Alcohol: Socially acceptable, available

As a psychotherapist at Fairmont General Hospital’s behavioral medicine unit, Roberta Jackson sees people dealing with all kinds of drinking problems and drug use, from heroin to prescribed pills.

But, she said, “The big thing about alcohol is that it’s so socially acceptable and it’s so readily available and it’s cheap. I always tell people when I do groups, you can’t turn on a sporting event — like the Super Bowl — that’s not sponsored by the alcohol industry.

“And unfortunately, they completely glamorize it. ‘The beautiful people go out dancing and drink Miller Lite.’”

The 32-bed unit serves as a medical detoxification unit for people with drug and alcohol problems. The patients generally spend five to seven days there, getting off whatever substance they are on, before leaving to either go to another rehabilitation facility or back home for outpatient care.

And although Jackson deals with patients withdrawing from substances considered by society to be much more dangerous, such as heroin and OxyContin, guess which substance withdrawal actually has a much higher chance of killing someone?

“Alcohol is one of the most dangerous things to withdraw from for someone who is addicted,” Jackson said. “You can go into a medical emergency from alcohol withdrawal. You can die from alcohol withdrawal. Heroin withdrawal is very uncomfortable, but as uncomfortable as it is, it’s not generally life-threatening. The withdrawal that can be life-threatening is alcohol.”

Over time, too much alcohol also can damage the liver, she noted.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site, www.cdc.gov, the consequences of drinking too much alcohol can range from health problems such as chronic diseases, including liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, various cancers, high blood pressure and psychological disorders, to unintentional injuries such as car accidents, falls, drowning, burns and firearm injuries. Also, alcohol can be a factor in many crimes, such as child abuse, homicide, suicide and rape.

Various options exist in the area for people who have problems with alcohol. In addition to the detox unit at Fairmont General, some longer-term facilities include the ACT unit in Fairmont, run by the Valley Health Care System, a 28-day treatment program.

“We also have a residential program for women that’s longer term,” said Judy Acree, regional manager of chemical dependency for outpatient programs at Valley Health Care System in Fairmont.

Steve Mason, the director of the state Division on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, part of the Department of Health and Human Resources, said his office has a budget of $18 million — about half from the state and half from the federal government — to help fund programs around the state.

Rehabilitation for women is considered especially important, he noted.

“The federal government has put some emphasis on developing specific residential programs particularly for women with children,” Mason said. “The emphasis there is to try to break the generational cycle with addiction to work with women and their children and for reunification. A lot of women with addiction problems end up losing their children.”

Alcoholism can have a horrible effect on people’s lives, said Jackson, the psychotherapist from Fairmont General. In addition to domestic violence and abuse, she points to the recent case of Brian Stone, recently convicted of driving under the influence causing death in a Morgantown accident that killed five people from two different families.

“Here were innocent lives lost,” she said. “How many families were torn apart? But also, his parents lost him and he lost his own life. Life for him is imprisonment.”

Luckily, one Morgantown man found a different path. Pat, a businessman who did not want his last name used, has been sober for more than 25 years. He entered a detox facility in Preston County in 1981 at the age of 24 after an eight-year slide into alcoholism.

He started around the age of 16 when he got his driver’s license.

“It just seemed like the thing to do,” he said.

Unlike some of his friends, however, when Pat drank, he did not stop. He could not keep a job or a relationship. Finally, his mother asked if he had a problem.

“I felt and saw the hurt on her face,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt her anymore. When she asked me to go there (to the detox center), I told her I would.”

Pat’s story is somewhat unusual in that his 28-day stay did the trick.

“Fortunately for me, I have not taken a drink or a drug since I entered treatment in 1981,” he said. “I’m very, very fortunate.”

Nancy Deming, division director for Valley Health Care System in Morgantown, noted that relapsing can be a very common problem.

However, she pointed out, “It doesn’t mean that you are not making progress. It’s really unlikely that a person who is addicted to alcohol that needs treatment is going to stop after one attempt. It happens, but it’s pretty rare. It’s treatment over time that helps to increase the sobriety.”

For Pat, taking his life one day at a time, as recovering alcoholics are encouraged to do, has helped him tremendously.

“I have a real peace in knowing that I only have to worry about today,” he said.

He still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, maybe two or three times a week, as much to help other people as himself.

“It was suggested when I was new that in order to keep it you have to give it away,” he said. “If I don’t help someone, there’s more of a chance that I will drink again.”

Times West Virginian

For many, alcohol 'just goes along with going to college'

New college students often arrive on campus full of enthusiasm for everything the experience will offer: interesting classes, new friends, academic events, sports, and, in some cases, alcohol.

“I think for a lot of students, that just goes along with going to college,” said Kat Stevens, student services counselor at Fairmont State University. “That’s the mindset.”

Not only does that first break from the parents provide a sense of newfound freedom, but some consider parties and football games a rite of passage that would not be complete without beer or another type of booze.

A major problem with this belief, however, is that most undergraduate students are under 21, the legal drinking age in West Virginia. And students living in the dormitories who have alcohol also are breaking campus rules.

“I think the alcohol use among underage students is increasing,” Stevens said. “It seems we are having an increase in the numbers of students who are sanctioned for underage usage in the residence halls.”

The numbers bear Stevens’ belief out. In 2006, the number of liquor law violations referred for disciplinary action rose by seven cases over 2005, from 49 to 56.

While that may not seem like much, both those are higher than the number of incidents reported between the years 2001-2004. The information for those years was reported differently on the Web site, www.fairmontstate.edu/admin/CampusSecurity/default.asp.

However, for those years, the number of liquor law violations reported on campus, in residence halls and on public property were 2001, 12; 2002, 34; 2003, 32; and 2004, 24.

“Making friends and enjoying each other’s company, that is an aspect of life whether you’re a student or not,” said Dan Gockley, director of residence life at Fairmont State. “That could be one of the ways you maintain a friendship. It’s pretty common in our society, and alcohol in and of itself is marketed as a social activity. Students are aware of that and participate in that as much as anyone else.”

But there can be consequences that come with those actions. “Almost every student” sanctioned for using alcohol at Fairmont State, Stevens said, has ended up having to drop classes or move out of the dorms as a result of the incident.

Far more serious consequences also can occur. Statistics from AAA provided by Gig Robinson, spokesman for the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, reveal that 1,400 college students a year die from alcohol-related incidents that can include anything from a drunk driving crash to suicide, he said.

Other AAA numbers pertaining to alcohol and college students, released in 2002, maintain that alcohol is involved in 70,000 assaults in a given year and 600,000 cases of injuries, Robinson said.

An annual event that examines alcohol use by college students and explores ways to reduce it will be held at the Mountainlair at West Virginia University on April 16. The 2008 West Virginia Governor’s Summit on Alcohol and Higher Education will be the sixth such event and will be attended by students and education officials from across the state.

“We’re doing a couple of different things,” said Robinson, who has been helping to coordinate the event. “We’re bringing everybody together so we can share trends and strategies. This way, a campus security officer at Shepherd can talk to one at Bluefield State.”

Robinson acknowledged that basic educational tactics alone do not work when trying to convince underage students not to drink.

“We know if you go to them during orientation and say, ‘Here’s a pamphlet with some rules,’ there’s no lasting effect. It has to be comprehensive. It’s only effective if you have other programs.”

WVU has a three strikes rule that requires a student with that many alcohol-related incidents to be kicked out of the dormitories. At Fairmont State, Gockley said, officials have more discretion to decide how to deal with a student caught with alcohol.

“We understand that people are human,” he said. “There may be minor violations that might not warrant being removed from housing, so we’re trying to find an appropriate balance between protecting their rights and the communities not to have to live with the individuals violating policy.”

Fairmont State students who do receive a sanction have to complete a six-hour drug and alcohol awareness session, usually held one-on-one between the student and a counselor, Stevens said.

“We look at educating them about their own drinking history — the reasons they are drinking and the consequences of their drinking,” said Stevens, who also holds an alcohol awareness week in October that includes fun events such as a non-alcoholic drink mix-off as well as more somber lectures from correctional facility inmates.

“We’re just trying to help them decide to make better choices and better decisions.”

Times West Virginian

Alcohol problem areas in the bush

When it comes to liking their alcohol, males living in the bush top the list.

New figures contained in the NSW Population Health Survey show almost one in two males living in a rural area consumed more than six drinks on any given day.

More than one men in 10 admitted to downing over 11 alcohol beverages during any one session.

The report showed the biggest concentration of drinkers were found in the State's south, west and on the North Coast.

The areas also accounted for the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and high blood glucose and the worst oral health but, when asked to rate their own health, all but males on the North Coast thought they were in pretty good shape.

The greatest concentration of female drinkers resided in the Hunter-New England area, where just under one in 10 admitted to having had more than seven drinks in one day in the past four weeks.

Women in the bush also tended to drink more than their city counterparts.

Hunter-New England men were shown to be the fittest group of adults in the State, with almost 70 per cent doing the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Women who exercised the most tended to live in northern Sydney.

Sunday Telegraph

Drinking solution not age

No sane or sober person wants a bunch of young people stumbling -- or God forbid, driving -- through their teens and early 20s in a drunken haze. Obviously, the more we can do to cut down on dangerous drinking, the better.

But raising the legal drinking age won't help.

