Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

A Specialist service to help people overcome long-term drinking problems has been extended to cover the whole of Kirklees.

People heavily dependent on alcohol can have detoxification treatment at home to safely stop drinking, supervised by a specialist nurse.

Follow-up support is also provided.

Now more staff are being recruited by Lifeline Kirklees’ Alcohol Service to increase coverage from North Kirklees to the whole of the borough.

The development is part of a three-year action plan to reduce alcohol misuse and is funded by Kirklees Primary Care Trust.

Clr Khizar Iqbal, who chairs the Kirklees Safer Stronger Communities Partnership, said: “Agencies are working together to tackle alcohol misuse and new measures are being introduced to ensure Kirklees residents are safer and healthier.”

An extra alcohol liaison nurse has been recruited in Huddersfield to cover South Kirklees. In addition, two workers will offer the treatment from eight GP surgeries across North and South Kirklees.

Community detoxification treatment is part of a wider range of support and intervention offered by Lifeline Kirklees’ Alcohol Service for both harmful and dependent drinkers.

Another alcohol worker is also joining Lifeline Kirklees to support harmful drinkers – clients in the early stages of alcohol misuse – who do not need detoxifiication treatment but need practical help with reducing their consumption.

Tony Cooke, assistant director of Commissioning and Strategic Development for Drugs, Alcohol and Community Safety at Kirklees Primary Care Trust, said: “Reducing alcohol misuse and ensuring residents are healthier is a major priority. We are increasing treatment provision to help achieve this.”

The Kirklees Partnership Alcohol Strategy is seeking to expand treatment provision, increase awareness of sensible drinking levels and reduce alcohol-related health problems, anti-social behaviour and crime.

The community detoxification treatment programme was developed by Tricia Robinson, clinical nurse specialist, of Lifeline Kirklees, based in Dewsbury, who looks after clients in the north of the district.

She said: “Clients need this medical intervention when they reach a crisis point because of excessive drinking, for example, when their health has seriously deteriorated or their life is falling apart and they can’t function without alcohol.

“Detoxing and then staying sober is challenging. Alcohol is legal, widely available and socially acceptable. People have to work at developing skills to cope with the craving for alcohol once the detoxification is completed. It can take several attempts before someone achieves sobriety.”

Nurses assess if a client is suitable for the detoxification treatment and if it is safe to be administered at home.

The treatment comprises medication, lasting up to 10 to 14 days, which helps to combat withdrawal symptoms, including shaking, sweating, agitation, confusion and the risk of fits.

Hazel Ramsden, Alcohol Liaison Nurse, who has taken up her post in Huddersfield, said: “Staying sober and coping with sobriety is where the real challenge begins. And for that, there is no prescription.

“Clients review their lifestyle and develop new coping strategies. Learning to live without alcohol can require, for example, changing the way they socialise. Varying support is available, including groups and counselling. The client decides what’s right for them.

“We take a non-judgemental approach and urge people to return if they relapse rather than leave it until the problem escalates. In the long term, this treatment can be very successful, kickstarting clients into a new life free from alcohol.”

Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Raising taxes to make all alcohol more expensive is one way to curb Australia's booze problem, a visiting academic says.
Professor Robin Room said alcohol was too cheap and readily available from a public health point of view.

"If you want to seriously do something about alcohol in Australia, then raising taxes is a good way to do it," he said.

"From a public health point of view, the higher the better.

"It's a big problem, alcohol is responsible for a lot of health and social problems."

Prof Room, of the University of Melbourne school of population health, will address Tasmania's first annual conference on alcohol, tobacco and other drug issues in Hobart tomorrow.

Health Minister Lara Giddings opened the conference yesterday, announcing an alcohol action plan would be developed for the state.

She promised strategies to address alcohol consumption and binge drinking, particularly among young people.

"Binge drinking not only harms your health but can also lead to anti-social and dangerous behaviours which can harm others," Ms Giddings said.

"We need to reduce the number of young drinkers developing a lifelong pattern of hazardous drinking and alcohol-related health problems.

"We need to get the message out that drinking in moderation is the way to go."

Prof Room welcomed the Federal Government's decision to raise taxes on pre-mixed drinks, also known an alcopops.

He said regulation and laws worked better than public education campaigns.

"Trying to talk people out of something they enjoy is not a good bet," he said.

But Australian Hotels Association state general manager Steve Old said raising taxes would not address the issue of binge drinking.

However, he agreed binge drinking needed attention.

"We are excited that the minister has announced the development of an action plan on alcohol for our industry in Tasmania," Mr Old said.

"Only last week I wrote to Ms Giddings seeking a meeting on the issue of binge drinking and how we as an industry association in Tasmania would like to work with the Government on solving this problem."

Prof Room, who is also acting director of the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Fitzroy, said alcohol was ingrained in Australian life.

"It's in every part of our life," he said. "Is it possible to flirt and have a good time with each other without being drunk?"

Mercury

The Northern Territory Government is confident new laws forcing people to show identification when buying takeaway alcohol will help control alcohol abuse.

Parliament has passed the legal framework for licensees in Katherine and Alice Springs to ask anyone buying alcohol to provide identification.

The electronic scanning system is still being rolled out but will show whether a person is restricted from buying alcohol.

The Minister for Alcohol Policy Chris Burns says it will limit problem drinkers' access to alcohol.

"This system will enable better enforcement of orders put through the alcohol courts, whether it be alcohol intervention orders or prohibition orders and I think it's also a good system to ensure that restrictions around products, say wine casks, one cask per person per day, can be enforced also."

The Territory Opposition says if the Government's serious about stopping problem drinkers buying alcohol it should use the system in Darwin.

The CLP's Matt Conlan says it is also hypocritical, given the Labor Government was opposed to people having to show identification under the former Howard government's federal intervention.

ABC News

County DUI court program takes aim at repeat offenders

You drink. You drive. You get arrested but go on to drink and drive again.

And you get arrested again, and again, to the point that you face a state prison sentence of two or more years.

Some offenders in Lycoming County get one last chance to turn their lives around instead of heading to state prison. It’s the DUI Treatment Court, overseen by county Judge Dudley N. Anderson.

The DUI Treatment Court targets offenders who are about to be sentenced for their third, fourth, fifth and even sixth convictions for driving under the influence. It is their last chance, but one they choose to take voluntarily.

According to Anderson, people who are admitted to DUI Treatment Court are not being given an easy ride.

“We go over applicants and decide who is going to be admitted to the program,” he said. “This is a little bit of a carrot-and-stick method.

“The carrot is that there are mandatory sentences for driving under the influence, and we give them a portion of their sentence and they can get part of that on electronic monitoring, instead of the full term in jail.”

In exchange, the offenders agree to a rigorous alcohol intervention program. Once admitted into the program, Anderson and the court don’t let go.

Phases to treatment

“There are three phases to DUI Treatment Court,” Anderson explained. “Each of the phases is a minimum of four months long, and during the first four months, they have to go through intensive treatment.

“They do 90 in 90 —that’s 90 meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous in 90 days. They do counseling, a number of other interventions that are directed toward treatments, and they come to DUI Court every other week.”

In the second phase, those in the program must attend the same meetings, but for only four days a week over the next four months.

“During that time, they have to meet all the conditions of their supervision, including having all costs and fines paid, completing their community service, and they have to be employed to progress to Phase Three,” Anderson said.

In that final phase, those who are admitted to the program transition to regular supervision.

“They are under supervision for five years total,” he said. “They only have to come to court once every fourth week, and their curfews are relaxed. During the first phases, they have a curfew when they have to be home, the hours depending on their work schedule.”

During that time, they are still prohibited from frequenting bars or “places that are dedicated to alcohol,” Anderson said.

“We also start to give them responsibilities in court,” Anderson said.

“In some instances, we ask them to help another member in the program.”

Watchful eye

They also go to counseling and are subject to unannounced inspections at their homes as long as they are in the DUI Treatment Court program. Anderson said that includes inspections at almost any time, even on weekends and holidays.

If an enrollee is caught drinking or violating other terms of their probation, they are sent back to square one in the program. Violations also include missing any of the meetings or counseling sessions they are required to attend.

“At least once per month, we will send probation officers out at odd hours, like Sunday afternoon or late Saturday night and make sure they are there,” Anderson said.

“We will target certain individuals who we think have a propensity toward difficulty in this program.”

No quitting

But they aren’t allowed to just quit, even though the requirements are tough.

“Once you sign on, you cannot voluntarily be released from the program,” the judge said.

“You can’t resign. The reason for that is you’ve given your quid pro quo — it is our benefit by apportioning your time on electronic monitoring and now it is payback time.”

There are just two ways to get out of DUI Treatment Court — to successfully graduate the program or to go to state prison.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t have people who drink,” Anderson said.

“We have some who are pretty hard-core alcoholics, and some of them are in the program for two years or more.”

They get pushed back and have to start all over again, and that leaves a big impression on them, he said.

“Some who violate it usually do so with unprescribed medication or alcohol,” Anderson said.

“They may have to go to jail for a while, but then they have to start all over again.”

Eventually, repeat violators are locked up. But Anderson recalled only three that took that route.

Along the way, participants who do well are sometimes given small rewards, such as small gift cards, a relaxation of their curfew for special events, or abatement of some time on community service.

High success rate

The program until recently had no graduates reoffend, Anderson said.

“We just had a graduate who got picked up for another DUI and, until that, we hadn’t had anyone who graduated and gotten another DUI,” he said.

“That’s out of 60 graduates in three years, so that’s a pretty good success rate.”

Williamsport SunGazette

The addition of beer to the drive-through menu at a Clive restaurant has some concerned about the effects it might have on the number of people drinking and driving.

"We're worried about it, but what are we going to do about it?" Clive Police Lt. Gary Walker said.

The Clive City Council granted Iowa Castle owner Ray Alehy a license to sell beer and wine coolers at his restaurant at the last council meeting. The vote was unanimous, but not without discussion.

"This kind of thing concerns me," said Councilman Scott Cirksena before placing his vote. "It may be legal, but it does give me concern."

In the end, the council conceded that there was no reason not to grant the license.

