventx, a North East-based drug testing kit distributor, has devised a number of drug testing kits for employers to be able to test their workforce.

Polly Everette, Preventx managing director explains: “the aim of drug testing in the work place isn’t to catch people out, but to give help and assistance before it’s too late.

“Employers should have policies in place whereby if an employee did test positive, they can receive help and counselling immediately.”

She adds: “many of the UK’s working population use mind-altering drugs at some point. These drugs may be legal, illegal or prescription, but all can potentially impact on professional competence and safety.”

Popularity Up For Alcoholism Drugs

CBSNews ~ Sept. 13, 2005

Above all else, John Bauhs credits a drug for helping him stop drinking, a story line some alcoholics, doctors and drug companies hope will become more common as new treatment options emerge.

Bauhs tried practically everything he could think of to stop during 25 years of drinking but he couldn't stay sober until a year ago, when he began taking naltrexone, a drug that can block the brain chemicals that make alcoholics feel good after a drink, while also undergoing counseling.

"After being on the drug only three days, the urge to drink was completely gone," said Bauhs, a 41-year-old personal chef from Germantown, Md. "The conscious thought not to drink doesn't even affect me anymore."

Recovering alcoholics like Bauhs are winning allies among pharmaceutical companies and many doctors who want to include drugs alongside the old standbys of counseling and 12-step programs as standard treatments for alcohol abuse, despite initial reluctance by some health insurers to cover the newest drugs.

The medications have yet to become big sellers, but that could change. The first new such drug to win U.S. approval in nearly a decade hit the market in January, the third federally approved alcohol abuse drug. A fourth could be approved by year's end, with others in the pipeline.

Advances in studies on addiction and the brain also are driving a boom in research toward drugs to correct neurotransmitter imbalances among people prone to alcoholism, which has behavioral and biological components. The government's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is sponsoring more than 50 clinical trials involving drugs to treat alcoholism, compared with just six such trials a dozen years ago.

Among alcoholics who are treated, the vast majority aren't prescribed drugs. Experts say that's because most patients and few doctors other than addiction specialists are familiar with existing drugs, and most doctors consider alcoholism a largely behavioral problem best treated by counseling and programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. But traditional approaches through inpatient and outpatient programs have brought only mixed success, driving the push for new treatment options.

Just over a year ago the only federally approved alcohol abuse drugs were naltrexone, which won approval in 1994, and Antabuse, a decades-old drug designed to discourage drinking by making users sick if they have any alcohol.

"There was a long time when we groped around and weren't sure what we were doing in this field," said Robert Morse, a retired director of addiction treatment at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic now with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. "But it should be an exciting field in the next decade."

Because alcoholism can be traced to a complex set of mind and body triggers, doctors say the newer drugs are hardly cure-alls, and should be used in conjunction with counseling. And because the parts of the brain linked to alcohol dependence can range from those regulating stress to appetite, finding the right medication can be challenging.

Newer alcoholism medications "can't solve alcoholism, but they can help some people," said Dr. Raye Litten, a treatment research leader at NIAAA. "We want a menu of medications for alcoholism," he said, similar to the variety of depression treatments now available. "If one doesn't work, they can try another one."

The market potential is big. The NIAAA estimates about 18 million Americans are dependent on or abuse alcohol, with more than 2 million adults seeking treatment each year.

Despite those numbers, alcoholism drugs are small players in the $235 billion-a-year U.S. pharmaceutical industry. According to the consulting firm IMS Health, naltrexone and Antabuse posted less than $25 million in sales combined last year, with sales stagnant or declining in recent years.

Campral, which hit the U.S. market in January, recorded $6 million in sales through June, according to the drug's marketer, Forest Laboratories Inc. The company projects Campral sales will grow but never exceed $100 million a year.

Campral can help alcoholics remain sober by easing withdrawal symptoms and reversing drinking-induced imbalances in brain chemistry. The drug costs $3.70 for an average daily dose of six tablets.

Cambridge-based Alkermes Inc. expects to hear back from federal regulators by Sept. 30 on its application to begin marketing its new drug, Vivitrex, to doctors specializing in addiction medicine. In a clinical trial, the number of heavy drinking days per month among patients taking Vivitrex and undergoing counseling was reduced from an average 19 days to three over six months.

Vivitrex is a reformulation of naltrexone that is administered by monthly injection at a doctor's office, a potentially easier treatment option to follow for an alcoholic in recovery than a daily pill regimen.

Robert Hazlett, a drug industry analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, said emerging alcoholism treatments will only become commercial successes if more doctors consider prescribing them and insurers provide reimbursement.

"Even though there may be some good drugs available, it may take some time until they are more widely accepted," Hazlett said.

Many insurers include the older treatments Antabuse and naltrexone on their lists of preferred drugs, as well as coverage for inpatient and outpatient treatment. Reimbursement for the newer drug Campral varies from plan to plan, with some covering it and some not, said Larry Akey of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for insurers.

Richard Pops, Alkermes' chief executive officer, expects insurers will eventually embrace his company's treatment and emerging rival drugs that he says will expand the market rather than take away from sales of existing medications.

"Alcoholism is so undertreated right now that there's room for a number of very important drugs," he said. "I think it's the furthest thing from a zero-sum market I can imagine."

School for young addicts based in AA philosophy

The Indianapolis Star ~ September 11, 2005

After helping alcoholics recover from the bottle for more than 60 years, Fairbanks Hospital is ready to try a surprising new tactic -- a charter school.

With the blessing of Mayor Bart Peterson's charter board, Recovery High will offer the state's first school solely dedicated to students who want to stay free of drug and alcohol abuse.

Initially using temporary facilities on the Fairbanks campus near Community Hospital North at I-465 and I-69, the high school won't be a place for young people to recuperate from a weekend hangover.

The Fairbanks people mean business when they talk about recovery. Students and parents will sign a contract for the student to abstain from drugs and drinking and to attend at least two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week. To protect the school's culture and values, they also will pledge to report any other student using drugs or alcohol.