On Thursday, the Middlesex-London health board proposed six measures to reduce alcohol-related deaths and injuries, including raising the legal drinking age to 21 from 19.

The idea, which will be submitted to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies in June, is well-intentioned. But it might just make things worse.

London police Chief Murray Faulkner has reservations.

On the one hand, Faulkner agrees reducing the legal age "might" reduce the number of drinking-and-driving fatalities among young people.

And he concedes reducing the legal drinking age "might" cut down the early-morning closing-time antics police often contend with downtown. It's even possible, he says, that a 21 year-old will behave more maturely than a 19-year-old.

But Faulkner says he definitely doesn't think raising the legal drinking age will help solve the problems surrounding rowdy parties at student housing. "The real issue here is not the age. I'm in favour of raising the drinking age, but that doesn't get to the root of the problem . . . In my view, the problem is our whole puritanical view of alcohol, and how it's consumed and where it's consumed."

An American specialist agrees.

Barrett Seaman, a longtime reporter and editor at Time magazine, has written a book called Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You.

In the book, Seaman concludes it would actually be better to lower the legal drinking age.

"Lowering the drinking age is a solution," says Seaman, reached at his home in Westchester, N.Y. "Keeping the drinking age at 21 (as it is now in the U.S.) is a mistake."

Seaman spent two years investigating a dozen U.S. colleges, and discovered big differences between drinking behaviour there and at McGill University in Montreal, where the legal drinking age is 18.

"The students at McGill were much saner and much more civilized in their drinking behaviour than their American counterparts," says Seaman.

"And my conclusion is that's because it's not the forbidden fruit we've made it here in the States."

Seaman argues that barring 18-to-20-year-olds from drinking in bars does nothing but isolate and drive them underground.

"I think the separation of adults from young people at a time when you know they're going to be experimenting with alcohol is the wrong step to make," he says.

"I think you need adults around to say, 'Hey, I think you've had enough.'

"Or to just see somebody have two drinks and stop, which these kids never see because they're in their closets and off-campus apartments doing shots of vodka and tequila."

Seaman says that when the legal drinking age was raised in 1984 in the U.S., there was an initial decrease in alcohol-related fatalities involving young people, but those numbers have since increased.

And he argues the fewer fatalities may have had more to do with other factors, including safer cars and roads, than the older drinking age.

The idea, of course, is to show young people that alcohol can be enjoyed and integrated into everyday life, but not abused.

Indeed, a landmark study by Harvard University professor George Vaillant in 1983 found that men who grew up in families where alcohol was forbidden at dinner but consumed away from home were seven times more likely to be alcoholics than men raised in families where wine was tolerated, but drunkenness was not.

So instead of trying to ban booze a few more years, maybe we need to expose our young people to it earlier, and in a more regular and responsible way.

It's legal, too: Many people don't realize the Liquor Act allows parents to supply liquor to people under 19 in their own home.

So instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to prohibit it, maybe we should periodically provide our young people with a glass of wine at dinner -- and a real-life model of moderate consumption.

London Free Press

Ministers back move to slash drink-drive limit

Demands for the drink-drive limit to be dramatically lowered in a bid to cut the carnage on Britain's roads have taken a major step forward.

A small glass of wine or a single pint of beer could be enough to put motorists over the limit under new Government proposals.

Road safety experts say slashing the drink-drive limit will save up to 65 lives a year.

The crackdown, which has won support from ministers, could see up to 200,000 drivers a year losing their licences – double the present number.

The move comes after the SNP administration put pressure on Westminster to reduce the limit – as only MPs have to the power to change the law on this issue.

Last year Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny McAskill met Westminster Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in a bid to convince her that change was needed.

Ministers in London are now said to be "minded" to cut the limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg – the legal maximum found in most of the rest of Europe – and such a move could come in within 18 months.

Lowering the limit would be accompanied by increased enforcement with police likely to be given wider powers to introduce random breath-testing

Ministers are considering three options for penalising drivers who are caught between the proposed 50mg limit and the existing 80mg.

These are to: keep the existing penalty of a ban, a maximum six months imprisonment and £5,000 fine; introduce automatic participation in a drink-driver rehabilitation programme; or imposing six penalty points for a five-year period on first time offenders, followed by automatic disqualification for a second offence. This has been dubbed a "two strikes and you're out" option.

Ministers believe growing concern about binge drinking means the climate is now right to lower the limit.

They have been stung by criticism that they are failing to get to grips with the drink-drive problem because there are too few traffic police to enforce the law – and an over-reliance on technology such as speed cameras which cannot catch such offenders.

Rob Gifford, of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety, said: "There was a move a decade ago in 1998 to lower the limit but it foundered because of pressure from rural pubs and motorists who wanted a pint or two.

"But the climate has changed because of growing concern over binge drinking and its health impact.

"The mood is now more conducive to lowering the limit, which has widespread support.

"Lowering the limit may not affect those who are two or three times over the limit, but it will have a sobering effect on those at or just over the current limit."

Adrian Tink, of the RAC, said: "The RAC absolutely backs moving the drink-drive limit in the UK from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood.

"W
hen 14,350 casualties, and over 500 deaths, were caused by drink driving in 2006 alone, there is no reason why the Government won't bring the limit in line with the rest of Europe."

He added: "There also needs to be stronger penalties for convicted drink-drivers to act as a deterrent. Motorists want the roads to be safer and they want to feel like the Government is taking drink-driving seriously."

Cathy Keeler, of road safety charity Brake, said: "Current traffic policing levels are still disgracefully low. Improved enforcement can only be truly effective in tandem with a lower drink-drive limit."

Ministers will consult on the measures after the May local government elections in England.

Whitehall sources said that the limit could be lowered within 18 months because it does not require primary legislation, but could be done by means of a simple Government regulation.

Scotsman

A Different Kind of Student Exam

Jim, a Darien High School junior, does not go to school dances anymore. The 16-year-old is boycotting them because to get in, he has to take a test that he thinks is unfair: Before he and classmates are allowed to enter a dance, they are asked to breathe into a device to determine whether they have consumed alcohol.

One of the Breathalyzers used.

Darien is one of many schools across the state that requires students to submit to a Breathalyzer test to gain entrance. School officials say the test is a fair way to ensure the safety of all students and send a clear message of zero tolerance for underage drinking.

But Mr. Hennessy and some other students see it as a violation of privacy. “I think they are completely ridiculous and a breach of personal freedom,” he said. “What you do off school grounds should be your own business.”

In Simsbury and other districts like Southington and Clinton, students are tested not only at school parties, but also during the school day if they are suspected of drinking. The Breathalyzer, a small hand-held device, is the latest weapon in the arsenal that school officials, with the backing of concerned parents, are using to curb underage drinking.

Some schools are searching purses and bags at the door for alcohol, or prohibiting students from carrying any bags into a dance. Many schools are offering alcohol-free graduation parties and after-parties for proms to help curb drinking after major school functions.

Districts are working with parents who are willing to sign contracts that their homes are alcohol-free zones during student parties or at gatherings before or after school events. School athletes who get caught drinking or appear in pictures on Web sites like MySpace.com drinking are being disciplined and could be suspended from playing sports under new policies at many districts.

In a Connecticut School Health Survey in 2005, more than half of 12th graders, or 59 percent, said they had used alcohol during the month, along with 48 percent of 11th graders, 42 percent of 10th graders and 35 percent of 9th graders.

Over all, 45 percent of high school students surveyed said they had used alcohol, compared with 43 percent nationwide, according to the study, conducted by the State Department of Health with help from the Department of Education.

Nationally, experts say there has been progress in reducing drinking, with 26 percent of 12th graders reporting binge drinking in 2007, down from 30 percent in 2000. And school and health officials say Breathalyzer tests are one way to help reduce alcohol usage among students.

Craig Turner, vice chairman of the Connecticut Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking, said the increased testing in schools is an outgrowth of a state crackdown on underage drinking: In 2006, Connecticut enacted legislation that fined anyone providing alcohol to minors.

“Schools recognize that there is pressure on kids to drink to conform and to be accepted by the group, and they are working to set a standard that it won’t be allowed,” Mr. Turner said.

Administrators at some high schools using the tests said the incidence of drinking at dances prompted them to administer Breathalyzer tests to all students. By doing so, school officials said, they cannot be criticized for singling anyone out.

Simsbury High School purchased Breathalyzer equipment in 2006 and required students suspected by administrators of drinking at the senior prom to be tested. Twenty-one students were found to have been drinking and were suspended from school and the graduation ceremony that year, Neil Sullivan, Simsbury’s principal, said.

“It was very painful for the community,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We were calling into question whether we could even keep holding the dances.”

After consulting with parents, teachers and the School Board, Mr. Sullivan said, the school district decided to enact a new policy to test all students for alcohol before entering dances.

Simsbury now has six Breathalyzer kits, which cost a total of about $300, to test students at every dance this year.

“From my point of view, it has been a successful initiative because we have not had an episode of student drinking since we started,” Mr. Sullivan said.

Darien High School’s principal, Dan Haron, said his district also decided to administer the Breathalyzer tests to all students this year because of problems with alcohol at previous dances.

“We had a few unfortunate incidents at the prom last year where students had clearly been drinking prior to coming, and we wanted to make sure to discourage that behavior,” Mr. Haron said. “Our main goal is to make sure students are safe and, once they are at the dance, have fun in a wholesome way.”