Drive-up liquor sales are not unheard of in Iowa, said Lynn Walding, administrator of the state alcoholic beverages division. As of February, the department had tallied 14 establishments in the state that sold liquor from drive-through windows, including a liquor store in Des Moines. Iowa Castle's situation is unique because it is the first fast-food restaurant to be granted a license in the state, he added.

Although the setup seems to promote drinking and driving, Walding said so far it hasn't been a problem in Iowa.

"To date, we've not had a complaint over any of those establishments," he said.

Patrons of the restaurant have mixed feelings about the beer sales. On Saturday, Jennifer and Doug Cook of Johnston enjoyed a beer inside the restaurant. On Friday night, three customers bought beer at the drive-through.

"I think it's convenient just to get a quick bite to eat and have a drink," Jennifer Cook said.

She added about the drive-through sales: "I think that's definitely not a good idea."

Alehy said he has taken several measures to keep his restaurant and patrons in accordance with the law:

• The restaurant's drive-through is open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, but beer sales will stop at 1:45 a.m. to stay in accordance with a state law that prohibits the sale of alcohol after 2 a.m.

• Patrons must purchase food to be able to buy beer. State law requires that the restaurant have at least 50 percent plus $1 of its sales in prepared foods to be able to continue to allow minors on the premises.

• Patrons who appear intoxicated will not be sold beer inside the restaurant or at the drive-through.

• All patrons who purchase beer will be carded, and their driver's license will be scanned for authenticity. Those purchasing beer at the drive-through can buy a limited number of beers, an effort to ensure that they are not providing alcohol to minors in the vehicle.

• All beer sold in the restaurant and drive-through is in unopened bottles.

Iowa law prohibits drivers or passengers from possessing an open or unsealed bottle, can, jar or other receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle.

"We are not promoting drunk driving in any shape or form," Alehy said. "They have to use their judgment when they are purchasing the items; we need to use our judgment when we sell the items."

Despite Alehy's precautions, there is still concern that some patrons may make the wrong choice, especially since the restaurant is located near clubs and bars along 86th Street.

"We'll be particularly alert when people are driving through at 2 (a.m.) and thereafter," said Clive Police Chief Robert Cox.

"Alcohol and vehicles can be a deadly combination," said Misty Moyse, national Mothers Against Drunk Driving director of communications. "MADD's concern with establishments selling alcohol through a fast-food drive-through is the possibility of implied permission to drink alcohol while behind the wheel."

An April report by the Associated Press said the upper Midwest has the worst drunken-driving rates in the country, according to a government report that says 15 percent of adult drivers nationally report driving under the influence of alcohol in the previous year.

Iowa was ranked 14th.

The report on drunken driving relies on data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey asked 127,283 adults in 2004, 2005 and 2006 whether they had driven under the influence in the past year.

Clive police records show that the number of tickets issued for operating while intoxicated continues to rise each year. Drunken-driving reports went from 73 in 2004 to 102 in 2007.

"We'll have to keep an eye on it," Cox said.

Des Moines Register

With one swift blow, the Rudd Government has left the alcohol industry reeling after raising taxes on premixed spirits, or 'alcopops', by 70%. The measure is aimed at curbing binge-drinking among teenagers.

John Rogerson was still in bed when the call came yesterday morning. The head of the Australian Drug Foundation quickly realised his Sunday sleep-in would have to wait. On the phone was Senator Jan McLucas — parliamentary secretary for health in the Rudd Government. The news she delivered caught Rogerson, and the alcohol industry, by surprise. Taxes on pre-mixed spirits or "alcopops" would be raised by 70% — effective immediately.

The devastating toll of youth alcohol abuse would be curtailed by raising the price of drinks popular with teenagers. Binge drinking, and the industry accused of encouraging it, had been dealt a lethal blow.

For Rogerson, the personal call from the heart of Government marked a fundamental shift in the balance of power. McLucas' predecessor, Christopher Pyne, had held monthly meetings with the alcohol industry. But Rogerson, like many in a sector predicting a binge-drinking disaster, struggled to get an appointment.

Now they are being heard — and Australia's booze-soaked culture is being challenged at the highest level. Tough measures long called for by health experts are becoming policy. Kevin Rudd's latest bombshell comes just weeks after he announced a $53 million strategy to tackle alcohol abuse.

The message to the industry is clear — the party's over.

"We've been waiting a long time for this. It's the start of redressing the balance and making some significant inroads to changing the culture in our community and reducing the harm caused by alcohol misuse," says Rogerson.

The shock decision to raise taxes on alcopops — announced at midnight on Saturday — closes a loophole opened by the Howard government when GST was introduced in 2000. The taxation system for pre-mixed spirits was changed to attract a lower rate than more potent standard spirits. Thus, tax on a 5% strength can of bourbon and cola would mirror that on a can of beer of similar potency. It seemed a logical and just system.

But the industry was quick to exploit the loophole. The market was flooded with "super-strength" 7% and 9% products, containing two or three standard drinks in one can or bottle. With low taxes keeping prices down, the drinks attracted those on limited budgets, quickly becoming the tipple of choice for a generation of young drinkers.

In four years the number of female drinkers aged 15 to 17 consuming ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) shot from 14% to 60%. And those who drank them were most at risk of alcohol-related harm. In 2004 among 14 to 19-year-olds who drank at dangerous levels, 78% of girls and 74% of boys preferred alcopops over any other drink.

The industry maintains that 80% of the RTD market is young men over 25 who drink spirits-based cola drinks. But an alcohol marketing insider recently confessed to The Age that companies were deliberately making stronger, sweetened drinks to appeal to young people who "like to get drunk faster."

In the past four years alone there has been a 36% increase in sales of RTDs — a boom that those in the industry fear will now come to an abrupt halt. As the tax on a litre of pure alcohol jumps from $39 a litre to $67, the consumer can expect to pay up to $1.30 more per bottle or can.

The new volumetric system — where spirits-based products are taxed according to alcoholic volume — means super-strength products could become too expensive for most drinkers. Indeed, just weeks ago three major breweries sniffed the wind, scrapping products with more than 7% alcohol, in a decision seen by many as a defensive move to fend off a government crackdown.

But Health Minister Nicola Roxon is not afraid to take on an industry that donates more than $7 million a year to political parties and contributes 2.5% of Australia's gross domestic product.

Roxon told The Age the Howard Government's decision to change taxation on pre-mixed spirits was a "mistake" that led to a rise in dangerous youth binge drinking. For Roxon, the business interests of the industry are "not really a factor" when it comes to health policy decisions.

"Of course they're stakeholders, and their views will be listened to in the same way that we'll look at the views that other people put forward in the community, but I really don't think that ultimately that's a key consideration for doing something where there's clear evidence that we might be able to protect young people," she said.

For those who see the first-hand effects of alcohol abuse, the Government's new focus on "evidence-based policy" is a welcome change. When Christopher Pyne was responsible for drug and alcohol issues he consistently denied that alcohol caused more harm than illicit drugs, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including a death rate of three to one.

But will raising the cost of one range of alcoholic products really reduce youth binge drinking?

According to the Distilled Spirits Industry Council, it is a policy destined to fail. "All this tax is going to do is return teenagers to what they drank before 2000, which is beer and wine and wine-based mixed drinks," says spokesman Stephen Riden.

The $2 billion expected to be raised annually by the tax hike will be poured back into preventive health. But spirits producers say they are an easy target for a Government trying to raise revenue amid an economic downturn. "If they wanted to raise money for health prevention why not go for a tax that applies across all forms of alcohol below 10%, but that wouldn't have been nearly as politically popular because it would not have touched the hot button of youth binge drinking," says Riden.

A sharp rise in alcohol-related violence has raised public concern about binge drinking and new figures released yesterday show there is growing support for tough policies to change the culture. The National Drug Household survey showed one in three Australians want a reduction in licensed venues while one in four backed a price hike for alcohol. But the toughest policies — those proven to be the most effective — could be political suicide. Applying a volumetric tax to all alcohol products would increase the price of potent cask wine, popular with problem drinkers, but could also decimate the winemaking industry.

Daryl Smeaton, chief executive of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, fears the Government won't take that risk: "More than 65% of MPs have a vineyard in their electorate. A volumetric tax on wine would have a major economic impact on those growers and I'm sure that would be taken very seriously by government."

Roxon says there are no immediate plans to introduce a volumetric tax across the board, but those in the alcohol and drugs sector are "quietly optimistic." For Roxon, any measure that will stop young people drinking themselves to an early grave, will be considered. "When you've got nearly 20,000 kids, girls 15 and under, who are drinking every single week then this is a huge problem, but if we act now we may be able to turn it around."

The Age

The Government's decision to implement legislation to regulate the sale and use of alcohol is winning widespread praise from those who deal with the fallout from alcohol abuse.

"Families can now close ranks and look at the real dangers of alcohol abuse," says Andrew Conway, senior clinical child psychologist with the Mater hospital.

"Our children are supposed to be our treasures, but what are we doing to protect them? The permission we give our children to drink is a national scandal.

"We need to deal with this urgently, because we're talking about a lot of children and the tremendously disabling brain disease of alcoholism, which robs a child and their family of the personhood of this child."

Like many people working with adolescents in the county, Conway recognises the value of this legislation."If we did not have new laws, the country would need a rash of treatment centres in 10 years' time to deal with the problem," he says.

Addiction counsellors will be the first to recognise the Government's vital step towards national recovery. Because when an alcoholic admits that they have a problem, they're more than half-way into the solution.

When a government recognises its country has a problem, it stands on the same ground. These new laws, and more to follow, bring hope -- a national campaign for recovery can begin. Of course, it's regrettable that the legislation has taken this long, but denial and resistance is the nature of the beast. Like an addict, the country needed to hit rock bottom before it was ready to face its problem.

Until now, those working with the negative consequences of alcohol abuse were managing upwards -- it was difficult to create awareness of the ill-effects of excessive drinking when our Government was colluding in the denial.

But that's over now. Every great journey begins with a first step. So where to from here?