"This is not an alternative school for kids that get suspended," says Rachelle Gardner, who will head the school and directs Fairbanks' current work with young people. "It's a school for kids who are committed to staying clean and staying in recovery."

The serious side of the school will be mixed with love and support, and Fairbanks officials don't expect they'll have to recruit hard to fill the student body, projected to reach 120 students after five years. They expect a demand for a boarding school dorm for students from around the state and will raise money to build a new school building.

Why do alcohol and drug abusers need their own school? "The biggest reason for an adolescent to relapse is from the school environment," says Fairbanks President Helene Cross.

"When we talk to parents about Recovery High, you can see relief come over their faces," Gardner adds. "They won't have to worry about their using friends or that temptation."

One unusual feature is a 10 a.m. starting time. That's based on research indicating that teens seldom get enough sleep.

Fairbanks takes the motto "experts in addictions, focused on recovery." The facility has stuck with its traditional emphasis on Alcoholics Anonymous, recommending 90 AA meetings in the first 90 days after treatment. The AA tradition likely accounts for the hospital's endurance and survival as other insurance-based facilities for alcohol abusers have gone out of business or dwindled.

Cost-cutting in insurance reimbursement has reduced the time allowed for treatment. Remove AA from that equation and relapse rates tend to soar. Not every alcoholic stays sober right away through AA meetings. Yet it's usually a disaster for those who try to bypass AA by attempting to sober up on their own strength.

"Our first class is called recovery management," says Gardner. "In AA they call it their home group. They know these people."

The school will be modeled after the Sobriety High School in Minnesota. There are about 20 similar high schools around the country.

Recovery High School isn't faith-based in the normal sense. But there is a faith and values emphasis in the AA tradition, including a fearless moral inventory and making amends to those who have been wronged. Most of the 12 steps are paraphrased from the Bible.

The charter school approach to fight alcohol abuse is new. But Alcoholics Anonymous has been tested for several generations and could make this experiment one of the most interesting of the city's charter school initiatives.

When alcohol takes over

Rosanne Zammit ~ The Times of Malta ~ Saturday, September 10, 2005

Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic - there are people who went back to the bottle after being teetotal for 20 years or more. In this focus on alcoholism, two members of Alcoholics Anonymous tell Rosanne Zammit about their life when it was controlled by alcohol while two members of Al-Anon describe what living with an alcoholic entails.

What makes an alcoholic?

Alcoholism is a disease for which there is no cure - only recovery.

It has been recognised for many years by professional medical organisations as a primary, chronic, progressive and sometimes fatal disease. It is a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink.

The World Health Organisation estimates that the lifetime risk of suicide in people with alcoholism is seven to 15 per cent.

So, what describes an alcoholic?

A spokesman for Alcoholics Anonymous said: "There is a total fallacy that an alcoholic is a person who drinks from morning to night and falls over when walking. This is not the case. An alcoholic is actually a person who cannot stop drinking after taking one or two drinks. He can go for weeks without drinking.

"Alcoholics use alcohol to hide from their feelings and it is what happens when they drink that makes them an alcoholic. It doesn't matter how much or how often one drinks, what matters is why. If one starts craving more drink then he has a problem."

Members of AA believe that someone with an alcohol problem must attend meetings throughout his life to ensure that he does not return to the booze. Moreover, an alcoholic has to recognise that he is one.

The life of an alcoholic

Rita (not her real name) started to drink as a young teenager. Both her parents were drinkers and she used to smuggle flasks containing alcohol into boarding school.

Alcohol was her answer to insecurity and helped her fit in. It gave her the confidence she lacked. But her dependence on it got progressively worse. Her university days were the worst since by then she was drinking every day.

The real problems, however, started with the blackouts. On regaining consciousness, she would have absolutely no idea what would have happened.

"I would not even know if I made a fool of myself. I would convince myself that next time I would only take one or two drinks but the craving for more would be too difficult to overcome and I would give in to my compulsion.

"At the outset, I had everything anyone could want. But I was lonely and did not feel attractive. I felt insecure, vulnerable and alone. I would drink to kill this feeling.

"I went from one violent relationship to another. I used these relationships as an excuse to drink.

"Alcohol stole my youth and I do not remember the first person I kissed and the first time I slept with someone.

"One night I got very drunk and went on stage and started singing with a band playing in a bar. The police were called to take me home.

"This was the first time after a blackout where I remembered exactly what had happened and I was genuinely humiliated.

"I started going to AA when I was 26. I had finished university and was then living in London.

"During that first meeting I found that members were speaking my language and they were speaking openly about their problem. I instantly took to the meetings and felt a huge sense of relief.

"While at the beginning I used to attend meetings daily, I now go three times a week.

"Nowadays, when I feel like I really want to drink I call another member to get the support I need. I have now been sober for five years.

"Initially, after giving up alcohol my life was pretty difficult. My 'friends' started leaving me and the relationship I was in then broke up.

"But there have been rewards. I have since met the man of my dreams and we got married. I now believe in myself and I can cope with anything.

"I am selfish. In sharing my experience with others I'm strengthening my sobriety," Rita said.

Living with an alcoholic

Karla (not her real name) had been living with an alcoholic for 31 years. He used to drink before they were married but she had always considered him to be a social drinker and was actually proud that her husband was easy with money, not a miser.

But she realised early on in her marriage that her husband had a problem. He sometimes got drunk and stayed away from home for two or three days. Such incidents would not be the result of arguments and, on returning home, he would have no idea where he had been.

Karla, now a member of Al Anon, had tried to deal with the problem of having an alcoholic partner by ignoring reality and trying to present a happy front to all. Sometimes, she even felt guilty for not finding the formula which would get her husband off the bottle.

She managed to build walls around herself so that nothing apart from alcohol would hurt or affect her. And although she was by nature a caring person, there had come a point when she did not care about anything or anyone.

"I could not even bring myself to cry - not even on my own or following my mother's death."