By mandating that all students attending a dance take the test, the school can avoid criticism, which it faced in the past, that educators are unfairly picking on certain students, school officials said.

Mr. Haron acknowledged that many upperclassmen are not happy with the new policy and that attendance at dances has dropped.

“If there is a negative aspect, then it is that we’ve seen far fewer seniors at school dances than in previous years,” he said.

Mr. Haron also said that other schools testing students reported similar declines at dances, but he added that as students became more used to the testing, he hoped attendance would increase.

Lindsay Gordon, 17, a senior at Darien High, said some students skip the dances and drink at private parties instead.

“If kids want to drink, they will drink,” said Ms. Gordon, who is editor of the student newspaper. “They will just go to another party rather than the dance.”

Charlotte Myers, a junior at the high school, said the policy was not a deterrent. “I think it makes kids turn to other substances,” she said.

Margaret Burch, 18, a senior at New Canaan High School, which also requires students to take a Breathalyzer test before entering a school dance, said the testing makes students feel awkward.

“Here you are, all dressed up and ready, and then the principal is sticking a thing in your mouth and it gets everyone angry,” said Ms. Burch. “You just get annoyed, like why can’t they trust us.”

Some students, however, said the testing helped reduce peer pressure to drink.

“It gives kids a chance and a reason to say no; it’s a good excuse,” said McKay Potter, 18, the senior class president at Darien High school.

Many parents have welcomed the school policies.

Dr. Sandy Gordon, an emergency room physician and the father of Lindsay Gordon, the Darien High School senior, said he was grateful that the school was taking steps to ensure students’ health.

“As an emergency room doc, I’ve seen lots of teens with alcohol poisoning,” he said. “This is another level of trying to ensure our children are safe.”

Captain Fred Komm of the Darien Police Department, who oversees an underage-drinking-tips hot line in town, said schools could be held liable if students left a dance intoxicated and got into driving accidents. He said the Breathalyzer tests were helpful as part of an overall community approach to prevent underage drinking.

“It’s a positive step.” Captain Komm said. “It’s not overly intrusive.”

School officials said they realized that the tests were not going to stop all underage drinking and that they would also continue to rely on alcohol and drug education programs to inform students of the dangers.

“It doesn’t solve the problem of teenage drinking,” said Jack Sennott, chairman of the Simsbury Board of Education. “But it solves the problem of teenage drinking at school dances.”

New York Times

Toll of teenage drinking revealed

Preventing access to drink is said to be an "ongoing challenge"

Teenagers are drinking an average of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year each, a study suggests.

Almost 10,000 15-to-16-year-olds in the North West of England were questioned as part of the study into underage drinking and violence.

The report, produced by Liverpool John Moores University, found as many as 40% of teenagers in poor areas binge drink.

Recent high-profile murders in the region were carried out by teenagers who had been drinking heavily.

On Thursday, Brendan Harris, 15, was convicted of murdering 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster in a Lancashire park after drinking two litres of cider, peach schnapps and lager.

In February, three teenagers were jailed for life for murdering Garry Newlove, 47, from Warrington, in an act that the judge described as "drunken aggression" carried out for entertainment.

The latest report into teenage drinking was produced by the university's Centre for Public Health in conjunction with the Home Office and Trading Standards North West.

Researchers also estimate that of 190,000 15-to-16-year-olds in England, 57,000 binge by drinking five or more drinks in one session.

Just under half of those surveyed drank at least once a week, with 40% of girls and 42% of boys later involved in violence.

The report also found that poor children were 45% more likely to be violent after drinking than children in affluent areas.

'Ongoing challenge'

Professor Mark Bellis, co-author of the report, said: "These figures highlight the sheer quantity of alcohol being consumed by under-age drinkers across the North West.

"Sadly, there is still practically no information publicly available on what is a safe amount of alcohol for children to consume or on how parents can best moderate their children's drinking.

"Without a clear message that under-age drunkenness will not be tolerated, we will continue to see the high levels of alcohol bingeing and related violence identified in this study."

Dominic Harrison, deputy regional director of public health in North West, said the research confirmed the "almost daily experience" of people who saw the rising problem of young, drunk people across the region.

"The principal cause of the increased risk is lower prices and increased availability, but culture and the increasing social tolerance of drunken behaviour is also a factor," he said.

More than a third of the teenagers questioned admitted buying their own alcohol - described as an "ongoing challenge" for trading standards officers.

Education vital

North West officer Richard Lindley said: "Under-18s continue to obtain alcohol by asking strangers outside shops and also friends who either look, or are over 18, to buy for them.

"These purchasers need to be aware they are fuelling problems in our communities and committing criminal offences themselves for which they can face police fines."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Tackling the culture of harmful and binge drinking is a priority for Government and we are working with the alcohol industry and other stakeholders to implement a comprehensive strategy to tackle it.

"These include a new public information campaign, an independent review of alcohol pricing and promotion, toughened enforcement of underage sales and more help for people who want to drink less.

"Alcohol education continues to be a vital element of our approach.

"Our guidance to schools is clear that pupils' education about alcohol and its effects should start in primary school, before drinking patterns become established and should be revisited as pupils' understanding and experience increases."

BBC News

Groups discuss problem of underage drinking in Partners in Prevention forum

Because the brain continues to develop until age 25, the effects of underage drinking can be severely damaging, Lorri Essary with the East Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse said Thursday night.

Essary was one of several speakers, including youth, who talked to the community at an underage drinking prevention forum at Maude Cobb Activity Center. The forum was held by Partners in Prevention's Action Committee Against Underage Drinking and Youth Action Committee.

"Underage drinking is not just a problem in Longview," said Holly Fuller with Partners in Prevention. "It's a problem across the country."

To educate the community on the effects of underage drinking, 1,602 forums will be held across the country this week and the next, she said.

"There are so many choices out there for teens. We want to educate them and the community. You have to make a better choice for yourself," said Kim Higgins, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving program specialist.

Using research from Paul Thompson, a professor in the department of neurology and biomedical engineering at UCLA, Essary talked about brain development.

The brain is divided into four regions called lobes. The frontal lobe - the area of the brain that controls thinking, reasoning and judgment - might not be fully developed until the mid-20s, Essary said.

"What we do can really have an incredible impact during that time," she said.

Because a teenage brain still is developing the areas of judgment, planning and impulse control, teens tend to be more willing to take risks especially concerning alcohol, Essary said.

"This can have a critical impact," she said. "This is the time when the brain is extremely vulnerable."

Peak points of brain development and activity occur during the first year of life, when a child first starts school, and during the teenage years from 15-17, she said.

Debbie Barnes, also with ETCADA, said the teenage brain has not developed all of its sensory points that would help control excessive drinking, such as sleepiness as a sign of too much alcohol consumption.

"If their focus is drinking and the use of alcohol, and they don't get sleepy, they may continue to drink alcohol," Barnes said.

The legal blood alcohol concentration in Texas is .08 percent. A blood alcohol concentration of .65 percent can result in death, Essary said.

"Teens can die because their brain does not say warning, warning, overload," Essary said.

She added that processing time and thinking are delayed by alcohol.

Binge drinking — consuming a large amount of alcoholic beverages in a single session — is too common among teens, she said. The effects of one day of binge drinking can last two to three weeks.

Binge drinking is defined as five drinks for a man and four drinks for a woman.

"Alcohol can have a serious impact on someone's future," Essary said. "People who are drinking by the age of 18 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent."

In a debate, high school student Tanreka Smith said living in a passive society is a cause of teenage drinking.

"People are a product of their society," Smith said. "Many people are turning their back on children who are consuming alcohol."

Smith said that sometimes parents think it is OK for their children to drink as long as a parent is watching.

"A passive society is a cause of teen drinking," Smith said. "Peer pressure also oftentimes in our society goes unchecked. We pressure each other into doing things. America is on the decline into moral decay."

Fuller encouraged parents to help their children stay safe.

"As adults we have a responsibility and really a great power in our hands to change this," she said.

News Journal

Parental involvement is vital in combating teen alcohol use

In 2007, nine kids died in alcohol-related car crashes in South Dakota, a statistic only softened by the fact that it was an improvement over 2006, when the number was 13.

Community leaders gathered to discuss the problem at a poorly-attended town hall meeting on teen drinking Thursday at Pathway in Mitchell.

Smith said Davison County has “run the gamut” on its responses to underage drinking. He outlined the differences between the more punitive adult criminal court response to drunk driving and juvenile court’s efforts to turn kids around.

When the juvenile courts deal with kids they consider more than punishment, Smith said.

“It’s more about how can we help this young man or lady to see things differently,” he said. Such programs are often more strenuous than those faced by adult DUI offenders.

Nevertheless, DUI’s continue to be a problem, said Smith, who believes the relative effectiveness of a program has little to do with its consequences.

“I think it’s the (steps) that are taken before tickets are written that are making the difference,” he said, stressing the importance of parental involvement.

Oetken agreed and said studies have shown that kids whose parents model moderate and responsible use of alcohol have fewer drinking issues than children who come from a home where alcohol is modeled in extremes — that is, parents who drink no alcohol and parents who exhibit alcoholic behavior, respectively.

There needs to be more education for teens on the physically damaging effects of alcohol on a child’s physical and mental development, said Oetken.

Overweg said it takes time to turn around community attitudes about the importance of enforcement efforts, but he believes those efforts are paying off. He said there were 171 citations issued in 2007 by Mitchell police for underage drinking, a number down from 253 in 2005.