Conway wants a well-funded prevention campaign across the board (health, justice and education). In particular, he'd like to see a huge improvement in recreational facilities in schools. "This will offer kids a resource they need, particularly the disadvantaged ones, who are going to off-licences after school," he says.

Standing on this, in terms of adult awareness, I would suggest a national advertising campaign targeting 30 to 50 year olds.

The advertisement showing a boy jumping off a building and smashing to the ground because he thinks he can fly is excellent for adolescents. But what about demonstrating the dark powers of alcohol for adults who, when they drink, think they too can fly?

What would we see if we televised a dinner table of adults getting drunk, or a group of parents with children nearby?

Last week a friend of mine told me about her drinking escapades in the Eighties -- which, on hindsight, she regrets.

A group of mothers would meet for a boozy lunch in a Dublin hotel and get the doorman to collect the children who would do their homework in the lobby while they got smashed next door. I didn't ask if cars were crashed as a result of these sessions, but I bet many little hearts crashed when they saw their withering mum on a bar stool.

"We didn't know the extent of the harm we were inflicting," she said. Which is understandable. Because when we're drinking, we don't see ourselves.

Far from it, we think all is well. That's the magic of booze -- it casts a spell. Because alcohol tells lies -- some are harmless and fun but others hurt how we want to see ourselves and behave towards those around us. A sensitive television campaign, informing not shaming, could be effective for a new national mental health programme.

The idea of a country in recovery from addiction is not new. Anne Wilson Schaef, a no-nonsense best-selling author, introduced this idea more than 10 years ago in her book, When society Becomes an addict.

It has had several editions since, but each book outlines the symptoms of a society that admits it's an addict and offers a programme on how that society can get well.

Introducing her subject, she says: "The good news is that, like the individual alcoholic/addict, an addictive system can recover. But before this can happen we must name and accept the disease. We must admit that the society we care about has a disease and can recover from that disease.

"We must also be willing to do the necessary work towards recovery. This is a long process that eventually requires a shift to a new system, one I call the Living Process System." Schaef recognises that addictions can be divided into two categories: substance addictions (alcohol, drugs, nicotine, caffeine and food); and process addictions (accumulating money, sports, gambling, sex, work and worry).

Her views on how to deal with them are controversial but thought-provoking.

She says an addicted society is a dishonest one and that its addictive system reveals itself in the three "ifs" of the individual addict -- 'If only', 'As if' and 'What if'.

Defining these addicts, Schaef says the 'if only' addict is dishonest about the past. The 'As if' addict is dishonest about the present, while the 'What if' addict is dishonest about the future.

For many working in the complex field of addiction, it's wholesome stuff. But, staying in the present, the Government legislation is the first and vital step for a national recovery programme.

It's great news.

Independent ie

A troubling federal survey indicates that residents of Kansas and Missouri, compared to people in other states, face higher risks from drivers who’ve been drinking.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that slightly more than 21 percent of Kansas drivers surveyed said they had driven while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. The Missouri figure was 18 percent.

The survey queried adult drivers in 2004, 2005 and 2006. They were asked if they had driven under the influence in the past year.

The questions did not specifically refer to drunken driving, which in most states is considered driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent.

Because people self-reported their alcohol or drug use, federal officials say the percentages could be even higher than reported, with many drivers illegally intoxicated.

The findings show that states need to aggressively work to improve safety on the roads. They should:

-- Crack down on drunken driving with strict laws that discourage repeat offenses.
-- Fund prevention and treatment programs to combat alcohol and drug abuse.

-- Launch campaigns that encourage the use of designated drivers.

Even Utah, with the lowest percentage in the survey, had nearly 10 percent of drivers saying they drove while under the influence.

That’s frightening enough. But in some states it was considerably worse. In Wisconsin more than one-fourth of those surveyed reported that they had driven while under the influence.

North Dakota had nearly that many. Twelve states had percentages higher than Missouri.

Studies have found that drunken drivers are at least 13 percent more likely than sober ones to cause fatal crashes. However, even lower levels of alcohol can impair the ability to make safe decisions on the road.

Although alcohol-related traffic deaths have decreased in recent years due to the efforts of groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, this survey shows that states need to continue to focus on the problem.

Midwest Voices

Q: Take a drunken horse thief and sober him up. What do you have?
A: A sober horse thief!

Q: Take a drunk, or an addict, sober/clean him up, what do you have?
A: A “dry” drunk/addict, still angry, dishonest, blaming, manipulative, scared, full of self-hatred, controlling, confused, resentful, and even more irritable because we took away the drug that helped to cover all of these feelings!

The “dry” drunk is just as difficult to live with as the drinking alcoholic, often more so. (By now, I hope everyone realizes we can interchange the words alcohol and drugs, alcoholic and addict). Why more difficult? When the drug is removed, voluntarily or forcibly, we are left with the real and raw person. The old pain, usually from childhood, surfaces. Without adequate tools to deal with old shame, fear, resentment, and anger, and the additional shame, fear, resentment and anger accumulated in years of drinking, drugging and wreaking havoc in adulthood, the dry drunk becomes irritable, restless, and discontent, and takes it out on everyone around him.

This is when real recovery can begin. Recovery is a process of looking at oneself, becoming honest with what we see, and deciding what parts we want to keep and what we want to change (the word amend means to change). We get to work toward being the person we were meant to be. When we take away the mind altering substances and processes, we get to become conscious and look at ourselves. No one can do this alone… not even you, my reader, who is insisting, “I can do it myself, I don’t need no stinking meetings.” Nope, no can do. Cannot change all alone and without help. An alcoholic alone is in horrible company, even a non-drinking alcoholic who has yet to change is not comfortable in his own head. The messages he gives himself are negative and repetitive. He is unable to see himself in any but the old way. His brain is stuck in old thinking; his behavior is based on old ways of looking at himself and others. This is why they make lots of recovering alcoholics who help each other see everything, including themselves, in a new way. It takes someone who has been there to truly see, and to help another see, who he is and what he does. Where are these recovering alcoholics who are ready, willing, and able to help someone beginning the journey of recovery? Hmmm. Maybe meeting together in a secret underground society to help each other maintain sobriety and encourage a new way of life.

Some people want additional help from professionals. It is always appropriate to seek help from a therapist, as long as the therapist does not collude with the alcoholic to use therapy alone and avoid meetings with others like him who have found recovery. Only another recovering alcoholic can completely, in his gut as well as his brain, understand and help by sharing his own experience. If it is working for him, it can work for you.
Some people in early recovery may go to a doctor; no problem as long as said doctor does not prescribe mind altering drugs, like tranquilizers (alcohol in pill form). The whole point of recovery is to become alcohol and drug free, not substitute one drug for another…duh! I am not talking about antidepressants, antibiotics, medications for other diseases… just don’t get sucked into believing that a doctor knows anything about your disease of alcoholism. He or she probably does not, and may sabotage your recovery unknowingly by giving you alcohol in pill form. (All the while, of course, trying to help.)

Others may go to religious counselors for additional help. Great! They may find that this help is very consistent with the 12 step programs. Church, Synagogue, and religious counseling can be a terrific adjunct to recovery. Most people find they need more than just religious people; they need others who have been where they have been; they need to be in groups of people with similar stories of drinking and drugging and recovery.
Whatever you choose, if you want to stop drinking and drugging, at least attend some 12 step meetings and listen. Pry your mind open for a few hours over a week or two, go to several meetings, and see what other recovering alcoholics and addicts have to say about their own discovery in recovery!

Steamboat Springs Newspaper

A Leading expert on drugs and alcohol addiction has been banned from the road after he was caught drink driving twice.

University academic Rowdy Yates, 57, was found to be double the limit.

Only four months before, officers had breath-tested him at twice the limit at his house, minutes after being tipped off about his dodgy driving.

He claimed he got home sober but then swigged whisky in his garden shed.

But a sheriff refused to believe him afer hearing he would have had to down three large drams in minutes to give such a huge reading.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: "It seems strange to be going out to your shed to have a glass of whisky. You would have had to drink a significant amount over a relatively short space of time."

Yates has kept his job as senior research fellow at Stirling University's Scottish Addiction Studies Group despite his conviction.

In the first incident, police went to his home near Auchterarder, Perthshire, after a taxi driver saw him driving erratically.

He told officers he had a drink in the pub then drove home and "topped up" in his shed because his wife had a "problem" with his drinking.

At the time he said he had only taken a swig from the bottle but a medical expert claimed it would take three very large whiskies to be double the limit.

The academic admitted driving while nearly twice the limit in the second incident, in December.

Police stopped him in his Vauxhall Frontera 4x4 close to his home because his registration plate was hidden by mud and smelled booze on his breath.

Sheriff Foulis found Yates guilty of the first charge and warned him he would be banned for several years as a result of being convicted twice. He was banned from driving while he awaits sentence at Perth Sheriff Court. Sentence was deferred for community service and social background reports.

Last night Yates refused to comment but a pal said: "Rowdy has had problems in the past and has admitted being a former drug addict.

"The university are aware of that so it's unlikely there will be any implication at work."

The university confirmed Yates was employed there but said: "We don't comment on individual staff members."

Last month Yates criticised the Government for failing to speak to him in a consultation of Scotland's experts on their new drugs policy.

He said: "I hesitate to say that I'm incredulous that I've not been consulted because that makes me sound arrogant but the simple facts remain that I'm on their doorstep.

"I'm vice-president of the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities, an ex-drug user who has provided a service for over 20 years and is regarded in other countries as an expert. Why haven't I been consulted?"

Yates has worked in the drugs field for more than 35 years.

In 2000 he sparked fury when he claimed the ecstasy death of Leah Betts only gained widespread media attention because she was middle class and photogenic.

Before his job at Stirling University, he was the director and co-founder of the Lifeline Project - one of the UK's longest established drug services.

His published work includes a book on drugs, music and popular culture since the 60s.

In 1994 he got the MBE for his work on the prevention of drug misuse.

Sunday Mail

Freda doesn't know how long she's been sober. She won't count the days - it's too overwhelming. All that she knows is that she's feeling a sense of hope for the first time since she first started drinking at the age of 17.

That was 35 years, and several lifetimes ago.

On Thursday, she graduated from an addictions treatment program.