It was not the first time that she asked herself why she was still with her husband but she had been brought up to believe that one marries once and for life. So she had to do her utmost to save her marriage. She also did not want her children to grow up without their father.

Thankfully, drink did not make her husband abusive - if anything it made him even more loving than normal. At times he begged her to do something to get him off the bottle.

The problem reached its climax when he started to get drunk with only a couple of drinks inside him. He even looked as if there was something wrong with him.

After 31 years, Karla had had enough and she told her husband that something had to give - she could not continue living such a life.

Together they called Alcoholics Anonymous and a meeting was arranged between her husband and a member of the AA. He asked her to go with him since it was an open AA meeting. She did not really want to go, but she had to for her husband and spent the night before her meeting worrying and planning what she should and should not say.

However, she was made very welcome and no one asked her to say anything. She just sat there and listened, realising that she was not alone, that there were others living her same situation.

Since that first meeting 14 years ago, Karla's husband never again touched the bottle and, together, the couple take their life one day at a time.

The transformation with alcohol

Violet (not her real name) is in the process of separating from her alcoholic husband.

"My husband was my lover and my best friend. But alcohol turned him into a Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde.

"From the way he turned the key in the lock as soon as he arrived home, I knew whether he was drunk or sober."

Violet's husband is a binge drinker and lives through periods of sobriety and others of drunkenness. He has a knack of building a business when he is sober - to destroy it as soon as he returns to drink.

Lately, alcohol changed his character completely and when he became aggressive and turned violent, Violet decided that she had had had enough and filed for separation.

"The environment at home had become so bleak that even the cats went away."

A friend invited Violet, a social worker, to attend an Al Anon meeting and she has since been attending religiously as they give her the strength to cope with life.

"The meetings are my fuel to go on living."

Violet said that although her job meant that she helped others to face their problems and she could do this successfully, before starting Al Anon she could not help herself.

Keeping sober

When Censu (not his real name) was a year old, he was rushed to hospital drunk.

His grandfather, an alcoholic, used to dip his soother in sweet wine to put him to sleep and on that particular day Censu took more Marsala dips until he got drunk.

By the age of 12, Censu proudly discovered that he could consume two bottles of beer and remain sober and enjoyed showing off his accomplishment.

"Alcohol took my youth away. When I was only 14, I had girlfriends while boys my age were still playing in the street.

"I thought I would stop drinking excessively when I got married but this was not to be. I drank when I was happy and when I was sad. The only time I did not drink heavily was when my wife was pregnant with my oldest son.

"But as soon as he was born I went to give the news to my mother and got stuck in a bar...

"After being an alcoholic for 31 years, I have now been sober for 14. During this time, I have never tasted alcohol. But I could not have done it without Alcoholics Anonymous.

"Staying sober is now a lifetime programme and the fear that I could one day return to alcohol is always there."

Censu admitted he only decided to stop drinking when his wife was on the verge of leaving him. He decided to call AA to shut her up.

She accompanied him to his first meeting and he has never looked back. Now the only thing he is addicted to are the AA meetings.

"The meetings offered me a new freedom. I am now free not to drink. In the past, alcohol was the boss. It was not what I wanted but what the bottle wanted.

"I can now think with my mind and accept what I cannot change. I have found that there is a better life without alcohol and I am living it."

The AA

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences, strengths and hopes so that they may deal with their common problem and help others recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

In Malta, there are 14 meetings each week at seven different premises. Meetings are totally anonymous and those attending do not even have to register their names.

Al Anon

Al Anon is a worldwide organisation that offers a self-help recovery programme for the families and friends of alcoholics.

Members give and receive comfort and understanding through a mutual exchange of experiences, strength and hope.

In Malta, there are four Al Anon meetings each week.

Researchers Discover Cost Effective Alcohol Treatment Programme

University of Birmingham ~ Sep 10, 2005

Research published today by psychologists at the University of Birmingham in The BMJ (9th September 05) has found that two different strategies of treatment are highly effective for those who are alcohol dependent and that for every £1 spent on these treatments, £5 of the tax payers’ money is saved.

These conclusions are the result of the UK’s largest study into alcohol treatment involving over 700 patients and 50 therapists. Two non-residential treatments – social behaviour and network therapy and motivational enhancement therapy – were compared. The strategies resulted in equally good outcomes and have made significant changes in the amount of alcohol consumed by patients and also had a positive effect on the health of the patients undertaking the study.

After 3 months of therapy the number of alcohol-abstaining days had risen by almost 50% for both treatments, while the number of drinks per day had dropped by a third. Similar results were maintained over a 12 month period and clients also reported improvements in mental health and general well-being.

The first treatment method - Motivational Enhancement Therapy - encourages people to stop or reduce their drinking by strengthening motivation. The patient discusses his or her drinking habits with a specially trained therapist and is asked to open up about the perceived positive effects of drinking, but at the same time, is asked to consider the harmful effects of regular heavy drinking. The therapist encourages the patient to state an intention to cut down on drinking, or to stop drinking altogether. Feedback of test results, including blood tests of liver functioning, play an important role in the treatment.

The second strategy, originally developed by psychologists at the University of Birmingham, is Social Behaviour and Network Therapy, which helps the patient to develop a network of friends, colleagues and family members who can be a positive influence during recovery. The therapist works with the patient to identify those people who will be supportive and reassuring and will also invite them along to the consultations. If the patient has lost touch with friends and family members because of the drink problem, the therapist will help the patient to find a way to re-establish those friendships. The social focus of the treatment means that not only those with alcohol problems, but also those significantly affected by the problem can receive help.

All the therapists were provided with a manual and were trained to the same level by experts in alcohol addiction. They also received close attention from a supervisor during the patient consultation process and all sessions were videotaped, allowing the supervisor to give feedback on a one to one basis.

Professor Jim Orford from the School of Psychology and lead investigator in the project says, ‘Alcohol dependency is still one of the biggest health issues in the UK on a par with anxiety and depression. The government has shown concern recently about young people’s tendency to binge drink, but our study focuses on the damaging effects of long term alcohol addiction.