Majeres said the VOA’s “Parents First” program proved effective in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties in the past year and the program will be expanding statewide this Monday.

“If a parent can’t handle their child’s alcohol problem alone, they have to know there are others out there to help them,” he said. “That’s how a community can grab hold of its alcohol program.”

Mothers and fathers, said Majeres, have to be role models for their children and lead by example.

“We targeted parents and grandparents with the program and we found kids were paying attention as well,” he said.

Research shows that kids whose parents are involved in their lives are less likely to develop drinking issues, he said.

Daily Republic

Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals

Up to a third of teenagers regularly binge drink, according to a new survey

Youngsters aged 15 and 16 are each drinking the equivalent of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year, research suggests.

Up to a third are regular binge drinkers, downing five drinks or more at a time according to the survey.

Almost 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds in the North-West of England were questioned for the report.

Professor Mark Bellis, its coauthor, accepted the region probably suffers from a bigger alcohol problem than many other parts of the UK.

But he said all regions now contain areas where youngsters are drinking too much.

An alarming 84 per cent of those surveyed were consuming alcohol, often in public places such as bars, clubs, streets and parks.

Of these, 30 per cent were downing five drinks or more during sessions that occur at least once a week - the definition of binge drinking.

Professor Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health, said: "These figures highlight the sheer quantity of alcohol being consumed by underage drinkers across the North-West.

"Sadly, there is still practically no information publicly available on what is a safe amount of alcohol for children to consume or on how parents can best moderate their children's drinking.

"Without a clear message that underage drunkenness will not be tolerated, we will continue to see the high levels of alcohol bingeing and related violence identified in this study.

"All too often such bingeing and violence not only damages children's lives but also results in whole communities feeling threatened by gangs of drunk teenagers."

The study was carried out by Liverpool John Moores University, Trading Standards North-West and the Home Office (North-West).

Across the region, just under half of 15 and 16-year- olds surveyed drank at least once a week.

Of these, 40 per cent of females and 42 per cent of males had been involved in violence following drinking.

The report "conservatively estimates that 15-16-year-olds-in the North-West drink around 84million units of alcohol a year in total.

It says: "This is equivalent to 44 bottles of wine (or 177 pints of beer) per year for every 15 and 16-year-old in the region, or 67 bottles of wine (269 pints of beer) per year for each 15 and 16-year-old who drinks at least once a month."

More than a third of those surveyed admitted buying their own alcohol.

Daily Mail

Projector tours towns to tackle binge drinking

Drink awareness campaigners found a novel way of getting the message of 'knowing your limits' across to revellers in Weston over the Easter weekend.

A team carrying projectors broadcast video onto walls of pubs and clubs in the town in a bid to tackle binge drinking and crime.

Two large projectors roamed the town centre on Friday and Saturday evening, playing messages on safe and sensible drinking. Messages were also Bluetoothed to mobile phones in the area, which had the video sharing application switched on.

The 'Know Your Limits' campaign was aimed at 18-24 year olds during the four-day weekend.

Weston's Chief Inspector Nick Walker said: "This is a very exciting campaign and we are delighted to be trialling it in Weston. This campaign is not about not drinking at all, but about being aware of the possible consequences of drinking excessively.

"We want people to have a good time without ending up in trouble."

Central Weston has the largest proportion of violent offences in North Somerset and 58 per cent of the incidents in the town are concentrated in five areas: Richmond Street, Beach Road, Regent Street, Alexandra Parade and St James Street.

The Know Your Limits campaign was run to support other night-time helpers in Weston including the street marshals, the Street Safe Bus and the 'Who's your Mate?' campaign, which is launching on Saturday in the Winter Gardens.

A contest will be held at H20 at 7pm to find the best non-alcoholic cocktail in North Somerset. The campaign, which was designed by a group of young Weston clubbers, aims to encourage people to have a safe night out and look out for friends during the evening.

Factbox

* Six in 10 crimes in Weston is associated with the night-time economy, with nearly half being 'violence against a person'.

* Weston is one of four towns to pilot an alcohol awareness activity programme as part of the Know Your Limits campaign. The other three are Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Preston.

* One in three town and city centre arrests involve alcohol.

* A third of men and a quarter of women aged 16-24 drink double the recommended alcohol limit, compared to 18 per cent of men aged 45-64.

* The recommended daily limit of alcohol for women is two or three units and for men it is three or four units.

* 24 per cent of women aged 16-24 say they drink heavily at least one day a week.

* Being arrested for being drunk and disorderly can result in an £80 fine.

Weston Mercury

Battling binge drinking

Just about anyone working with young people is required to have a current First Aid Certificate.

But Nicqui Yazdi is working on the front line of a new initiative that in years to come might become more important.

Nicqui teaches Mental Health First Aid and says the course has been designed to become a prerequisite for anyone working with youth, as well as teachers, police, aged-care workers and any public sector staff who regularly see people suffering mental health disorders.

"It is the aid given first in a mental health situation," she said.

"What I give is information about information, what is out there, how to access services, the types of psychiatric treatment available and what works for specific disorders.

You can't just get a medication for most alcohol related illnesses, you need psychiatric intervention."

Nicqui is also a mother of two girls, aged 12 and 22, and is involved with a group of Byron Shire residents trying to find strategies to deal with the problem of teenage binge drinking.

"There is a unit (in the course) dedicated to drugs and alcohol - why people turn to drugs and alcohol, what help is out there, what effects it can have and if it helps people recognise what is going on."

The Mental Health First Aid course was designed in Australia by Dr Tony Jorm and Betty Kitchener and is now being exported to the world.

Nicqui said while peer pressure was a huge factor in a lot of teenage drinking, there were a lot of young people drinking at home alone.

"If they're suffering from depression or anxiety, often they turn to drinking as a way to combat their mental health problems and end up with a compound problem."

One in five Australians will suffer from a mental health disorder this year, and Nicqui said they are predominantly drug and alcohol related.

"Depression is a huge one related to the heavy consumption of alcohol. You feel ill because you have a hangover, but often people feel depressed because it affects serotonin levels."

Nicqui said doctors are seeing more teenagers with conditions such as Korsakoff Syndrome, a brain disorder usually associated with long term or heavy drinking.

"The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for decision making and it's not fully developed until you are about 25. Excessive binge drinking does permanent damage in teenagers before the brain finishes forming."

Nicqui recently wrote an open letter titled 'Rites of Passage - Teenage Binge Drinking, A Right or a Wrong?' In it she says; "We seem to accept that kids have this rite of passage when it comes to drugs and alcohol. In this shire we have kids as young as 10 with serious alcohol problems. We also have a big problem amongst 13-year-old girls who are not only putting their health at risk, through excessive binge-drinking, they are also putting themselves in danger from the predators who are supplying them with alcohol."

Nicqui says talking to teenagers is the best way to help them.

"If parents of teenagers learn how to talk and listen in a non judgemental way, they are more likely to tell us about problems, let us help them, or get help for them. It's important to listen and get rid of the stigma that surrounds drug and alcohol issues."

Lismore Northern Star

Alcohol the real problem: students

Illawarra educators have backed a new report dismissing mandatory drug testing of Australian high school students.

The expert report, to be officially released today by the Federal Government's peak advisory body on drug policy, found that not only would testing be costly and ineffectual, it would create a culture of mistrust between students and schools.

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) estimated it would cost at least $355 million to conduct just one saliva test each year per student or $302 million to conduct just one urine test in Australian high schools.

The ANCD report, compiled by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, was commissioned following calls from community organisations to introduce mandatory drug testing in schools.

However, the report found levels of illicit drug use among school students has been in steady decline for the past decade, with less than 4 per cent of school students regularly using cannabis and less than 1 per cent using other illicit drugs.

ANCD executive director Gino Vumbaca said drug testing in schools was not the right way forward.

"It wouldn't be reliable, it would be very costly and it's ineffective and it could also lead to a number of negative, unintended consequences."

Kanahooka High School principal Peter Jones agreed with the report's findings and said the school had experienced a distinct drop in the use of illicit drugs in the past five years.

"Mandatory testing is not the way to go - all the research is showing us that the key to making a difference is the relationship between students and educators," Mr Jones said.

"That is very important for many of our students who come to school because they experience a feeling of safety that they don't necessarily get out in the community."

Alcohol has emerged as the biggest problem facing young people, with the report showing that one in five school-age children regularly binge drink to harmful levels.

Mr Jones would like to see the money required to implement a national drug testing scheme spent on training more school counsellors and drug education programs.

"I would like to see it redirected into helping students make informed choices and developing positive relationships between parents, students and schools," he said.

Kanahooka High School Year 11 students, Chris Wilkinson and Jessica Howchin, disagreed with mandatory drug testing in schools.

"I think it is an invasion - teachers have no control over what you do on the weekend," Jessica said.

Both students agreed that alcohol abuse was more of a problem than drug use.

"Alcohol is much easier to get," Jessica said.

Chris believed illicit drug use was not an issue at his school, but said alcohol use was.

Both students said existing drug education programs provided students with enough information to make their own choices.

An education department spokesperson said it did not support drug testing of students as there was no evidence to suggest drug detection and screening measures in schools impacts on student drug use.