One of the keys to the program, she said, was telling her story. It's not a pretty story, nor one she is entirely comfortable telling.

"It's very, very hard on me. I get depressed, a lot of times through my journey," she says.

Denego grew up at Deschambault Lake, and moved to Prince Albert in 1982.

She never finished school.

And, she said, in the last 35 years, alcohol took back far more than it ever gave.

"I lost my husband, my kids and my home," she says. "I never went home. My husband was a mother to the kids - and the father. He's been sober 32 years, now."

Sadness creeps into her voice as she relates that her children are now, like her, facing problems with addictions. Her alcoholism, she admits openly, influenced their lives.

"They followed my footsteps."

Repeatedly, she dwells on the same perspective.

"I didn't see my kids growing up, because of the drinking.

"I'm fighting this addiction for (many) years. There are a few times ... where, I guess it's suicidal, And I get tired of living."

She has seen considerable violence in her life, and she equates alcohol with the violence she has witnessed.

Denego tells of how she recently witnessed a violent crime, but was unable to do anything to prevent it.

"When I see young people drunk, or they do something bad..." she falters, searching for the right words. "What I've seen ... a woman get raped in front of me. I couldn't do anything to help her."

At some point, the booze and its effects on her life became too much to tolerate.

"I got tired of being sick all the time. The doctor warned me about my health. I've got a heart problem, sometimes breathing problems. I was worried about that."

She heard about the merits of an addictions treatment program from other women.

Assistance from her pastor, combined with the addictions treatment program, has been the key to realizing she can craft a new life.

Now, she's asking for the powers-that-be to offer more services to deal with addictions and alcoholism, but specifically programs to aid young people.

"They should have more programs for young people, for addictions, to help themselves as much as they can."

She can't quite explain how she gained the courage to tell her story, other than to say that it seemed to her to be the best way to warn others - specifically youngsters - not to make the same mistakes.

"I don't know. I just wanted somebody to ... I feel bad for the people, feel sorry sometimes. I see a lot of people lost through my time. I see a lot of accidents."

Perhaps it's also a way of cementing her resolve.

"It's time that I do something about my addictions. I want to talk about them," she said.

Now, at the age of 52, she counters the darkness of her past by speaking optimistically of a future.

Simple goals. Achievable goals.

"It's time to change my life around. I want to go back to school, to get a job."

And sobriety?

She won't count the days. Her battle is ongoing. Indeed, as many recovering alcoholics discover, the battle never ends.

"I'm just taking it one day at a time. If I count the days, I'll start all over again."

Prince Albert Daily Herald

The Government will almost double the tax on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks as it blames John Howard for the youth binge-drinking scourge.

The tax will go up from $39 per litre of alcohol to $67 per litre from today – with pubs and clubs likely to significantly increase the cost of "alcopop" drinks to cover the rise.

A senior government source said the cost of RTDs (ready-to-drink products) was likely to increase by $1 a bottle. Queensland pubs and clubs charge, on average, about $8 per bottle, but they can range from $5 specials to $12.

The Government is expected to raise $2 billion from the tax hike, which will be put into a preventative health program.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed concern recently at the spike in binge-drinking – particularly among young women – and promised a major initiative.

'Howard to blame'

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon blamed the former Howard government for the rise in teenage binge drinking.

Ms Roxon said the decision to cut taxes on premixed alcoholic drinks eight years ago helped fuel the surge in excessive drinking by young people, particularly teenage girls.

The Rudd government overnight reversed the change, virtually doubling the excise on alcopops from midnight, pushing the cost of the drinks up by between 30 cents and $1.30 a bottle.

Ms Roxon said she did not know why the Howard government had cut the excise in the first place.

Survey demands action

The Government moved quickly after the release yesterday of the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which highlighted a disturbing pattern of alcohol consumption by Australian teenage girls.

The survey found that:

• Girls aged between 12 and 15 years were three times as likely as teenage boys the same age to consume alcohol at least once a week.

• Almost twice as many girls aged 14-19 as boys were consuming alcohol at a level that had a high risk of long-term harm.

• Teenage girls were more likely than their male counterparts to have tried marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine.

Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows RTD consumption continues to grow rapidly – more than 15 per cent in the past year compared with two per cent for overall alcohol consumption.

The data also shows that young people are more likely to drink RTDs, and teenage girls in particular are introduced to alcohol through RTDs.

Health groups welcome action

The Australian Drug Foundation described the move as a big step in the right direction.

"This tax fixes a problem that started with the introduction of the GST and shows that the government is serious about tackling alcohol problems in our community," foundation chief executive officer John Rogerson said.

Volumetric taxation was one of the most effective ways to reduce excessive consumption, he said.

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHA) said the price rise would have a major impact on drinking among young people, especially young women.

Alcopops were the first drink for as many as 60 per cent of girls, PHA president Mike Daube said.

"There is now dramatic evidence showing that young women are out-drinking their male counterparts - and unfortunately many of them drink to get drunk," Professor Daube said.

"This increase will make a real dent in one of our biggest current social problems."

Government 'shocked'

Health Minister Nicola Roxon was shocked by the survey statistics and said it was well-established that "alcopops" played a major role in hooking young girls into drinking.

"Something needs to be done to reduce the attractiveness of 'alcopops' to young girls and deliver a greater investment in preventative health," she said.

"Binge-drinking among young Australians is a real health risk that needs to be dealt with.

"And if we can tackle alcohol abuse at this formative age, then that will help us cut down alcohol abuse later in life as well."

The $27.31 per litre tax hike on the pre-mixed drinks would bring them into line with spirits and other alcohol and close a loophole from legislation introduced in 2000.

A senior government source said the revenue impact from the excise increase would be in excess of $2 billion.

Details of the Government's new preventative health measure and funding will be released when Treasurer Wayne Swan announces his first Budget on May 13.

The survey by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, last conducted in 2004, also found about 22 per cent of teens drank at least once a week.

Across all age groups, 82.9 per cent of Australians drank alcohol in the previous 12 months. In 1993, the rate was 77.9 per cent.

Sunday Mail

Health chiefs in Cumbria have vowed to crack down on alcohol abuse as almost a third of 14 to 17-year-olds admitted to buying booze in the last week.

Compared to the national average more Cumbrian underage teens are binge drinking and buying alcohol and more than twice the number of 14 and 15-year-old boys report drinking in pubs or bars.

Under 19s cause around a quarter of alcohol-related crime in Cumbria.

Now, more youngsters are admitted to hospital with drink-related problems and more parents are buying booze for their children than the UK average.

This week the county launched its first alcohol strategy – Time To Call Time.

Members of Cumbria Constabulary, the local health care trust, youth offending service, Connexions, probation service and the county council were at the North Lakes Hotel in Penrith to pledge to fight problem drinking.

Director of public health, Professor John Ashton, called the drinking culture in Cumbria a mess.and said that young people’s attitudes to alcohol were impacting on issues such as teen pregnancy rates.

He said allowing youngsters to drink responsibly from 16 would instil greater respect for alcohol.

“It would be better in a managed environment,” he said.

“Boarding schools have a tradition that kids can have a drink at the weekend and if it’s good enough for the wealthy, then it’s good enough for the masses.”He added that meditation should be taught in schools to help youngsters steer away from alcohol in future times of stress.

But he stressed teens should not become scapegoats for wider problems.

He said : “The north of England is the alcohol centre of the UK and Cumbria is right up there – we know we have an alcohol mess on our hands. We need to adjust cultural expectations.”Prof Ashton said supermarkets selling cheap alcohol should take responsibility along with licensed premises that serve to those under-age. He said all adults should be setting a good example by drinking within safe limits.

“We are not talking about being tee-total. The problem is the fish are the last to see the water and in this case the water is the alcohol.

“Alcohol is a subtle and vicious drug if not handled properly,” he added.

The study behind the strategy also revealed around 9,000 children in Cumbria have parents with drink problems, and more than a third of the most serious child cases dealt with by social workers include alcohol or drug misuse.

Kevin Jones, head of partnership and prevention for the council’s children’s services department, called the statistics “shocking”. He said: “Parents overindulge in alcohol and fail to recognise the effects that can have on their children.”

Details about of the strategy will are expected to be developed by August.

Times & Star

A new series of graphic advertisements about binge drinking have made an impact - prompting complaints but also calls for help, an alcohol helpline says.

The new campaign by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (Alac) features three ads - a man ("Uncle Mark") slamming a child into furniture while whirling him around at a party, a young woman ("Lisa") becoming prey to a dangerous man in an alley and a father (`Danny") being found by his young daughter on the bathroom floor covered in blood and vomit after a violent night out at the pub.

Alcohol and Drug Association New Zealand chief executive Cate Kearney said the campaign, which began on April 6, may have upset a few people but was already working.

She said in its first couple of days the campaign prompted 15 complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, but twice as many calls to the Drug Alcohol Helpline from people seeking help.

"In the first two days, calls to the helpline went up by 30 percent and within a week, they were up by 50 percent and have now dropped to 42 percent," she said.

"What's even more significant, is that over 80 percent of those that called due to the advertising had never called the Helpline before. That means the ads are hitting home with people who recognise the binge drinking pattern. It's given them the motivation to do something about it and seek help."

Ms Kearney said most of the calls related to the ads involving "Uncle Mark" and "Danny".

"One man said he realised Uncle Mark could easily have been him and he thought he'd better get help. And a lot of callers have identified with the guy in the pub."

Particularly disturbing were male callers who said they had seen the "Lisa" situation a lot and had never done anything to stop it, she said.

People who complained about the advertisements said they were too graphic, "shocking", and upset children.

"More compliments than complaints have been received at the Helpline with 90 percent of callers that comment on the campaign expressing appreciation."

Stuff NZ

When I attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, I speak of my “experience, strength and hope.” As an alcoholic in recovery, I carry that message to others as part of the 12-step program I work in AA.

This week, I listened to other voices, both younger and older, carry the message, too, from as near as my community’s local high school in Iowa to as far as Woonsocket, R.I. Indeed, with the Internet, some of these voices go the distance.