‘The research has shown that a consistent and standardised approach to treating alcohol dependent people has a healthy success rate and that the patients are more likely to respond to treatment and reduce or stop their drinking if they are under close supervision by specially trained professionals.

‘Sometimes patients and their families find it difficult to get the right treatment, so raising the awareness and improving accessibility to treatment will lead to better results in treating alcohol dependent people.’

Dr Alex Copello, clinical director of substance misuse services for the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull and a principal investigator for the trial says, ‘It is important for those in charge of commissioning health services to note the potential savings in other health related areas that can be achieved by investment in alcohol problems treatment that can be delivered to large numbers of people in community settings.’

Alcohol treatment cost effective

BBC News ~ 2005/09/09

Alcohol abuse treatment programmes save a lot more money than they cost to run, research has found.

A British Medical Journal study found for every £1 spent, £5 was saved from the bill for dealing with the consequences of drinking.

The UK Alcohol Treatment Trial (UKATT) involved more than 600 people with alcohol problems.

Heavy drinking in England and Wales is estimated to cost the tax payer around £18bn a year.

The researchers compared two treatments which both allow people to continue with their daily lives rather than staying in residential accommodation.

Social behaviour and network therapy helps people with alcohol problems to build social networks to support them in changing their drinking behaviour.

It involves up to eight 50-minute sessions with a therapist.

Motivational enhancement therapy is made up of three 50-minute sessions and combines motivational counselling with feedback on progress.

The team, including researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of York and Leeds Addiction Unit, found both types of treatment helped to cut alcohol consumption and dependency.

After three months of therapy, on average participants, nearly doubled their number of alcohol-free days, and cut their daily number of drinks by around a third.

Interviews carried out 12 months after the start of therapy showed that people were still drinking less, and reported improvements in their mental and physical wellbeing. On average they were 50% less likely to suffer from alcohol-related problems.

Reduced costs

A cost analysis concluded that the average cost of treating one person was £175 - but that treatment saved nearly £900 in reduced health and social care, including the impact on police and the criminal justice system.

Charity Alcohol Concern said more money now needed to be invested in treating alcohol abuse.

Geethika Jayatilaka, director of policy and public affairs, said: "Every year thousands of people access help and support from specialist alcohol services and are able to turn their lives around.

"But without adequate funding agencies are struggling to survive and there are still too many people who cannot access the treatment they need.

"Alcohol treatment has been the Cinderella of healthcare for too long.

"Lack of investment means that thousands of people are unable to access the help they need, putting their health at risk and adding to the burden on the rest of the NHS and the criminal justice system."

# The government's alcohol strategy will do nothing to tackle the epidemic of problem drinking in Britain, an expert has warned in a BMJ article.

The alcohol harm reduction strategy for England contains measures to limit the damage caused by excessive drinking.

Ministers have also pushed ahead with plans to allow pubs and bars to serve alcohol for longer in efforts to stagger closing times and encourage a more continental style drinking environment.

But Professor Wayne Hall, of the University of Queensland in Australia, said that to avoid the situation getting even worse, ministers should not increase the availability of alcohol, and reduce taxes on drinks with lower alcohol concentrations.

'Raise price of alcohol to tackle binge drinking'

William Green ~ Yorkshire Post Today ~ 09 September 2005

ALCOHOL should be made more expensive to tackle Britain's binge drinking epidemic instead of relaxing the licensing laws, an expert said yesterday.

Australian academic Wayne Hall hit out at Labour's alcohol strategy and said Britain urgently needed to cut high rates of heavy drinking, which produced dependence, health problems and public disorder.

He said Ministers should not increase availability, but reduce taxes on drinks with lower alcohol levels and cut the drink-drive limit to stop the situation getting worse.

Prof Hall, of the University of Queensland, attacked the Government's "partnership" with the drinks industry, claiming it resulted in Ministers embracing its preferred remedies.

He said rising consumption was being driven by falling prices, increased availability and extensive promotion in British cities – but the drinks industry's remedies of public education, improving policing, better treatment and self-regulation were least likely to reduce the problem.

He said the Government had avoided using the most effective policy to cut hazardous drinking – using tax to increase the price of drinks containing the most alcohol.

"It justifies this decision by saying that increased price has not been shown definitely to reduce harm due to alcohol, an assertion at odds with the views of the world's leading researchers on alcohol," Prof Hall said in the British Medical Journal.

The Government had also rejected any policies that would cut availability, he said. "Instead, it embraces the paradoxical idea that allowing drinking for up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will reduce binge drinking and public disorder. It believes that, somehow, longer trading hours will help to create a continental drinking culture in Britain," he said.
Prof Hall said consumption in Australia had fallen by nearly a quarter between 1980 and 2000 despite liberalisation, compared with a British rise of 31 per cent, because of lower taxes on low- alcohol beer.

Australian drink-drive levels are also lower, with blood concentration limit of 0.05 per cent compared with 0.08 per cent in Britain.

The head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: "Radical steps like increasing taxes on drinks with the highest alcohol concentration, banning alcohol advertising and reducing the drink-driving limit have shown to have dramatic results in other countries.

"The Government should learn from these experiences rather than working hand in hand with the drinks industry."
The call for action to tackle alcohol abuse came as researchers claimed that treatment programmes saved the country five times as much as they cost to run.

The UK Alcohol Treatment Trial involved more than 600 people with alcohol problems in and around Birmingham, Cardiff and Leeds and found that for every £1 spent on treatment, £5 was saved in spending on the consequences of drinking – estimated to be £18bn a year in England and Wales.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of York and Leeds Addiction Unit found the number of alcohol-abstention days rose by almost half after three months of treatment and the number of drinks consumed per day fell by around a third.

Even after 12 months, those having treatment reported drinking less and improvements in their mental health and general well-being.