Illawarra Mercury

Breath-testing for young drinkers

Under-age drinkers in the streets and parks in Colwyn Bay could be tested by police armed with breathalyser kits.

The pilot scheme in north Wales will see also officers using test strips to see if drinks have alcohol in them.

Any teenagers who fail the test - or who have alcohol on them - will be taken home under the scheme.

A similar project targeting young drinkers took place in Wrexham last summer as part of a UK government drive to reduce binge drinking.

A Home Office spokesman said the department would monitor the success of the scheme.

"The government is committed to tackling crime and disorder associated with binge-drinking and any measures which aim to reduce crime and disorder are to be encouraged," she said.

"Police and local authorities already have a wide range of tools to tackle alcohol-related disorder following a number of recent initiatives and we will be keeping a watching brief on the results of this pilot."

The scheme in north Wales follows an announcement of £875,000 of funding to tackle under-age drinking.

Last month, officers in North Wales staged a 16-day operation confiscating alcohol from teenagers.

Drink including 14 litres of cider and 55 cans of lager was seized.

According to official figures, 65 under-12s were treated for alcohol misuse in 2006/07.

BBC News

Russia to Face Alcoholic Catastrophe

The problem can be curbed only if the population’s mentality is changed.

“For the last years the Russians have been drinking much more than in the soviet period,” medical workers said at a press conference in the Open Institute of Public Health. The doctors consider that country is moving towards alcoholic catastrophe. Specialists are sure that it’s impossible to solve a problem only by reducing alcohol sales. The problem can be curbed only if the population’s mentality is changed.

The Noviye Izvestiya newspaper reports according to a report of the World Health Care Organization the annual consumption of alcohol in Russia accounts for 15.2 litres per capita. The statistics takes into account all citizens including children and disabled old men.

“According to our estimates the annual consumption of alcohol approaches to 18 litres per capita, - a psychiatrist of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry Alexander Nemtsov says. – People in Russia never drunk so much. For comparison – alcohol consumption in XIXth century was about 2-4 litres per year. The index stayed at this level till 1955 when growth of alcohol consumption started. As a result we came to the Perestroika anti-alcohol campaign with the index at 14 litres per year.”

Now economists and doctors are elaborating absolutely new ways of solving the alcohol problem. They stress that besides new strict measures we should isolate children from alcohol consumption. Numerous researches proved that later consumption of alcohol reduces future problems related to alcohol abuse.

Vostok Media

Police B-Test Yobs On Street

Drunken teenagers face being breathalysed on street corners in the most radical police clampdown yet on Britain’s binge-drinking yob culture.

If they fail the breath test they will be marched home by officers and their parents will be quizzed.

The move follows concerns by police forces, youth workers and MPs that teenagers are routinely getting drunk on cheap alcohol and harassing or attacking people, while their parents do not appear to care where they are or what they are doing.

In some cases, the binge-drinking scourge involves children as young as seven.

A pilot scheme is to get under way soon in one area where the crisis is at its worst.

But other forces will be watching closely.

If it is successful, the scheme could soon be rolled out across the rest of Britain. Last night news of the scheme, in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, was welcomed by a wide cross-section of MPs.

The Tory MP for Monmouth David Davies – who also deals with under-age drinking first-hand as a special police constable in London – described the idea as “brilliant”.

He said: “I often have to confiscate alcohol from kids standing around street corners drinking in London.

“I think it is great that police will be given the power to tackle the issue with parents. Imagine their shock when the police car pulls up in front of the family home.

“Obviously one of the problems with under-age drinking is that parents are complicit in it, sometimes even supplying their children.

“Sadly, some parents will not be bothered because they don’t care.”

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said: “This sounds like a sensible idea to get parents to take more responsibility for the behaviour of their children.

“The involvement of parents and communities in combating drunkenness and anti-social behaviour on our streets is far more important than any Government announcements.”

David Davis, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Technology clearly has a role to play but it is no substitute for the enforcement of the law or a commitment to tackle the causes of under-age drinking in the first place.”

Last night Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was committed to ending the scourge of under-age drinking on Britain’s streets.

She added: “Police must have all the powers they need to make groups of young people drinking in public places a thing of the past.”

East Conwy police inspector Jane Banham, who is behind the plan, explained: “Any young people who fail the breath tests will be taken home to their parents. We are targeting teen-drinking hotspots.”

The move follows growing outrage over under-age binge-drinking, which came to a head last August with the horrific murder of father-of-three Garry Newlove, 47.

He was battered to death in front of his family by a gang of drunken teenagers outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire.

Adam Swellings, 19, Stephen Sorton, 17, and Jordan Cunliffe, 16, had drunk vast quantities of Stella Artois lager and strong cider before kicking the sales manager to death. They were given life sentences at Chester Crown Court in January.

After Mr Newlove’s death, Cheshire Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy slammed parents for not controlling their children. Furious Mr Fahy said: “This should be a child protection issue and dealt with as part of care proceedings.

“That’s the bit the criminal justice system struggles with. When you’ve got a parent who just doesn’t care, what do you do?’’

He also called for the drinking age limit to be raised to 21.

Police across the country have reported a big rise in alcohol-related attacks and harassment, with drink-fuelled incidents up by 50 per cent in cities like Manchester. Colwyn Bay’s county Conwy and neighbouring Denbighshire were among the 10 worst counties in the UK.

On average, almost 650 in every 100,000 people there seek help for problems with alcohol – 100 times more than the Welsh average.

In the past year alone, 40 under-16s have been treated for alcohol-related illnesses at the Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Problems with street drinking have already led to alcohol bans in towns from Holyhead to Flint.

Holyhead youth leader Jeff Evans said: “I’m totally in favour of anything that helps police ensure that young people behave in an acceptable way.”

Daily Express

Q&A: Alcohol and pregnancy

Health experts have toughened up their advice to women, warning them that they should not drink at all during pregnancy.

What is the latest guidance?

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is advising that women should not drink alcohol at all during pregnancy - and that it is particularly important not to drink in the first three months.

It says that if women feel they cannot face a teetotal pregnancy, then they should limit their alcohol intake after three months to one or two units once or twice a week.

Binge drinking - defined as more than 7.5 units of alcohol in a single session - is an absolute no-no.

The guidance, which covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, brings NICE into line with the government in England.

Previously, draft NICE guidance had suggested that pregnant women keep their alcohol intake down to one unit of alcohol a day.

What impact does alcohol have on the unborn baby?

Alcohol can cross from the mother's blood via the placenta to the baby's circulation.

It is well established that heavy drinking during pregnancy can affect the development of the foetus.

The first three months, or first trimester, of pregnancy is particularly key, as this is the time when the organs and nervous system are rapidly developing.

Heavy alcohol consumption during the more advanced stages of pregnancy can also stymie general growth.

In particularly serious cases heavy drinking can lead to a condition known as foetal alcohol syndrome.

This a name given to a set of symptoms which can include facial abnormalities, such as small heads and widely spaced eyes, poor growth, impaired learning and memory skills and behavioural problems such as hyperactivity.

The National Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome estimates more than 6,000 UK children are born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder each year.

Heavy drinking also significantly raises the risk of a miscarriage.

What about more moderate alcohol consumption?

Science has yet to pin down the exact impact of low levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

There is currently no evidence to suggest that drinking one or two units once or twice a week - or indeed moderate drinking at slightly higher levels - has any negative impact on the developing foetus.

However, doctors stress that just because the hard evidence is not there does not mean that low-level drinking is safe.

They advise that the only 100% way to guarantee that a baby will not be affected by alcohol is to avoid it completely.

What about breastfeeding?

Doctors suggest that the occasional drink - again one to two units no more than once or twice a week - probably won't do any harm.

However, more heavy drinking can make breast milk smell different to a baby, potentially disrupting their feeding patterns.

There is also evidence that it can cause problems for a baby's digestion.

Alcohol clears from a mother's milk at the rate of around one unit every two hours. So try to avoid alcohol before breastfeeding, or plan ahead and express milk if you know you will be drinking.

How much is a unit of alcohol?

The measurement of alcohol units was recently revamped to take account of the modern trend for stronger drinks, and bigger glasses.

A half pint of normal beer and a single shot of a spirit is defined as a single unit, while a medium glass of 12.5% table wine is considered to contain two units.

BBC News

Giving children alcohol is as bad as handing out cigarettes, says Roxon

Parents who procure alcohol for underage children should feel the same sense of shame they would if they gave minors cigarettes, the Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, said yesterday.

As the Federal Government prepares to take its next wave of anti-binge-drinking measures to a meeting of Commonwealth and state leaders, Ms Roxon said excessive alcohol consumption was not just a regulatory problem.

"This is getting the balance right. It's about what we need to do with our laws and regulations but it's also about what we need to do within the community. This is a social problem, not just a legal problem, and we need to make sure that we are addressing it as such," Ms Roxon said.

The Federal Government will present state leaders with a plan tomorrow to investigate putting graphic warning labels on alcohol containers, introducing national guidelines for the service of alcohol, and having nationally consistent laws covering the penalties for serving alcohol to minors.

Raising the legal drinking age and increasing the tax on alcohol have been ruled out in the immediate future, but Ms Roxon said the measures may be considered if they were backed by the community.

She said adults needed to have a more responsible attitude when it came to buying alcohol for people under the age of 18.

"Parents want to do what's in the best interests of their kids. You wouldn't dream of, as a parent, offering a cigarette to someone else's child … We need to have a very strong community debate still about the way forward because the community has to be part of the solution."