In my local school district, I heard three young women, one still a student in the high school and one who graduated just a year ago, as they bravely spoke about their addictions, including alcoholism, facing an audience of people asking questions in a public environment that included a television camera.

Four days later I listened as an older gentleman, Normand, who had been homeless, living in the woods in Woonsocket, R.I., and actively drinking for many years, spoke to a different audience at a nearby movie theatre, after we all watched a documentary about his and a friend’s ongoing processes of recovery from alcoholism. We are never “recovered” from this disease, but “in recovery” if we aren’t actively drinking.

The young female panelists were speaking from personal experience about underage drinking and using drugs, as part of a town hall meeting to engage the public and help people better understand what the disease of addiction and the consequences of underage drinking entail. They spoke frankly, in the presence of school officials including the superintendent, about poorly chosen behaviors such as partying with all of the football team members, driving while drunk and getting high several times during the same school day.

One panelist, 24, is a single mother of three young children and answered an audience question about designated drivers at parties by saying she often served in that capacity simply because she had had relatively less to drink than her fellow partygoers. She added that she still shouldn’t have driven.

Another young woman on the panel, sporting tattoos and striking black facial make-up, spoke about her alcohol and drug use, noting she made sure she had enough packs of cigarettes to last for as long as needed when she knew she wouldn’t be able to purchase them for a period of time. I used to do that with alcohol, as do all alcoholics. We make sure we have our stashes, for long weekends, big parties, prior to inclement weather, store closures on weekends; any excuse will do, just so we won’t run out. She spoke also, she said for the first time, of going on a drunk that lasted for days. She said that one drug led to her use of others.

Normand Cartier, the 49-year-old man who is one subject of the documentary I saw titled “Lost in Woonsocket,” was the man I met, who talked to audience members about being a “maintenance” drinker. He said he literally could not see, nor could he take a step, until he first took a drink upon waking every morning. He drank to maintain his ability to function daily.

The film in which Normand appears was produced for an Arts and Entertainment program called “Random 1” (www.lostinwoonsocket.com), and is now being shown around the country to raise funds for homeless shelters and addiction-recovery programs. Normand was filmed on location in the woods where he slept in a tent with a friend, Mark, a fellow homeless alcoholic whose family wanted nothing more to do with him.

The filmmakers take these men from the woods one at a time and they are filmed in real time as they get a new start on life, with fresh haircuts done by Joe, an alcoholic with 27 years of sobriety, who also carries a message of experience, strength and hope. They each go through a seven-day detox, to begin to rid their bodies of the toxins created by alcohol abuse, and then through lengthy periods in residential rehab.

Normand has stayed sober for well over two years, and continues to carry the message by accompanying the film and speaking at fundraisers, and lobbying for changes in laws in the Rhode Island statehouse. His friend, following the same path as the majority of alcoholics, does not work a 12-step program and, Normand said, cannot stay sober for long. Maybe someday Mark will be able to do so. Normand said his friend has excuses for his drinking, and in the film Mark says the fame of making the movie, becoming a local celebrity and called “Mr. Hollywood” on the street, was too much, so he relapsed.

Normand said simply, “I don’t use excuses or the word ‘but;’ I use the word ‘because.’” He said the point where he surrendered to his powerlessness over alcohol, the first of the 12-steps, and he decided to stop drinking was when he was reunited with his children and grandchildren he didn’t know he had. His grown-up sons and daughters had contacted the filmmakers when they saw their dad on the television. He had not seen his family in more than 12 years.

The high school panelist who talked about getting high five to seven times in a single day also said she had entered and completed a three-month residential treatment program, after deciding she needed help.

Those of us in recovery circles talk a lot about “hitting bottom,” the point at which we have had enough of drug and/or alcohol usage, like Normand. This young woman on the panel said, “you reach bottom when you stop digging.”

All of these speakers had stopped digging, as I did when my family sent me to 28-day residential treatment for alcoholism, in Minnesota at Hazelden, almost 3 1/2 years ago.

Instead of despair, we now extend messsages of optimism for our futures, and the hope that other alcoholics and addicts can learn from us.

The young lady who stayed drunk for days is now attending a nearby community college and making better, more informed choices, planning to move away from an environment that she said was dangerous for her. Her family instituted some tough love to help her, and she was grateful, she said.

The 24-year-old mom is working with at-risk students at a nearby high school, is also employed at a restaurant, and she volunteers with a group of young parents needing guidance. Normand travels around the country and speaks of his work lobbying in the Rhode Island legislature, restoring funding for programs that can help addicts and alcoholics. He said he now has two more grandchildren and his family is a big reason for his continuous sobriety. And the high school student completed her treatment and is now armed with a body of knowledge about her disease that will help her in the future.

I write columns about my experience, strength and hope, echoing the message that Normand, a roughly hewn, former welder in the shipyards of the northeast coast left with the group who attended the film featuring him, which is that alcoholism does not discriminate but can be overcome, one day at a time.

Star football players, doctors, lawyers, journalists, welders, high school students, older folks and younger ones, college graduates like me or high school dropouts – we all may suffer from the same disease, but we can talk about it, informing, teaching others, and we can choose to travel a path toward recovery. To keep our sobriety, we must give it away.

Normand was given a “blessing ring” by Joe, the barber, after his first haircut and before he entered detox. He proudly displayed the small, round, silver charm to us at the theater. He keeps it on a keyring now that he owns one because he is no longer homeless, and I thought as I looked at the light in his eyes that we are all of us blessed, lucky enough to be on the road to continued sobriety and a better life.

Libson Sun

In an effort to increase understanding and awareness of underage drinking in Fayette County, the Fayette County Drug and Alcohol Commission Inc. played host to a town hall meeting recently.

"We're doing prevention in the schools, starting at the first grade," said Charlotte Korba of the FCDAC, just one of the speakers on a panel of experts to testify how underage drinking has crossed their paths.

"You may think that's too early to start (prevention education); it's never too early to start."

Pat Mohan, a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said young drivers are at risk any time they are on the roads. Add alcohol to the mix and risk factors increase.

"Drunk driving is a crime that is 100 percent preventable," Mohan said.

She said in her eight years with MADD, she's heard enough horror stories. And she knows you don't have to be in the vehicle to be a victim of drunk driving.

"We have to teach everyone who's involved to make the roadways safer for all of us," she said.

Police also have to deal with underage drinking.

"In the last two years, we issued 50 citations for underage drinking," said Uniontown City Police Chief Jason Cox.

Police normally get involved after someone underage drinks, has his decision-making affected and does something illegal, he said.

Mark King of the Fayette County Juvenile Probation Office said parental cooperation is always a big plus when it comes to addressing underage drinking.

District Judge Ronald Haggerty deals with young drinkers after they have been approached by the police. He said the biggest problem is the attitudes held by both the children and their parents.

Haggerty's advice for arresting officers of underage drinkers is to take them to their parents while the minor is still intoxicated, to let the parents see and smell the alcohol on them. That way parents won't convince themselves that police are charging their child falsely.

Haggerty reminded parents that it's against the law to furnish alcohol to minors. It's something parents sometimes forget -- especially with upcoming graduation parties.

"It will happen this graduation year," Haggerty said. "It happens every year."

Phillip Rishel of the Herod Funeral Home in Point Marion has dealt with the end result of underage drinking.

"Seventy-five percent of younger deaths are from drinking," he said.

When the friends of a victim walk away from the casket, many have blank looks on their faces. But Rishel sid he has never heard one say he would change his attitude toward drinking.

Daily Courier

The Government is today expected to announce plans to restrict the sale of alcohol in supermarkets and garage forecourts.

It follows increasing concern about the level of alcohol abuse — highlighted again this week by a report showing the damage the drug is causing Irish society as alcohol is a factor in half of all murders and more than 25% of admissions to A&E.

Justice Minister Brian Lenihan will publish a report from a government-appointed expert group and, more significantly, the proposed legislation to implement its key recommendations. Restricting the sale of alcohol in supermarkets and garage forecourts is expected to be a key finding.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern gave a firm signal on this issue last month when saying: “What is clear is that what’s happening in the garage forecourts, what’s happening in the supermarket, what’s happening in the off-licence generally is leading to an excessive amount of alcohol being available.”

Mr Lenihan established the Alcohol Advisory Group in January to urgently examine key aspects of the law governing the sale and consumption of drink.

In particular, it was asked to examine:

* the increase in the number of supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations with off-licences and the way alcohol was sold in such outlets.

* the increasing number of special exemption orders obtained by licensed premises that permitted longer opening hours.

* the use, adequacy and effectiveness of existing sanctions, particularly those directed towards combating excessive and underage alcohol consumption.

When announcing the advisory group, Mr Lenihan made clear his intention to change the law before the summer. In tandem with the group’s report today, he will publish the heads, or main points, of the Intoxicating Liquor/Public Order Bill 2008.

This bill will then go before the Dáil for consideration. Mr Lenihan has already expressed his hope of getting cross-party support for the measures involved.

Irish Examiner

NSW authorities have defended their efforts to tackle drunken crime after a report showed the number of booze-fuelled attacks had doubled in under a decade.

The NSW auditor-general's report found there were 20,475 alcohol-related assaults (ARAs) statewide in the 2006-07 financial year.

The figure has risen steadily through the early 2000s from the 10,305 ARAs recorded in 1997-98, according to the report released.

The report also found almost a third of these violent incidents occurred at licensed premises where laws surrounding the irresponsible serving of alcohol applied.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said more could be done to wind down the assault rate, and about 15 per cent of the state's licensed outlets were "problem hotels".

"Everything is not fine," the commissioner told reporters in Sydney.

"Since 1999, there has been a 400 per cent increase in the number of matters we've brought before the court ... we haven't taken our eye off the ball," he said.

Mr Scipione denied there was a shortage of police to oversee the hotels, but said a dedicated 30-person "alcohol law enforcement command" was being established.

NSW Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat said it was the inconsistent approach by NSW police and the regulator, Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR), that was partially responsible for the rise in assaults.

In some cases, licensees would receive a verbal warning for serving intoxicated people when, for a similar incident, another would be fined, the auditor said.