A cost analysis study to see if treatment was value for money revealed that the average cost per person was £175 – but the treatment saved nearly £900 in spending on health and social care, police and the criminal justice system.

Charity Alcohol Concern said treatment had been the "Cinderella" of healthcare, and that more money needed to be invested before more serious problems developed.

Alcohol treatment cheaper than cure

Daily Mail ~ 09/09/05 ~ Health news section

Treatment programmes for alcohol abuse save society five times as much as they cost to run, researchers have said.

A major trial of the effectiveness of specialist alcohol treatment found that for every £1 spent on treating those with alcohol problems, £5 was saved in spending on the consequences of drinking.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal, came as concern continued to grow about the UK's binge-drinking culture and the effects of pubs being allowed to extend their opening hours. The public costs of heavy drinking in England and Wales are estimated to be around £18 billion a year.

The UK Alcohol Treatment Trial (UKATT) involved more than 600 people with alcohol problems in and around Birmingham, Cardiff and Leeds.

The researchers compared two treatments - social behaviour and network therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy - which allow people to continue with their daily lives rather than staying in residential accommodation.

The team, including researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of York and Leeds Addiction Unit, interviewed those taking part in treatment at the start of the study after three months and again after 12 months.

They found that both sets of treatments resulted in much-reduced levels of alcohol consumption and dependency on alcohol. The number of alcohol-abstaining days increased by almost 50% after three months of treatment and the number of drinks consumed per day fell by around a third.

The researchers said that even after 12 months, those having treatment reported drinking less. They also reported improvements in their mental health and general well-being.

The researchers also conducted a cost analysis study to see whether the treatment provided value for money. They took into account factors such as the cost of training and paying therapists and the impact of alcohol abuse on public sector resources before treatment, such as the use of social services, court appearances and hospital visits.

They concluded that both therapies led to substantial savings across health and social services - saving the public purse fives times as much per client as the amount spent on their treatmen

It's never too late to get clean

Stephannie Johnson ~ Parry Sound North Star ~ Wednesday, September 7, 2005

In this four-part series, the North Star examines how drugs and drug abuse has adversely affected Parry Sounders. We learn that it's not just the users battle to fight-it's also that of those closest to them. Critics of the system say that Parry Sound and area addiction programs don't work well because youths with addiction issues have a hard time opening up to treatment.

However, in the Parry Sound area, several drug and alcohol treatment centres offer programs to help those in need of addiction counselling and support. Today's story focuses on a woman whose battle with drugs began in her youth. She is sharing her story in the hope that youths in crisis don't wait until adulthood to get the help they need. In next Wednesday's North Star, reporter Stephannie Johnson looks at how the community is responding to the issues raised in this series.

The receding footsteps of her father and a brutal rape when she was just 10 years old are what Holly Cummings says began a deadly, spiraling vortex of violence and drugs that to this day, more than 30 years later, she still battles.

Ms Cummings said that, from the outset, the drugs and alcohol that she consumed daily were her means of escaping reality-a reality that was filled with pain, anger and resentment.

"My father had walked out and I had some major sexual abuse happen to me," said Ms Cummings. "I was raped by two men from Parry Sound. Then my girlfriend and I were down by Mill Lake and she said her sister had something that would help." That "something" was marijuana. "That's were it began, and it snowballed from there. The drugs took away the overwhelming sickness and the sadness. I was a daddy's girl and he promised he would come back and he didn't."

It was only later that Ms Cummings learned that her father was a recovering alcoholic and that leaving was "the best thing he could have done" for his daughters, son and wife, to go and get some help.

"But back then, when you're 10 years old, you just don't understand," she said. "Growing up here in Parry Sound, the kids were very cruel, the teachers were not understanding and there was a lot of abuse in my home."

Ms Cummings' dance with drugs and alcohol continued on and off for the next 15 years, through failed relationships, deaths, suicides, and the births of her two sons. Her drugs of choice were morphine, and hash. When she was 18, Ms Cummings married, and she found herself pregnant with her first child at 20. She managed to keep herself drug-free throughout her pregnancy, but she was right back to drugs following her son's birth.

"Mark (not his real name) was six when I went into treatment the first time, so I missed a lot, from when he was one to six," she said. "He stayed with me until he was 11, before he went to live with his father and I had a couple of clean years here and there."

To get away from the people and the place that contributed to her drug abuse, Ms Cummings moved out west to Alberta, where she found a job working in a detox centre helping other addicts.

She attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, and was on the road to recovery and drug-free for three years. While in treatment, she learned that she had chronic depression and anxiety disorder and began taking prescribed medication.

"Meanwhile, I got taking care of everyone at the detox and I forgot about taking care of me. I stopped going to meetings. I stopped sharing my truth and that heads to relapse every time," she said, adding that on top of that, she was up for a promotion that she didn't get.

"So I made the conscious decision to go out and get drunk. Even though alcohol has gotten me into many, many, many, many bad places-waking up 20 miles back in the bush not knowing how I got there, waking up to somebody raping me-I got drunk."

Soon after, she met a recovering alcoholic and they began dating.

"We knew each other for a very short time and we, as alcoholics and addicts, want to be loved so bad that we literally sell our souls to these men, to each other. We got along well for a while," she said, adding that she became pregnant in 1994.

"I did smoke hash while I was pregnant up to six months, and ultimately Neil (not his real name) ended up with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). That was my drug use that did that to him. I was doing it with a propane tank, to heat the knife. It was just sick, but I never realized it. The suicide of a close friend led to another attempt at drug recovery.

"I had just come from a friend's funeral who committed suicide, and he was in recovery before he killed himself. Being at his funeral and having life inside me and seeing that put me back into recovery. I was clean at that time for three years."

In 1997, Ms Cummings returned to Ontario. By this time, she was back on drugs and put herself into Robin's Hill, a drug treatment centre in Sudbury. She left son Neil in Alberta to live with his father while she fought her addiction.

"Going to Robin's Hill was the best thing I've ever done and the only place I can truly call home. I stayed clean for three or four years again," she said.