Paul Dillon, from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, said people would not feel comfortable with graphic images on alcohol bottles.

"I don't think a person sitting down having a meal at a restaurant would like to see a rotting liver on the side of their bottle of red," Mr Dillon said.

He said information labels on alcohol packaging would be more effective than pictures.

The Government's proposals would also face strong resistance from alcohol companies, he warned.

Sydney Morning Herald

Over 60 and heading for rehab

It is not just the young who are binge drinking. Increasing numbers of older people are becoming alcoholic. And as Kate Hilpern reports, it is not always easy for them to get the help they need

'I have measured out my life with coffee spoons," wrote TS Eliot in his poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. The problem is that for a growing number of people over 60, the coffee spoons are becoming glasses of wine or gin, and the result has been a sharp rise in the number of OAPs whose daily tipple is spiralling out of control.

"We estimate an 18% increase in the number of women over 60, and a 15% increase in the number of men over 60, who have been admitted for rehab in the past two years," says Sue Allchurch, director of the Linwood Group, a chain of alcohol treatment centres in the UK. "Combine boredom, loneliness and the worry of getting older and you have the perfect formula for someone to turn to drinking excessively. Those people with a propensity towards alcoholism, which did not emerge during their working life, can find themselves progressing into dependency very quickly."

"I see it all the time where people measure out their lives by having a drink, then perhaps a meal, then another drink, then a sleep, then another drink and so on," explains Andrew Horne, director of operations for Scotland for the charity Addaction, where the highest number of OAPs in the UK are seeking help for alcoholism.

As people stay fit and healthy for longer, many feel forced to retire before they are ready. Add the fact that families are often scattered across the country and you can see how someone might start off having a pick-me-up G&T at noon, wine with lunch, a medicinal sherry before dinner, more wine with dinner - and before they know it, the drinking starts earlier, the measures get bigger and they are hooked. Some may have the additional triggers of anxiety about ill health and sadness at the loss of friends, relatives and perhaps a partner. "I am seeing people in their 80s becoming alcoholics," says Horne.

Paul Harris, 67, believes the cheapness of alcohol has contributed to his excessive drinking. "I retired too early and live alone, so I got into the habit of going to the pub at lunchtime," he says. "But instead of having one or two pints, I have half a dozen. Then, when I go to the supermarket to get my evening meal, I'm faced with offers such as three bottles of wine for under a tenner and I mean to have only one, but I wind up drinking all of them."

Harris says that he sometimes kids himself that he is OK because he can go on the wagon for short periods - the longest he has managed is two months. "When I don't drink, I start off with this euphoric feeling, but after a few days I get fed up of just listening to the radio and staring at the walls feeling depressed - so I go back to the pub to see my friends. It's all very well for a 30-year-old to make a different life with new friends away from a drinking environment, but at my age I haven't got the energy."

Like many older alcoholics, Harris has sought help. "I've started going to AA meetings, but most people who go are younger and have drug issues as well as alcohol addiction. The specific nature of that dual problem winds up being the focus of the meetings. Younger people also have different patterns of drinking - because many work - as well as different reasons for drinking and different motivations for giving up. My age group can get left out in the cold," he says.

Miriam Palmer, whose 69-year-old mother is an alcoholic, says the same is true of residential rehab. "My mother will periodically go to very exclusive, hugely expensive [rehab] places and comes out promising to go to all the meetings and to take her medication. Within a week, she's usually slipped and I think it's because these places don't realise the very particular challenges this age group are up against."

Horne says that 20 years ago, it would have been almost unheard of for someone approaching 70 to go into residential rehab, but although numbers are now soaring, it seems the alcohol treatment centres have not caught up. Some are even reported to turn older people away because they are ill-equipped to deal with them.

Frank Soodeen, a spokesman for Alcohol Concern, says, "A few years ago, there was a bit of a flurry about this issue and it looked for a moment as if alcohol services for older people would be addressed by the NHS's National Service Framework for Older People. But it's still the case that treatments focusing on the needs of older people are very, very rare." It doesn't help, he adds, that alcohol misuse among older people is a largely neglected area of research in the UK. Without any official figures on the true size of the problem and without any evidence base for professionals on the best course of treatment, the problem gets swept under the carpet.

Age Concern's director general, Gordon Lishman, shares his worries. "Our research shows that problem drinking in this age group is often under-diagnosed despite the fact that numbers of older drinkers have risen substantially in recent years."

Almost certainly this is partly due to the fact that OAPs have a marked tendency to under-report their drinking, often missing out alcoholic drinks that they regard as medicinal. Under-detection can also be down to reduced social contact and is sometimes because symptoms - such as accidents, depression, insomnia, confused states and self-neglect - are associated with the ageing process rather than the whisky bottle.

Alcoholism among OAPs can also get deliberately missed. "I think in a lot of cases relatives through to GPs actually choose to ignore it," says Soodeen. While some people might think "this is all that's left for them, why take it away?" it can also be because doctors hardly ever consider alcohol when assessing patients of this age, he adds.

Alex Edwards, 62, a computer programmer who has managed to stay off the bottle for seven months, says even close friends can turn a blind eye. "I have friends whom I've known for 30 or 40 years and I've noticed most are in denial about my alcoholism. They will offer me a drink, saying, 'Oh are you still not drinking then?'"

Edwards' drinking began after he started socialising at the pub on a regular basis and he found he had no control over it. He is one of the lucky few who has benefited from an age-specific service. "I look forward to my meetings," he says. "It's an anchor and a focal point and I like the eclectic approach that the therapy takes."

Mike Fox runs the older person's service at Casa Alcohol Services in London, which Edwards attends. "I work with anyone over 55, whether they have dementia or mobility issues or anything else linked to ageing. We believe that you have to deal with the whole person to help them get better. We also recognise that the potential triggers for this age group can be quite different from [those for] younger people."

Fox says he works with people with PhDs through to people who live on park benches. "The client group is as varied as it could be," he says, although the little research that is available suggests older married men are least likely to drink heavily, while older widowed or divorced men are among the highest risk group. The reverse is true for women - married women have high levels of consumption, while non-married older women generally show signs of good health. In both sexes, higher levels of drinking appear to be most prevalent among the higher social classes and the most affluent groups.

The health risks of excessive drinking for this age group make uncomfortable reading, with a long list including incontinence, coronary heart disease, strokes, falls and accidents, depression, dementia and self-neglect. Alcohol can even provoke Parkinson's disease among older people and alcohol is implicated in one in three elderly suicides.

Daisy Goodall, 73, who started drinking 15 years ago and is now in residential rehab, is testament to the additional danger of annoying other people. "It began when my husband died. When I had to stop working and move into sheltered accommodation, it got worse. I found things quite boring and I wanted something to cheer me up. But this last year, I got into binge drinking. I'd go seven to 10 days drinking solidly and then stop for a few weeks. That time without it would make me feel I wasn't addicted, but I nearly lost my tenancy when I went back on the bottle, knocking on doors and talking a lot of rubbish. I became known as a 'nuisance neighbour'".

The Guardian

Boozing teen arrests rise

The number of under 18s being arrested for drunken bad behaviour has risen sharply, new figures have revealed.

More than 100 under-18s were arrested in Norfolk for being drunk and disorderly or drunk and incapable in 2007-08, a steep rise from just 19 the year before.

The youngest to be arrested was just 14 and the figures have today led to fresh fears over the teenage drinking problem.

Norfolk police attribute the rise to the harder line they are taking with under-age drinkers, saying communities are telling them they want this strand of anti-social behaviour to be targeted as a priority.

Chief Inspector Stuart Offord, of Norfolk Constabulary, said: "I don't think there has necessarily been more incidents.

"The difference now is that we, as an organisation, are focusing more on anti-social behaviour."

He said the new neighbourhood teams set up by the force were targeting their work on this category of offence, and dealing "firmly and robustly" with under-age drunks.

Whereas previously, drunk teens would have been taken home for their parents to deal with, they are now more likely to have a spell in the company of the police to help them sober up.

Chief Insp Offord added: "We have also got greater powers to deal with drink offences with young people, which have slowly come in over the past four or five years.

"Across all 52 neighbourhoods people have been telling us what problems they want tackled in their areas. The public have told us that they don't want to see young people drinking and causing alarm and offence."

In both 2003-04 and 2004-05, police arrested 30 under-age drinkers because of their bad behaviour. In 2005-06 it rose to 58, before falling to just 19 the year later.

The latest figures, for 2007-08, reveal that 102 children were arrested for drinking offences.

From 2003 until 2008, a total of seven 13-year-olds, 23 14-year-olds, 42 15-year-olds, 67 16-year-olds and 100 17-year-olds were arrested.

Norwich City councillor Antony Little, who is also the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Norwich South, called for more under-18s to be prosecuted for trying to buy alcohol.

He said: "The government's failure to enforce the law sends totally the wrong message about under-age drinking and is adding to public concern about yob behaviour and crime.

"We also need greater social responsibility, and an end to some parents turning a blind eye to their children's drinking."

Evening News 24

Australia to bottle up binge-drinking

Australia's Health Minister Nicola Roxon Monday said the government was considering placing graphic warning labels on alcoholic drinks to combat the nation's urge to drink heavily.