NSW had more than 14,200 licensed outlets, the report stated, with police referring 136 alleged licensing breaches to prosecutors last year.

The OLGR referred just six cases in the same period.

"The increase in alcohol-related crime is disturbing," Mr Achterstraat said.

"A lot more needs to be done to enforce and promote the responsible service of alcohol.

"We need to make sure that police are trained better, and the public is better educated and there is a consistency in the application of the laws across the state."

The report, entitled Working with Hotels and Clubs to Reduce Alcohol-Related Crime, found 30 per cent of ARAs occurred on licensed premises in 2006-07, another 35 per cent occurred outdoors, while 24 per cent were in residential homes.

The NSW opposition said the 30 extra police would only scratch the surface of a problem that reached deep into suburban Sydney and rural centres statewide.

"Alcohol-related violence and other offences have reached epidemic proportions in NSW and the community is sick and tired of baring the cost," Acting Opposition Leader Andrew Stoner said.

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) said the report highlighted a lack of action by police on patrol.

"General duties police are the first to respond when hotels call for assistance," AHA director of policing and regulatory relations John Green said.

"They should have better knowledge of the laws and how to administer them."

Comment was being sought from the NSW government.

Sydney Morning Heral

Andrew used to be an alcoholic. He's come a long way in his life. He's the one person in my life who I can truly say lost it all, and has overcome. Andrew's tale is both heart breaking and heart warming and I had to share it with all of you.

Andrew, at what age did you start drinking?

Drinking has always been permitted in our household; I can honestly remember my parents telling stories about the fact as a baby I would dive across the room for a Manhattan. My mother and father both drank and entertained a lot, later even after their divorce my mother owned a bar and my father practically lived in bars.

Why do you think you starting drinking at that point? Did something happen?

The easy access and permissiveness made it easy to obtain, early growth of facial hair contributed the ease of buying beer at carryout stores. Drinking was not looked down upon back then, like smoking it was the cool and manly thing to do.

I would say that it was after my wife left me that the drinking took a turn for the worse. We had been having trouble and she had threatened to kill herself during a fight we had, my son (3 years old at the time) was under us as I took the knife away from his mother. I sent him to live with his grandmother until his mom and I could resolve the issues we had in our lives. At the suggestion of my wife and a neighbor we joined a local church and sought marriage counseling with the pastor there. After several weeks of hearing I should bring my son home and a mother should be with her son, and wanting to believe God was in charge and would restore my family, I brought my son home. A week later my wife run off with my son while I was at work. I was very angry with those people, the church and God. After accepting that my wife and son were not going to return, I started instead of heading to an empty home I headed to the bars, just like on the show "Cheers" soon everyone knows your name and no one is a stranger to misery. I believe it was at that point started to follow in my father's footsteps of living in the bars more than I frequented my home.

It wasn't long that I had my favorite hangouts, I would find bars that I could kill time at. Over time and several bars and friends, I eventually lost my license due to drinking and driving. That didn't stop me. I moved to the inner city so I could travel by bus, I use to plan my bus routes so I could get off near a bar and kill time between busses. Although I gained a wealth of useless trivia and honed many skills like billiards, poker, and miniature bowling over time mathematics and science took over and my life became unmanageable, it was after my father passed away that the drinking became a need and no longer a passing of time. I remember waking up in the middle of the night shaking so hard from withdrawal that I kept a quart of beer on my nightstand so I could stop the shakes and go back to sleep.

How did you stop drinking?

Actually I didn't stop drinking, it was Feb. 96 and it was getting cold, my drinking had lost me everything and I found myself on the street with the homeless. I wanted to go stay out at my mothers until weather broke. She didn't want me out there unless I promised to seek help for my drinking and check myself into a hospital. Of course I would do what she wanted play the game till weather broke. So I called a toll free number she gave me, it didn't matter it was cold on the riverbank and the place I was sleeping was anything but warm.

Instead of a hospital I actually ended up at a Ministry that dealt with alcoholics and addicts. It was call Storehouse Ministry. After interviewing with one of their staff and expressing a desire to stop drinking I was accepted into their program of rehabilitation.

The program involved community service, bible study, rigorous meetings and counseling sessions. I remember thinking to my self that I couldn't believe I was entering into a Christian program run by the similar bible thumping people as the ones I blamed for losing my son and wife. I told them in the beginning that it wasn't that I didn't believe in God, or Jesus, I just didn't know were they lived and was sure I wanted to know. My lack of knowledge of the Lord and the bible was literally composed of Charleston Heston as Moses and any other biblical movie they showed at Easter back then.

The second day of not drinking started to take affect; the withdrawal and shakes had started. It was my first bible study class; there was a teacher that day he called me up to the podium after our bible class. After asking me a few questions and looking into my eyes he laid his hands upon me and started to pray, I really didn't fight it as I really didn't feel well enough to protest. He prayed then started to chant, which later I learned was praying in tongues, and I felt a warm and calmness wash over me. I felt so much better when he finished all I could do was say thank you. He said don't thank me it was the Lord that healed me; he was just the instrument of His mercy. There were several guys in the program and I saw a lot of them come and go. It wasn't until Apr 12th 1996 at a prayer meeting that I went to that I found God and accepted him into my life. The minister that was visiting that Sunday had written a book "God don't make Junk". I had just read that book a week before his visit and felt it was God trying to convince me to come into the fold. It was on that day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savor.

In July of 1996 I learned that my mother was dieing from cancer. She had asked that I come live with her and her husband and help him take care of her until she passed away. She has chosen not to treat the cancer and accept it, she wanted to die at home not in a hospital. I agreed and with permission from the ministry left to live with them until she passed away. I believe that her passing only reinforced my reliance on God's will and His part in my life.

Do you worry you might start drinking again?

Recovering Alcoholics who take their recover seriously always worry about that day, most of us cling to God for strength, other hold their higher powers. We try to avoid triggers and our recovery is not only that we stopped drinking but also took serious steps on learning and improving our selves in the process. No I do not worry about starting again I have a close grip on God and my sobriety, but I do not dismiss the fact that starting again would lead to my death and I don't want to die as a drunk.

Do you avoid social events due to the pressure of drinking?

Although I there are some in recovery that would avoid such event, I do not avoid social events or meeting people in bars, however, I do not temp fate but hanging out in bars or with others that drink on a daily basis. Shortly into my sobriety those who were my drinking friends had to be let go. I had to move on with out them as they would have dragged me back to the barstool beside them, after all we know that misery loves company and its hard to be miserable when your sober and have the light of the Lord fueling your soul.

Were your parents alcoholics?

With all I know about alcoholism, I cannot and will not answer that question, I loved my parents and they did the best they could with what they knew. Looking back could things have been done differently? Of course it could hind site is always 20/20 however I cant say they were or were not, was it something they had to do or wanted to do? I don't know. In the end drinking was something I had to do, my body would cause me pain if I didn't drink. That is a fact, I know the truth about me, not about my parents and may never know as they have both passed on to a better place.

Do you believe alcoholism is hereditary?

Do not believe alcoholism is hereditary in the sense it in the genes, but I do believe in generational curses passed down from one generation to the next. I believe we make choices based on what we learn and yearn from life and that it sometimes leads us to some very dark and dreary places.

I have read books that wish to link alcoholism to genes or environmental factors. I prefer to think of it as a curse of overindulgence, that without guidance we all have the potential to get lost. Whether its booze, drugs, food, depression or violence, when it becomes a controlling factor in our lives, then it becomes a problem for everyone.

Have you ever been tempted to just have one drink?

Everyday, temptation is out there all the time, I have some great memories from my drinking days, and they were not all bad. Temptation is just that an appealing view of a choice we can make. Since I do attend social event, I have kissed woman with the taste of alcohol on their lips, tempted I have been but I believe God has a greater purpose for me than lying in a ditch drunk and passed out. When tempted to the point that I might give in I just remember to pray, turn it over to God and let him deal with it.

Have you shared your testimony of how you have overcome with others?

I share the testimony ever chance I get, although there are different crowds to appeal to and variations of the testimony to fit the circumstances that brought my confession to light, they all share the fact that without God all that I have achieved would not have been possible, and that Jesus as my savior gives me the strength to make it one day at a time.

Do you feel your purpose is to help other alcoholics stop drinking?

It is my place to shine bright and be a beacon, and although I spent two year with Barnabus Ministry working with recovering alcoholics and addicts I don't believe I can help anyone stop drinking, that is something they need to find within themselves. I can only allow God's light to shine through me and hope that it is seen and accepted.

Although I no longer work for the ministry as they have moved to a bigger location farther away from my current quarters, I still minister on a smaller scale at local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Informative Post

I don't know why we think we are any different than any other part of the world: gambling, drinking, violence, traffic congestion ... the list could go on and on.

Recently I was in the UK where people were talking about the same things.

For instance, binge drinking is high on their list of concerns and the articles out of the newspapers could be mistaken as being the same ones written here.

The problems seem to be identical.

I guess the only difference is that MPs in the UK want to put the price up on alcohol but most sensible people realise that, if they do, the drug trade will probably just grow bigger.

It seems to me that getting drunk is something that seems to be universal. Whether it be alcohol, drugs or chewing some type of nut, people have being doing it for centuries.

I am not saying it is right but it has been going on for a while.

Now, before I go any further into this, I should declare to those who do not know me that, as a hotel manager many years ago, I probably did most of the things that I am now saying not to do.

But I agree with most people that the problem is getting bigger and something needs to be done.

I agree with state politicians having a look at late-night hours and bringing them back into line.

Nothing good happens after 1am.

But the problem with doing that is ever since Expo 88 our culture is to go out late and stay out well into the early hours of the next day.

Changing that is going to be difficult but it is worth a go.

The downside is if they start charging big fees for late-night permits, the multinational operators will get bigger while a lot of ma and pa businesses will fall to the wayside, which could mean a whole lot of kids in parks late at night in regional areas unsupervised.

Of course, they need to fix the public transport problem before they start shutting venues at midnight or 1am or there will be more carnage than there is now.

But I see a couple of other things as major contributing factors: ready-to-drink alcohol, which is lethal to young people, and shots of spirits or liqueurs.
These are just two examples.