Following her stay at Robin's Hill, Ms Cummings allowed Neil to stay with his father permanently, a decision she continues to regret to this day.

"I got letters from teachers saying he was in a good family unit, but I found out a few years later that was all a façade," she said. "The man that I lived with for seven years was a child molester. I had no idea if he touched or harmed my son. Neil was showing symptoms of being hurt. That was exactly four years ago."

Learning that devastating news sent Ms Cummings into a tailspin right back to drugs until 2002.

"I had a major relapse. I was out of meetings and using for over three years, but I didn't realize so much time had gone by. I was smoking so much dope," she said. "I got into taking pills, time-released morphine so you're constantly high. And I was smoking pot and drinking."

Through her brother's accidental suicide, her mother's death and the death of her partner, Ms Cumming continued to use drugs. She said she was consumed with self-pity.

"My brother was a recovering alcoholic. He had a lot of pain, and I know he wasn't prescribed the medication he was on. I know he bought it off the street, I just don't know who from," she said. "I spent a year and a half, until this year, curled up in my room getting high, going through a quarter bag of weed every two days, and popping morphine."

However, once she learned that it was the same drug, morphine, that she was taking that also killed her brother, Ms Cummings made the decision in late spring to get clean for good.

"I realized that this stuff, morphine, is for people who are dying of cancer," she said. "I detoxed myself. I cut back slowly and then I got very, very ill. What I did was I had to make myself sicker, I had to make myself hurt so that I could realize, and get it in my head and my heart, that this is sickening and ridiculous and that I can't do this any more."

In June, Ms Cummings was approached by an old friend who was still in recovery, attending NA and AA meetings in Parry Sound. He encouraged her to return to treatment.

"He told me, 'we're keeping a seat warm for you,‚'" she said with a smile. "When you're in a place where you've relapsed a few times, the shame is very intense. And I really wish I could have gotten past that shame and that guilt. I was greeted with open arms by people that I knew in recovery 10 years ago, that were still here and still clean, who were willing to be my friend and willing to help me out no matter what."

Today, Ms Cummings has been clean for over two months and is determined to bring son Neil back to Parry Sound to live with her. Currently he's in Alberta living with foster parents, due to the molestation charges against his father. A court date is scheduled for the near future to decide where Neil will live permanently.

"AA and NA saved my life. NA is my home, that's where my heart is. I will never stop or turn my back on NA. We have a fellowship that's unreal," she said. "I was messed up and I don't want to be that way anymore. I have a sponsor who I talk to. I don't bring all the personal stuff to the meetings, but there's a lot of dysfunction when you're using, there's a lot of pain that you've hidden for many, many years, and it's got to come out."

Since she left Parry Sound years ago and then came back, Ms Cummings said, drug use in the region has changed and is spinning out of control. She says she's committed to helping others as she has been helped in the past, to conquer their drug demon.

"I would have never expected to see crack here and it's so sad. There's so much stigma in this town, kids being called a rat because they're getting clean. All they're doing is getting clean," she said. "I have to do something, so I'm back here. That's why I came back here to get clean and to help others. I guess this is my purpose. What I've seen in front of me are girls in this town that I grew up with, who were amazing young women, sucking on morphine patches to get high. It's sick. It's so sick. And men that I've grown up with, who are dealers and are getting busted and getting out two days later, and getting out on a consistent basis. What's the matter with people? The police, the teachers, the parents, can they not see what's going on? Do they choose not to see what's going on?"

Since being clean, Ms Cummings said all the pain she's bottled up for the last 15 years has begun to surface. Through meetings and supportive friends, she's learning how to deal with it in a healthy way.

"When you go through what I've gone through, being raped so young and going through all those things, it's no wonder it affected me the way it did. Because in my head I was thinking, 'Oh well, whatever, it just happened,' not realizing the effects it has on the inside," she said. "I can tell you honestly, that I've been clean for the last two months. I was high when my brother and my mother died, so my grief has begun in the last six weeks. I curl up and cry if I need to cry and I allow myself to feel."

To help get her back on her feet emotionally and financially, Ms Cummings is staying with a close friend here so that she has the ability to focus solely on recovery.

"There's no excuse for the things I've done. All I know is that I'm an addict and that I have a disease and I have a desire to stay clean today and I have a desire to recover. And the only way I can do that is by going to meetings, sharing my experience, strength and hope, reading the books they offer, getting a sponsor, being real whether it's painful or not," she said. "Truth is the most important thing in recovery and if you can't be honest then maybe you just need to listen. We point fingers at everyone else, because we're too afraid to look at ourselves."

Despite living through a life wrought with pain, self-destruction and horror, Ms Cummings has a positive outlook on the days ahead.

"I believe our purpose in life today is live our life to the fullest, be kind to other people, always give them a smile when you're walking by and if you can, give them a hug too," she said, smiling. "All I have is my experience, strength and hope. If I can get through to one person, then I think I've done my job. My dream is to be in a position where I can help people. I'm sure that's every addict's dream, because I can't die, both of my kids need me."

Over 5,000 treated for drug and drink abuse

UTV ~ Tuesday 06/09/2005

Over 5,000 people in Northern Ireland are being treated for drug or alcohol misuse, it was revealed today.

A first ever Census of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services compiled details on the extent of the drink and drugs problem.

The data will be used to help the British government in the development of its new drink and drugs strategy.

The study found that 5,064, were undergoing treatment for the misuse of drink, drugs or both when a `snapshot` was taken on March 1 this year.

It showed that approximately six in 10 were attending treatment centres for alcohol-only related problems, 20% for drug-only problems and 19% for both.

Almost two thirds of patients were male and 35% female, the vast majority, 95%, were over 18.

However of particular concern will be the news that over 250 youngsters under the age of 18 were under treatment for misusing drink or drugs.

One in 10 of those being treated for drug misuse are under 18. They also account for two per cent of those being treated for alcohol misuse and 10% of those being treated for misusing both.