The newly elected Labor government has made fighting binge drinking among young people a priority, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd saying he hoped to "scare the living daylights" out of boozing teenagers.

Roxon said labels, such as those on cigarette packets in Australia which carry photographs of the diseases linked to smoking such as gangrene, were being considered as part of an overall strategy.

"This is getting the balance right, it's about what we need to do with our laws and regulations but it's also about what we need to do within the community," she told reporters in Melbourne.

"This is a social problem not just a legal problem and we need to make sure that we are addressing it as such."

Roxon said new national laws to override inconsistencies in state and territory legislation on the sale of alcohol would also be discussed at a meeting of health officials in the southern city of Adelaide on Wednesday.

The meeting comes amid calls to raise the legal drinking age above 18 and tax hikes on alcohol products to reduce under-age and binge drinking.

Roxon said such measures were not a priority and would only be considered if they had community support.

But she said banning the supply of alcohol to minors unless a parent or guardian was present, a practice which is illegal in some but not all states, was up for debate.

"You wouldn't dream of, as a parent, offering a cigarette to someone else's child," she told reporters.

"We need to say, 'Is that the situation we want to be in for alcohol?' But we need to have a very strong community debate still about the way forward because the community has to be part of the solution."

The Australian National Council on Drugs said drinking was such an ingrained part of national culture, placing warning labels on bottles would need to be supplemented by restrictions on alcohol advertising to have an impact.

While Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia said graphic images could put diners off their food.

"I don't think a person sitting down having a meal at a restaurant would like to see a rotting liver on the side of their bottle of red," he told the national newswire AAP.

But the plan to put off-putting labels on packaging of alcoholic drinks was supported by Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh who said a new approach was needed to address Australia's problems with alcohol.

"There's a lot of people out there, including me, who like a nice glass of wine at the end of the day," she told reporters.

"But I see far too many things come across my desk where the abuse of alcohol has led to totally unacceptable social behaviour (and) tragic deaths on our roads."

Rudd set his government the task of changing Australia's binge-drinking culture which he said in February was "starting to get somewhat out of hand".

"I am concerned about what I describe as an epidemic of binge drinking across the country," he said at the time. "I think it's not good."

Alcohol is seen as the second biggest contributor to the country's chronic disease burden after smoking and is estimated to cost the community in excess of 15 billion dollars (13.4 billion US) each year.

AFP

Britons can't imagine a life without booze

Most people in Britain do not believe they could lead their lives enjoyably or successfully without alcohol - but don't consider this to be a problem either, according to new research.

The fear of a life without alcohol is so endemic that most adults say they are scared by the idea of socialising, relaxing, taking part in any celebration or trying to have a good night's sleep without drinking.

'These people are not alcohol-dependent in the normal understanding of the word - they do not get drunk or exceed the limit,' said Sue Allchurch, project director at the Linwood Group, one of Britain's leading alcohol treatment chains. 'But drinking has become so commonplace in our society that even those who are not physically addicted are mentally dependent on alcohol and horrified by the thought of not drinking.'

New research by Alcohol Concern differentiates between the reasons why men and women develop a reliance on alcohol. Male drinking is, they found, a product of Western cultural values. 'In societies where most people drink, it is especially difficult for men to be abstainers because it is an image linked to being weak,' said Frank Soodeen of Alcohol Concern. 'Alcohol has economic and symbolic value. It functions as a symbol of earning power and social exchange and is significant as an expression of gender identity and position within society, peer groups and families.'

Women, however, are more responsive to the emotional contexts in which they drink, the research found, using alcohol to cope with the demands of parenthood, to match their partner's drinking habits or to deal with the stress of having to balance home obligations with a career.

The research by Linwood found almost 70 per cent of patients were unable to imagine having a good time without alcohol. Surprisingly, the figure was as high among relatives of clients. 'They said they do not consider themselves to be problem drinkers while openly admitting they were reliant on alcohol to make their lives more pleasant,' said Allchurch.

It is already recognised that one in 13 adults in Britain is alcoholic. If the definition of a problem drinker is taken as someone who drinks to alter their mood on a regular basis, however, Linwood's research suggests that most people can be classified as problem drinkers.

'Everyone who drinks daily is a problem drinker, even if they just have one or two drinks a day, because they are dependent on a mind-altering substance,' said Allchurch. 'These people don't necessarily go over the limit and they build up a tolerance which means they feel perfectly OK and can avoid acknowledging what's really going on with their mental and physical health.'

Allchurch believes it is the main cause behind the recent increase that she has seen in older alcoholics seeking treatment. 'We're getting more middle-aged, middle-class, professional people who have crossed over into alcohol dependency in their forties and older,' she said.

'When we talk about people suffering alcohol problems, we get bogged down in a debate about binge drinking,' says Soodeen. 'But the problem for most people is that small amounts of alcohol become a social crutch without which they find it impossible to relax. The physical and mental impact of this is immense.'

The Observer

SNP threatens supermarkets with minimum drink prices

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has declared war on the UK's leading supermarkets, warning he will impose minimum prices on alcohol if stores continue to offer cut-price deals.

In an outspoken attack on leading stores such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's, MacAskill accused them of "playing games" and seeking to "evade their responsibilities".

MacAskill is putting the finishing touches to a consultation paper which will recommend banning two-for-one deals and buy-one-get-one-free offers on alcohol.

But Scotland on Sunday can reveal the industry has warned the minister that if the bans are imposed, the supermarkets and drink suppliers will respond by simply lowering their prices for all drink so that consumers are still offered discounts.

MacAskill has responded by saying he would look at introducing minimum prices for alcohol.

Campaigners against cheap drink have suggested the minimum price should be set at 50p for a unit of alcohol, meaning a "bargain" bottle of red wine currently priced at £3 would have to sell for at least £5.

Last week, ministers said they would consider increasing the age limit on alcohol sales from 18 to 21 in supermarkets and off-licences.

Industry insiders predict the move to ban cheap drink deals will fail. They say suppliers will continue to have promotional budgets and will simply find new ways of spending them. One possibility, according to insiders, is that suppliers and supermarkets will cut alcohol prices across the board.

The suggestion has infuriated MacAskill. He said: "Just last month supermarkets were talking the talk about the need to tackle cheap alcohol. I welcomed that, but talk is cheap – as cheap as the bucket loads of drink they are selling to get folk into their shops. This month it would appear that we are back to playing games."

He added: "They should know that we are intent on tackling irresponsible promotion and pricing. If there are measures that seek to evade those responsibilities we will not hesitate to use all available powers to ensure that they are addressed."

He went on: "Nothing is ruled out of this strategy, and the price of alcohol is one of a number of issues that is being considered."

Alcohol campaigners say MacAskill has the power under recent licensing laws to create new definitions of irresponsible alcohol promotions. They say, for example, that alcohol sold at below cost price could be defined as irresponsible, and thereby be banned.

The British Liver Trust has backed calls for a minimum price for alcohol and suggested 50p per unit as a guide for a minimum price for drink.

Under such a scheme, many of the deals being offered in supermarkets in Scotland yesterday would be illegal.

A pack of 20 bottles of Stella Artois, with a strength of 5% alcohol, was priced at £8.98 in Sainsbury's in Gorgie, Edinburgh. Under the Liver Trust's pricing scheme it would have to cost a minimum of £14.20.

A 750ml bottle of Granules Tesoro Garnacha Rioja, which was yesterday priced at £3.20 from Tesco online, would have a minimum price of £5.05.

A two-litre bottle of White Lightning Cider would cost £7.50 instead of the £3.08 currently charged by Asda.

Supermarket groups and retailers last night warned against Draconian measures.

A spokesman for Asda said: "We are not convinced that raising the price of alcohol is the correct solution to the problem. It is a blunt instrument that raises the price to the millions of consumers who drink responsibly. The key issue is changing our culture and encouraging awareness of sensible drinking, a process we are committed to working with Government on as part of its alcohol strategy."

Fiona Moriarty of the Scottish Retail Consortium added: "Scotland has got a difficult and complex relationship with alcohol, which is not going to be solved by dealing with price and promotions alone. It has to look
at early intervention and awareness-raising."

The stores also point to new measures they have put in place to prevent irresponsible drinking, such as proof-of-age schemes for anyone who looks under 25, the removal of controversial drinks and a commitment to prosecute under-18s who try to buy drink.

But alcohol awareness groups say that raising prices is the only way to cut down on excessive drinking.

The Alcohol Health Alliance claim that by increasing the cost of alcohol by 10% the number of alcohol-related deaths could be cut by anywhere between 10% and 30%.

• Shops are defying government attempts to clamp down on cheap alcohol by pressurising suppliers to absorb the extra costs from tax rises, it was claimed last night. A drinks industry document reportedly calls on brewers and distillers not to increase prices to retailers so that they can continue selling drink cheaply.

Scotland on Sunday

Parents targeted in youth drink clampdown

The Rudd Government's next target in its anti-binge-drinking crusade will be parents who give alcohol to teenagers and their mates.

The Government announced yesterday it was stepping up the pace of its fight against binge drinking among young people.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said evidence was emerging that parents were increasingly supplying alcohol to teenagers and their friends. "What is lacking is a consistently tough message," she said.

At Wednesday's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in Adelaide, Ms Roxon will present a plan for a set of laws consistent across all states and territories governing the supply of alcohol to minors and establishing nationally consistent principles to govern the responsible service of alcohol in pubs and clubs.