Now, venues can talk about accords and how they are going to manage their businesses but, fair dinkum, anyone that sells Jaeger bombs is not serious about trying to fix the problem.

Granted, some responsible folk might have one as a nightcap and stumble off to bed. But most are drinking them for one reason.

The fun police should stop venues from selling straight-up shots of anything because it appears a fair percentage of people can’t handle it.

So, think earlier hours, no shots, more buses and taxis and no 7% ready-to-drink beverages and maybe the problem starts to turn around.

Sunshine Coast Daily

Alcohol abuse is severely damaging our health, but the Government has no action plan to combat the spiralling problem.

A damning new survey published by health authorities yesterday paints a bleak picture of the violence, injury and death fuelled by increasing abuse of alcohol.

The report, the largest of its kind ever produced here, found that consumption rose by almost 3pc last year.

And it highlighted serious shortcomings in the Government's response to the problem.

Unlike the war against drugs or tobacco, there is no national plan in place to tackle the growing problem.

In a damning indictment of the Government's failure to tackle the problem, the 'Alcohol Related Harm in Ireland' report demands:

* Effective plans to cut alcohol abuse.

* A national watchdog to ensure the policies work.

* A system to monitor alcohol-related harm.

The report said: "The dramatic increase in alcohol related harm does not bode well for the future health and wellbeing of the population in Ireland."

Spelling out the frightening toll of alcohol abuse on the streets, in homes and hospitals the report revealed:

* Over 25 years homicide mortality rates increased, peaking in 1998. But after a fall for for three years there was a steep rise in 2006.

* Between 1996-2002 public order adult offences rose by a massive 247pc -- after falling they increased again.

* Between 1990 and 2006, 2462 people were killed on the roads between 4am and 9pm -- the time most associated with drink driving.

* A survey found 44pc of all people said they suffered harm as a result of their own or someone else's alcohol use.

* Almost half of men and over a quarter of women believed drinking alcohol had contributed to them having sex without contraception. Reported sexually transmitted diseases went up by 217pc between 1995 and 2004;

The report goes on to say that the risk of harm to babies because their mothers are drinking while pregnant is rising.

Alcohol related cancers will more than double between 2005 and 2020 -- this is worrying because much of the rise will come from young and middle aged drinkers.

A detailed examination of crime files show almost half (46pc) of all killers were intoxicated, while alcohol is a contributory factor in 36.5pc of all fatal road crashes.

The report points out the recommendations of the Government's Strategic Task Force on Alcohol (STFA) have been endorsed by the HSE.

However, there is no national structure with specific targets or timelines in place to implement them.

"Alcohol related harm will not be reduced unless action is taken. Delaying the necessary action increases the growing burden of harm for everyone in society," the report added.

Independent ie

About 40 people turned out Wednesday night to discuss teen drinking, the long-term damage it causes to the brain, and what parents can do to help prevent it.

The meeting was the second such forum sponsored by the Black River Area Community Coalition, which formed in 2004 in response to concerns that teen drinking in the area was on the rise.

Guest speaker Robert Edwards, chief of police for Dover, has spent the last 10 years giving lectures on teen drinking, including speeches to the FBI National Academy and Pride Youth Programs, which encourage teens to be drug- and alcohol-free.

"This is about getting adults interested in this problem before it's too late," Edwards said. "The problem begins with parents but law enforcement has been given the problem."

Edwards made the argument that use of alcohol as a teen will make the user more prone to become an addict later in life.

Edwards said that in an individual's brain, the amygdala, which prompts pleasure-seeking behavior, forms early in life.

In contrast, Edwards said, the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making part of the brain that regulates impulse control, does not fully develop until a person is about 25 years old.

"This is a very important time and that's why you shouldn't put anything in your brain to impair it," Edwards said.

Edwards said alcohol use during the time the prefrontal cortex is still developing can permanently retard development, in essence halting a person's cognitive development.

Edwards said that as a police officer, he estimated between 80 and 85 percent of his calls are in some way substance-abuse-related.

"The older adults that we deal with do not have these skills," Edwards said. "We don't encounter people with substance abuse problems who say they started drinking at 21."

Edwards said that a person with an impaired prefrontal cortex is more likely to be impulsive, to lack coping and problem-solving skills, and will often not take responsibility for his actions.

Edwards's advice to parents, while not groundbreaking, was perhaps a good reminder. Set a curfew, be up when your kids come home, know who your kids are with and set reasonable consequences and enforce them.

Black River High School students appear to drink more frequently than most teens in the state, according to the Vermont Youth Risk Survey.

The survey — conducted in high schools statewide as a partnership between the Department of Health and the Department of Education — found that in 2005, 40 percent of Ludlow teens reported consuming at least one alcoholic beverage in the last 30 days.

This figure was just slightly higher than the statewide average of 37 percent.

In 2007, however, the percentage jumped to 49 percent, while the statewide average increased slightly to 39 percent, making Ludlow's teens 10 percent more likely to have consumed alcohol than their peers across the state.

While Ludlow teens are more likely to drink, they are not more likely to binge drink, according to the survey.

The survey found that 23 percent of Ludlow teens had binged on alcohol within the last 30 days in 2007, which is identical to the figure gathered statewide.

Binge drinking is defined by the survey as having consumed five or more drinks within a couple of hours.

Binge drinking is on the rise, both among Ludlow teens and across the state. Between 2005 and 2007, the percentage of binge-drinking Ludlow teens rose from 20 to 23 percent. During the same time, the statewide average rose from 21 to 23 percent.

In addition to discussing teen alcohol abuse, BRACC program coordinator Paul Faenza also had a display of energy drinks — both with alcohol and without — that he had found for sale between Ludlow and Rutland.

"We thought we should do this because I go into the schools and I see kids drinking these drinks and the parents don't know how much caffeine is in them," Faenza said.

Faenza found 45 different energy drinks by Red Bull, Amp and Monster and others, and labeled the caffeine content on the bottom of each can. Most cans had between 240 and 300 milligrams of caffeine. Vermont Poison Control states that a person can overdose on 1,000 milligrams of caffeine.

In addition, Faenza found energy drinks with both caffeine and alcohol, in some cases with alcohol contents of 8 percent. Faenza noted the cans with alcohol and without are nearly identical.

"I brought these cans up to the clerk at the store and she wasn't sure if they had alcohol or not," Faenza said.

Edwards said the long-term effects of caffeine abuse for teens is still being studied, but preliminary results have found the energy drinks can disturb their sleep cycles.

BRACC will hold its next meeting at 5:30 p.m. on May 13 at the Fletcher Memorial Library in Ludlow.

Rutland Herald

A Prevailing image of students has tended to be that of the hard-drinking kind. Boozy Betty is no different. She's out drinking with friends into the wee hours, she can't remember how she got home and her grades are beginning to suffer as a result.

Boozy Betty is a poster girl to remind Heriot-Watt students in Edinburgh of the dangers of drinking too much. The campaign has been so successful the National Union of Students in Scotland has formally endorsed it to be promoted throughout the country.

The campaign was launched by Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh in November, who distributed posters and cards, as well as training student wardens and welfare staff on alcohol issues. A regular on campus advice service point was also set up for students.

Female students were asked how they felt about the campaign, which lists a typical week for Boozy Betty, including, "missed lectures, having her bank card refused, going into town for some serious partying, developing a muffin top and looking rough".

Christine Johnstone, director of student welfare at the university, said it wanted to be proactive and was not reacting to a particular problem on campus. However, researchers found 36% of female students drank eight to 16 units on both Friday and Saturday nights - four to five times the recommended amount.

The majority of students surveyed said the campaign had made them reflect on their drinking habits and more than a third said they had felt embarrassed about their drinking. The evaluation report also found 10% said the resources would prompt them to reduce their alcohol use, mainly because of the impact on their studies and falling behind.

Almost all respondents said they had missed lectures after a night out, but just 7% said they had changed their behaviour, citing peer pressure and lack of confidence as the main reason for why changing was too difficult.

First year student Gillian Stewart, 19, said the campaign had made her think about how much she was drinking and admitted she was surprised by how many calories were in alcohol.

"The whole campaign came from a different angle than most others because it focused on what would happen to us now, like missing deadlines and getting muffin tops, (spare tyres) rather than what will happen years down the line. It's made me more conscious of what I'm drinking and in my circle of friends, we're more careful of what we're doing."

Liam Burns, depute president (elect) of NUS Scotland, and president of  Heriot-Watt University Students' Association said: "NUS Scotland voted last month to formally endorse the promotion of Boozy Betty and promote the campaign in colleges and universities across Scotland in recognition of its success. It has also had considerable interest from across the UK, with similar mandates being passed during NUS UK annual conference."

Tom Wood, chairman of Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh said: "There's a tendency for people to dismiss excessive student drinking as simply a phase and something that students do'. However, the evidence clearly shows that alcohol-related illnesses and deaths among young women are growing, and we are seeing a growing trend of problematic drinking among this group.

" The evaluation clearly shows Boozy Betty has made many of the women start to question their drinking and in some cases even prompt a reduction in their drinking - this is immensely encouraging."

Heriot-Watt University plans to continue the Boozy Betty campaign and will launch a similar project targeting male students in the next academic year.

Sunday Herald

The drink-driving limit should be lowered to less than a pint of beer and brought into line with the rest of Europe, according to a motorists' poll.

The findings in a survey of Automobile Association (AA) members increase the pressure on the government to reduce the limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg.

The Department for Transport is expected to publish a consultation paper on a drink-driving crackdown, including whether random breath tests should be introduced later this year.

According to the poll of 17,500 drivers, two-thirds were in favour of lowering the limit, with more women than men choosing this option, while nearly a third of all respondents called for a zero limit.

Edmund King, the AA president, warned that lowering the limit was unlikely to have a significant effect on drink-drive-related deaths, which totalled 540 in 2006.

"It's not the entire answer to the problem of drink-driving. Many people are way over the limit and if we just lowered it, it would be no help at all in preventing those who are so far over," said Mr King.

"There is probably a hardcore who have a drink problem rather than a drive problem."