Rob Phipps, co-ordinator of the Regional Alcohol and Drugs Strategy Team, said the need for the census had been "driven by the need to get a clear picture of the situation."

He said: "The problem has always been there but going public is a reminder to the public that drug misuse and alcohol misuse causes real harm.

"The findings were not a surprise to us, we have been aware of the nature and scale of the issue."

Mr Phipps said alcohol in particular was "a major public health issue".

While more men than women were being treated for its effects, binge drinking and the `ladette culture` was increasing the problems among females, he said.

"What we are seeing is a drinking culture which is changing and evolving.

"There are more drinks targeting the 18-30 age range which you would expect to appeal to young females," said Mr Phipps.

On the drugs front he said there were problems with heroin abuse in certain parts of Northern Ireland, but also with increasing use of cannabis within the local population there was a growing number of people with problems.

The census was published as a study by DrugScope showed the average price of on ecstasy tablet in Belfast has plunged from £10 to £3 in the past year.

The price of most drugs varied widely across the UK, the charity said, but Belfast tended to be at the top end of the scale.

Government's drinking plan attacked

04/09/05 ~ Daily Mail ~ Health news section

An expert who advised the Government on its strategy for tackling alcohol abuse has attacked new laws which could lead to 24-hour opening for pubs and clubs.

Professor Colin Drummond said the Licensing Act, which comes into force this November, did not do enough to look at the root causes of alcohol abuse.

Speaking at a conference in Canterbury, Professor Drummond said he was not even sure if his own advice had been taken on board by civil servants and politicians.

The Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at St George's Hospital Medical School in London said the new Government policy was aimed at clamping down on drink-related violence.

"But at the same time it relaxes the rights of individuals to drink at any time they want or at any price. That has to be balanced against the rights of the rest of the public," he said.

"I feel the Government has a responsibility to invent a strategy that will reduce the majority of the adverse effects of alcohol but instead it talks about the rights of drinkers."

He added that more research needed to be carried out on how to tackle the "alcohol epidemic" in the UK which placed it as the "capital of binge drinking" in Europe.

"There needs to be some political will to do something about it. There are significant implications for someone like me. Am I wasting my time, am I doing research that is likely to have any impact on Government policy?"

He also attacked the alcohol industry which he said was only interested in its shareholders and making profits and therefore would not be keen to enter into voluntary agreements on areas like advertising.

Professor Drummond gave advice to the Government as it prepared its National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, published in 2004, but he told the conference: "I'm not sure how much of that advice was taken."

'Statistics on alcohol are chilling'

BBC News ~ 2005/09/02 ~ Andrew McNeill, of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.

To doubt the statistics on the UK's thirst for alcohol is a nonsense.

The idea that the increase in consumption could be celebrating the Millennium is absurd: there has been a long-term increase since the 1950s, and we now drink more than double the amount consumed then.

And many are drinking in the most unhealthy way possible. Binge drinking is integral to the social life of many young Britons. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, only one in four women and one in six men say they never binge.

Among 20-something women, 60% of the alcohol consumed is in bouts of heavy drinking - more than six units a day. For men, half the drinking is done in bouts (more than eight units). Guidelines are set thus, as subjective criteria such as "drinking enough to lose control" would make tracking drinking habits impossible.

The rise in our overall consumption is most noticeable in young women. Yes, this started from a low baseline, but that doesn't mean it's of no consequence.

A Datamonitor report found that UK women under 25 drink more than their European counterparts, and by 2009, it's expected to rise another 31% to three times as much as young women in France and Italy.

Nor does heavy drinking suddenly start at 18. Indeed, UK girls are now even more likely than boys to be bingers - a pattern thought to be without precedent. Teenage bingers are also more likely to take the habit into their 20s, so the comforting idea that it's just a phase may be wishful thinking.

'No fun' brigade?

Some dismiss the public and political concern as unwarranted 'moral panic' - a term suggestive of interfering Puritanism. The motives of those who warn of danger can be dismissed rather more easily than the dangers themselves.

Binge drinking is causing rising levels of alcoholic gastritis, pancreatitis and liver damage, diseases once found in older men.

In all the research into the medical and social consequences, a key finding is that the pattern of consumption matters as much, or more, than the amount.

None of the health benefits of alcohol come from binging. While a glass of red wine may reduce the risk of heart disease, binging increases it.

As for teenagers, no wonder a recent publication aimed at youth, sponsored by the American Medical Association, was subtitled 'Drinking makes you stupid'. Alcohol can damage young brains, with bingeing linked to impaired mental and social development.

The social cost, too, is high, with bingeing linked to drug use, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Alcohol is the biggest date rape drug, and much first sex and unprotected sex takes place while drunk. Given that it can damage the reproductive system and the foetus, there are disturbing implications to the popularity of binge drinking in young women.

It is not just that there are problems now; bingeing stores them up for the future.

Drinking problem? Alcoholics Anonymous comes to town

Indian Express Newspapers

Ahmedabad, September 1: It would not be long before the alcoholics of the city will get a chance turn sober by being a part of the international club Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). On Sunday, the city chapter will hold it first meeting, which is expected to be attended by more than 60 persons from across the state.

AA already has chapters in Surat, Valsad, Vapi, Silvasa and Vadodara. The state headquarters is Gujarat Service Centre, which is located at Surat. Willam, convener of the Ahmedabad chapter, started the club currently has about 15 members. ‘‘Anybody who desires to stay away from alcohol is welcome to be a member and participate in our meetings, where the alcoholics extend support to each other and help themselves and other members remain sober,’’ he stated. All meetings are held behind closed doors and names and details of members are never made public, he stated.

The larger centres like Surat and Vadodara hold four meetings every week and the members are encouraged to follow a 12-step and 12-traditions programme to kick alcohol. ‘‘We also encourage in phone therapy where in our member can call another one every time he has an urge to drink,’’ says Willam, who became a member of the Vadodara chapter five months ago and has remained sober for four months now.