Ms Roxon also wants the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy to investigate whether alcohol warning labels can help discourage young people from binge drinking.

She said studies had found that regular drinking during adolescence contributed to the development of risky drinking habits later in life.

The Sunday Age reported yesterday that the Federal Government's top alcohol adviser, Professor Jon Currie, chairman of the Victorian Drug and Alcohol Prevention Council, believed that raising the legal drinking age to 21 should be considered if efforts to curb dangerous levels of teenage drinking failed.

Professor Currie also suggested a law banning parents from serving liquor to children — other than their own, at home.

Ms Roxon said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would ask premiers and chief ministers to have the range of new measures overseen by the COAG Health and Ageing Working Group, which she chairs. "While young people must take greater personal responsibility for their behaviour, binge drinking is a community-wide problem that demands a community-wide response," Ms Roxon said.

She said some measures to deal with alcohol abuse could be advanced only by Commonwealth, state and territory governments working together.

State and territory laws on the "secondary supply" of alcohol were inconsistent, she said.

In some states it was acceptable for an adult to give alcohol to a minor as long as the young person was supervised by an adult.

And in other states, restrictions on supplying alcohol to minors related only to licensed premises or public venues.

Ms Roxon said the Government would consider ways to support parents trying to develop positive attitudes towards alcohol in their children by giving them clear help and guidance.

There was also considerable community concern about the way alcohol was served, she said. "Anecdotal evidence suggests this is an ongoing problem in pubs and clubs, despite the existence of laws at a state and territory level," she said.

There was no nationally consistent policy on the responsible service of alcohol, laws, breaches, training and quality control and penalties, she said. Penalties for supplying alcohol without a current licence or qualification could range from $550 up to $20,000.

"There is no standardised training for bar staff and, in some areas, no training at all is required," she said.

Mr Rudd would ask COAG to ask the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council to seek advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand on whether warning labels on alcohol would help curb youth binge drinking.

the age

Police Chief Praised For Highlighting Alcohol Problem

In objecting to the renewal of the Coach Inn's liquor licence Banbridge police chief Christine McCullough highlighted a problem society too easily ignores, a problem that begins with parents.

That's according to Magistrate Eamon King, who commended Chief Inspector McCullough for drawing attention to society's serious problem with alcohol.

As he ruled that the Coach Inn should keep its liquor licence, at least until September, Mr. King said it was clear to him the issue he was addressing was one encountered weekly in towns across Northern Ireland.

"The issue," he said, "is that as a society we have a serious and worsening problem with alcohol.

"It is a problem that has developed over a number of years and until now, by and large, we have lacked the conviction to do something about it, either through the cost of alcohol, binge-drinking or public order offences.

"It is our public duty to confront these abuses in an effective manner. Leadership is an important component in the process of change and in lodging this objection I commend the actions of the local district commander and the community for focusing society's attention on a problem we all too conveniently tend to ignore."

The problem, said Mr. King, started with parents who allowed their under-age children to set off to nightclubs equipped with fake identification, but he pointed out there were other factors involved.

"These children purchase their cheap alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences," he said, "sometimes at below cost or as a special offer, and then travel by bus to nightclubs throughout Northern Ireland."

The Magistrate said the bus companies allowed the consumption of alcohol on the buses and by the time the young people arrived at the nightclub many had already consumed a substantial amount of drink.

"It is little wonder then that the police have to deal with drunkenness, obscenity, anti-social behaviour and even violence," he said. "Licence-holders of premises such as The Coach Inn have a duty to conduct their business in a manner not to cause undue inconvenience to persons residing in their vicinity and if they don't then the court must not hesitate to use its power to revoke or alter or attach conditions to that licence in the public interest."

Banbridge Today

One glass of wine a night can increase risk of breast cancer by 60 per cent

Middle-aged women who drink one glass of wine a night increase their risk of breast cancer by 60 per cent, an alarming new study shows.

Up to 2,000 women every year die from alcohol-related breast cancer, with increasing numbers also suffering from liver cancer and fertility problems related to drink.

Government guidelines recommend women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

But in recent years, the strength of many wines has been increased and wine glasses enlargened leading to confusion of how many units of alcohol each glass contains.

Now, a study by the Department of Health - which has not yet been published - has strongly linked drinking alcohol to breast cancer.

Women who drink a glass of wine a night are much more likely to develop breast cancer, according to a new alarming study by the Department of Health

The findings show that women who consumed more than the recommended level of 14 units a week were at least 60 per cent likely to suffer breast cancer than those who stayed below the limit.

With one large glass of wine now estimated to be worth the equivalent of three units, just one per night would add up to more than 20 units a week. As a result of the study, the government is launching a £10 million advertising campaign to clamp down on drinking.

The campaign, which features images such as two wine glasses with no stems to resemble women's breasts, aims to educate women over the health risks associated with their beverage intake.

It also amounts to an admission from ministers that they have focussed too much on teenage binge drinkers and need to switch their attention to the middle classes.

The initiative, which will be shows on TVs, posters and in cinemas, will also signal a move towards emphasising the health impact of drinking instead of focusing almost exclusively to its links with crime and anti-social behaviour. Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Women who regularly drink too much are 50 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer and many drink too much simply because they have no idea how many alcohol units they are consuming.

"They don't know how many units they are drinking and they don't know that, at 3.5 units, that large glass of Rioja they drank last night actually took them over their daily amount.

"Professional women who drink too much - but do so without causing harm to others - have for a long time gone under the radar.

"But after the campaign no one will be in any doubt as to how many units they're drinking and the impact that can have on their health."

Stronger wine, varying from 9 per cent to 13 per cent, and larger glasses, varying from 125ml to 250ml, have led to confusion over how many units drinkers consume.

A large glass of wine can contain as much as 3.5 units of alcohol.

Anti binge-drinking campaigns have previously focused on younger people, but now older women are being targeted.

Health risks for women who binge drink also include a greater risk of liver disease, unplanned pregnancies and ruptured bladders.

Last year, a study revealed that one glass of wine or a pint of beer each day raises the risk of bowel cancer.

The study, of almost half a million people, highlighted a clear link between alcohol and the cancer which claims 16,000 lives a year in the UK alone.

It showed that two units - equivalent to a large glass of wine or a pint of beer - is enough to raise the risk of developing the disease by 10 per cent.

And the more you drink, the greater the threat.

Two pints a day, or two large glasses of wine, increases the risk by a quarter.

Another study showed that three or more alcoholic drinks a day - whether beer, wine or spirits - raises a woman's risk of breast cancer by as much as 30 per cent.

Women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by ten per cent compared with those who consumed less than one drink each day, the American researchers found.

The risk jumped by 30 per cent in women who consumed more than three drinks a day.

Daily Mail

Drunkorexia - too much booze and too little food - is affecting more and more women

Do you save up your Weight Watchers points, living all day on chewing gum, cucumber and Ryvita, so you can blow them all on a bottle of wine at night? Are you the sort who knows that after two glasses of wine, you won’t feel like eating dinner, so why bother cooking it? Do you avoid drinking because it makes you eat “bad” foods, then find yourself getting drunk and eating every complex carb in Christendom?

If any of these apply to you, then you might want to address the fact that you have a zeitgeisty confluence of drinking too much and disordered eating. In short, you might well be a drunkorexic.

Drunkorexia is a silly word that started out as a spiteful joke. It first gained popularity two years ago, when some bitchy website used it to describe the antics of the celebutante skinnies who appeared to live on alcohol and hot air – cruel close-up photographs highlighting fag- and party-induced premature ageing and a bit of bloat were posted alongside the word “drunkorexic”. Yet a couple of years on, it has captured the public’s imagination.

“It’s socially acceptable to be drunk, but it’s not okay to be fat,” says Ian Marber, a nutritionist who sees signs of a drunkorexic lifestyle among his smart female clients. “If your natural bent is to be a fatty, but you want to be skinny, whatever you do to stay thin is good by you, even if it’s nutritional insanity.” Among his clients, the most common type of drunkorexic is a woman who punctuates her day, apparently sensibly, with an appetite-suppressing and relaxing glass of wine or champagne. “They say, ‘Oh, I only ever have one glass of champagne at lunch, and one with my husband when he gets in, and one at dinner, and one when I’m putting the kids to bed.’ If they do eat, it’s low-calorie, low-fat, nutritionally empty foods such as Snack A Jacks.”

Surprisingly, there has been little research into the link between alcohol and food suppression – a link nutritionists, addiction professionals and psychotherapists all recognise. One of the most comprehensive studies, Food for Thought – Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders (Columbia University, 2001), highlighted the degree to which people “cross-addict” from one area into another. The research suggested that people with eating disorders are five times more likely to be substance abusers, while substance abusers are 11 times more likely to have eating disorders. It also noted that eating disorders and substance abuse have several significant characteristics in common: brain chemistry, family history, stress triggers and the prevalence of affected people also suffering from low self-esteem, depression, anxiety or a history of abuse. It also highlighted the social pressures on women in terms of the acceptability of binge drinking and the desirability of skinniness.

“It’s a lot of work, starving yourself,” says Rhena Branch, a cognitive behavioural therapist who specialises in eating disorders. “It goes against biology. Alcohol helps to relax what is likely to be an anxious, perfectionist individual. Hard-core anorexics will rarely drink at all because of the calories. I thi