‘‘At our club it is a drinker who helps another drinker and this is far more successful that any of the detox centres,’’ he states. Asked why there was a need of such club here, he added, ‘‘Liquor is freely available at one’s doorstep here and this is like an open secret. With so much liquor flowing, alcoholics are many and hence this chapter.’’

The damage done by drink spreads far beyond the pub pavement

By Ferdinand Mount ~ Telegraph ~ 02/09/2005

Suppose we were to discover that people who park on double yellow lines are really suffering from an illness. Scientific research, let us say, demonstrates that repeated illegal parking is not a mere misdemeanour but a symptom of psychosocial disturbance, possibly even a cry for help.

Naturally, those suffering from this syndrome would need to be treated with understanding and coaxed back to a more normal pattern of behaviour. Instead of having penalties inflicted on them, they would be encouraged to seek counselling. The Department of Health would issue leaflets on sensible parking. The Cabinet Office would set up a unit to study binge parking and name it with some snazzy acronym like Parp - the Parking Avoidance and Rehabilitation Programme.

And what would be the immediate consequence of this new therapeutic approach? Why, it would surely be that motorists would start parking on yellow lines again, a little timidly at first, scarcely able to believe their luck, then promiscuously and incontinently until every high street would have vehicles nose to tail along its pavement. The yellow lines would gradually disappear because it would become impossible to repaint them.

But of course that is not the way the authorities deal with parking offences. On the contrary, they establish special forces in every town and city with powers to issue penalty notices on the spot and little or no discretion to show mercy. The usual presumption of innocence is suspended, and only the most cussed barrack-room lawyer bothers to contest the fine. In fact, it is hard to think of any other laws on the books which are enforced with such unwavering severity.

Yet parking on double yellow lines does not cause much damage to society. It poses only a minor inconvenience to through traffic and little risk to physical or mental health.

The same cannot be said of binge drinking. The NHS is already treating unprecedented numbers of young adults suffering from alcohol-related diseases. Cirrhosis of the liver has risen tenfold since the 1970s, and specialists are now seeing patients in their 20s and 30s with end-stage alcoholic liver disease - which means they have been drinking themselves senseless since their early teens.

Professor Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Royal College of Physicians' alcohol committee, and Dr Kieran Moriarty, alcohol adviser to the Department of Health, warn that the Government's liberalisation of the licensing laws will cause a further large increase in cirrhosis among young people.

Over recent weeks, circuit judges, magistrates and police chiefs have also been warning that 24-hour drinking can only add to the mayhem caused by brawling, vomiting jeunesse which is making city centres uninhabitable at closing time. Now we have dire forecasts of the dangers to public health to add to the further risks of public disorder.

Yet public binge drinking is still treated with a tact and understanding that is utterly denied to the errant motorist. The hopelessly sozzled may continue with impunity, if we may be permitted the old Aussie argot, to park a custard where no one would dream of parking a car.

Tessa Jowell's defence of the 2003 Act is that local authorities will now have the power to close down rowdy pubs or restrict their hours. But the guidance from her department seems so weighted towards longer and later hours that pubs would surely have good grounds for legal challenge to any restrictions imposed on them.

Anyway, the damage done by drink spreads far beyond the pub pavement. The British Crime Survey reports that 44 per cent of acts of domestic violence and 53 per cent of attacks on strangers are committed by people who are drunk. The shocking assaults on staff in hospital A&E departments, GP surgeries and almost every public premises you can think of are fuelled largely by alcohol.

Rather late in the day, politicians in all parties have woken up and agree that something must be done. Tony Blair is back at last from wherever it was, and we are told that it will be his top priority to root out yob culture, which means tackling binge drinking.

But what does this Government propose to do that is different from what other governments have done? Ever since 1981, Whitehall has been showering us with leaflets about drinking sensibly. This must be one of the least effective public health campaigns in recorded history, since what is so striking about the experience of the past two decades is not the overall increase in alcohol consumption but the increase in drinking insensibly.

Government after government has loosened the licensing laws, claiming that this will put an end to the frantic superslurp before closing time. And every time serious topers just use the extra hours to get a few more in.

You will notice too that the onus is always on the publican to exclude underage drinkers and to bar the troublemakers. Making the incapably plastered bear the consequences of their own behaviour does not seem to be at the heart of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy.

For the single most extraordinary fact which is seldom mentioned in all the chunterings on this subject is that "the enforcement of legislation on drunk and disorderly behaviour has declined sharply over the past 10 years" - not my words, but those of the Cabinet Office's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy Unit last year. Cautions and convictions for drunkenness in the UK have gone steadily down from 124,380 in 1980 to 43,356 in 2001.

Why this startling drop? The Cabinet Office concedes frankly that "this reflects not only falling priority but also, crucially, the sheer practicalities of policing large numbers of drunk people". Arresting a disorderly drunk and taking him to the custody suite can take a couple of hours and then he has to be supervised in case he chokes on his own vomit.

In other words, the law is no longer enforced because it has become inconvenient and time-consuming to enforce it. There is thus no mystery why so many young people get legless in public places these days. It is because they are allowed to.

It is also because they can afford to. There is no mystery either about Gordon Brown's reluctance to lose votes by raising the duty on alcohol. Excise duty has been frozen on most forms of alcohol in nearly half his Budgets. The Institute of Alcohol Studies calculates that on average it used to take us over six hours to earn the price of a bottle of scotch. Now it takes less than two.

All this is delightful news for those of us who are no flinchers from the glass. But can a Government which is so reluctant either to enforce the laws against drunk and disorderly behaviour or to use the price mechanism to discourage us from overdoing it be said to have anything resembling an Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy?

There are some small glimmerings in Whitehall. At last the NHS is successfully prosecuting some of the drunken yobs who physically abuse its staff. And the Government is drafting in 4,000 community support officers to help the police at closing time.

But you are still more likely to be prosecuted when stone cold sober in a bus lane than roaring drunk on the pavement.

As so often, it's not new laws we need but to have the old ones enforced.