Drink-drive deaths have fallen in recent years, after an upward trend in 2003 and 2004, when the number of fatalities reached 580 each year. However, the total remains higher than nearly 10 years ago, when there were 460 drink-drive deaths in 1999.

According to a study by University College London, a 50mg limit would prevent 65 deaths annually and 230 injuries. Ministers have argued that there is no point in reducing the limit until the 80mg level is properly enforced, otherwise drivers will ignore the new law.

King said one way of introducing a lower limit could include offering a nine-month amnesty to drivers when the 80mg limit - equivalent to one and a half pints of beer - is reduced. He added that a rule change would also provide an opportunity for a renewed publicity campaign against drink-driving.

"If limits change, there would be a lot of publicity and it would send out a very strong anti-drink-drive message," he said.

Robert Gifford, head of the parliamentary advisory council for transport safety, said the findings would increase the pressure on the government to bring drink-drive guidelines in line with major European countries, whose limits are between 20mg and 50mg.

"This is yet another indication that the public mood is ahead of the government, and it is another reason why the government should lower the drink-drive limit."

The UK is among the harshest penalisers of drink-driving in Europe, with a 12-month ban being the minimum punishment. Ministers have said they will retain the year-long ban if the limit is lowered.

However, enforcement of drink-driving regulations has been criticised in recent years. The number of breath tests in Britain fell from 765,000 in 1999 to 578,000 in 2004, a slump that the government hopes to address by introducing random breathalyser tests. The Home Office is also working on a "drugalyser" project to catch out drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs.

A spokesperson for the DfT said: "We are currently considering a range of options to further cut the toll of deaths on the roads, including looking at drink-driving. A consultation is planned for later this year."

Guardian

The war against binge drinking has begun, and not before time.

Thousands of young people are turning up at hospitals all around Australia every night of the week needing treatment for alcohol abuse.

This is a national scandal and demands forthright action.

In Queensland, the Bligh Government fired a salvo at binge drinking by announcing a crackdown on alcohol consumption and a review of opening times for clubs and other liquor outlets.

The Government also wants to double the fines for adults - including parents - who supply alcohol to minors.

The government isn't the only organisation worried about alcohol abuse, especially among young people.

The Gold Coast chapter of the Queensland Hotels Association says pub owners want limits imposed on the alcohol content of pre-mixed cans and bottles.

In some cases, a standard 375ml pre-mixed drink can contain the equivalent of nearly three standard drinks.

It is no wonder teenagers, drawn by the attractive packaging and the sweet taste of 'alcopops', become very drunk, very quickly.

But pre-mixed drinks are just one element of a problem which has many causes.

What Gold Coasters see on the streets of Surfers Paradise and at teenage parties in the suburbs, happens most weekends all around the nation. Binge drinking has become an epidemic for Australia.

Thirty per cent of children aged between 14 and 17 drink alcohol every week and 70 per cent get it from friends or relatives. In other words, the likely source of alcohol abuse among young people is the poor example set by the people who supposedly love them most -- their parents and friends.

The custom in Australia used to be that parents did not give alcohol to children under the legal drinking age. Now that custom, based on the wisdom of what alcohol can do to a developing brain, appears to be rarely applied.

If binge drinking is to be beaten or at least minimised, parents have to start caring about the attitudes of their children towards alcohol.

Expecting governments to fix society's hangover is little more than a cop-out.

Good Thinking

The hard work really begins now for the ideas coming out of Summit 2020.

In his initial report, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the point that the momentum had to come not just from governments.

"The ideas presented indicate that many Australians expect business and not-for-profit organisations to play more prominent roles in Australia," he said.

"There is a sense of government needing to see its role as creating opportunities through fair and consistent policies delivered with a light hand - government as enabling rather than controlling, as encouraging rather than prescribing," he said.

It is a position endorsed by this newspaper.

The greatest achievements in Australian history have come largely through the private sector.

A more open and subservient government creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators is a vision worth working towards.

Gold Coast

Parents who send their children to schoolies week and parties with cartons of alcohol will face $6000 fines under tough new Queensland Government laws.

The penalty is double that flagged by the Government when it proposed an overhaul of liquor laws in a bid to tackle alcohol abuse and binge-drinking by young people.

Premier Anna Bligh said irresponsible parents and other adults who supplied underage teens with booze would be hit hard.

"This is not aimed at teenagers whose parents give them a sip of wine during a special occasion," Ms Bligh said. "But when mum or dad buys a ute full of beer for their teenager, they obviously need clearer guidelines on what is acceptable.

"In a time of growing concern about the culture of teenage binge-drinking, the law needs to be clear and unequivocal."

An exclusive Sunday Mail report in September revealed three Brisbane private-school boys were caught on North Stradbroke Island with 19 cartons of spirits and beer.

Police were stunned when the boys - two aged 17 and one 18 - said their parents had bought them the alcohol, estimated to be worth about $2000.

The booze was confiscated by police but the incident sparked public outrage.

One of the key recommendations of the Government's Youth Violence Task Force is a crackdown on adults providing alcohol for underage drinkers.

Ms Bligh said the maximum fine of $6000 was proposed for so-called "secondary supply" offences, as part of the wide-ranging reform of the Liquor Act that went before Parliament last week.

The fine would apply to all adults - including parents, older siblings and friends of underage drinkers - who "recklessly" provided liquor to teenagers or children.

"This fine is double the current $3000 penalty for vendors who supply alcohol to minors in a public place and will apply to anybody who supplies liquor to a minor," Ms Bligh said.

"This is the first time such an offence will be recognised in law in Queensland."

"We want to send a clear message: anyone who supplies excessive or reckless amounts of alcohol to minors will face sanctions."

Ms Bligh said police should have the powers in time for Schoolies in November.

Sunday Mail

In 2006, 43,000 Californians sought publicly funded treatment for alcohol addiction, including vulnerable populations like seniors and youth. But, recent studies show that more than 2.2 million people in our state meet the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse. Costs associated with alcohol abuse in California now reach $22.5 billion each year. In 2005, drunken driving caused 1,387 fatal accidents and 20,581 injury traffic accidents statewide. Alcohol abuse devastates families and communities. Treatment admissions in the state for alcohol dependence are second to methamphetamine. While drugs like methamphetamine make front-page news, alcohol addiction is the "elephant in the room."

Some individuals in California who abuse alcohol deny or refuse to discuss their alcohol problem, while others do not seek treatment out of fear, shame or lack of information. Alcoholics and their families and friends hide the addiction, and the stigma attached to alcoholism remains.

We need to remind the millions of Californians who are struggling with alcohol abuse of a simple message: treatment works and recovery happens. That is why it is important for us to recognize April as "Alcohol Awareness Month." This is a terrific forum in which to stimulate conversation about alcoholism, educate Californians about alcohol abuse and urge abusers to get help.

Science has proven that alcoholism is a brain disease -- a chronic condition that can be prevented and treated. Unlike an acute illness, say, appendicitis, we can't simply operate and make the person better. People who become addicted to alcohol will never be "cured," but they can get well and recover. We now recognize that those who abuse alcohol need both acute care and ongoing monitoring.

What makes me so sure that treatment works and recovery happens?

Thirty years ago, alcoholism nearly devastated my family and my life. The disease almost wrecked my marriage, took away my self-esteem and livelihood, and would have killed me had I not sought help. In treatment, I discovered that I was genetically predisposed to alcoholism. Moreover, I learned I didn't have to face the condition myself. With treatment and family support, I got help -- and I got better. I picked up the pieces of my life, marriage and career, and now, in a sweet bit of irony, I head the state's largest agency in the campaign against alcohol abuse.

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Alcohol industry bosses are backing plans to create more prohibition zones across Wales in a bid to tackle underage drinking and anti-social behaviour.

As Wales on Sunday revealed last week, hundreds of children in Wales – some as young as eight – are drinking alcohol regularly.

And with drink-related anti-social behaviour a major social problem, agencies are looking at ways to tackle the problem.

Local authorities have the power to create alcohol prohibition zones, while enforcement is down to the police.

Now the British Beer and Pub Association says it is keen to see more alcohol-free zones.

Mark Hastings, director of communications at the BBPA, said: “There are a range of measures which police and local authorities can use.

“The creation of alcohol prohibition zones is a targeted way of ensuring that people are not drinking in streets and other areas in towns where people are known to congregate causing either a low, or high level of disruption.

“But these zones have to be used with care. For example you don’t want to be banning perfectly law-abiding people from enjoying a drink with their picnic.

“What police and local authorities need to be doing is looking at ways of targeting particular groups of people in particular ways.”

Mr Hastings added that he would like to see more action taken against youngsters who have illegally bought alcohol underage.

“There needs to be more of a debate around the prosecution of youngsters for buying alcohol illegally. The police have had the powers to seize alcohol from youngsters who are drinking it underage. They have had those powers for 10 years. But it is only businesses who sell alcohol to children who are prosecuted,” he said.

Welsh police forces are also backing the careful creation of more alcohol prohibition zones.

Acting Chief Constable Andrew Edwards, of Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Dyfed-Powys Police believes that prohibition zones can be useful when used as part of a wider strategy to deal drunkenness and anti-social behaviour.”

Wales On Sunday

Police may force repeat drink- drivers to attach breath-testing devices to their cars to stop them getting behind the wheel drunk.

The devices, known as interlockers, prevent the car from starting if the driver is over the limit.

National police roading manager Superintendent Paula Rose said the police would follow Australian trials of the device closely. "It's certainly something we're looking at in terms of our wider transport approach - we're constantly looking at how to do things better."

Her comments come as new figures show an increase in drink- drive convictions for repeat offenders. Statistics released under the Official Information Act showed convictions for drivers with at least one previous drink-drive conviction were up nearly 15.5% last year, compared to 2006. In 2007, convictions for drink-drivers with five or more convictions was 1513, up from 1434 in 2006.

And last week Sunday Star- Times analysis of drink-drive convictions revealed an alarming 70% surge in convictions for teens aged 17 to 19, which many put down to the lowering of the drinking age.

Rose said drink-driving, and particularly repeat drink-driving, was a major concern for police but repeat offenders made up a small percentage of those convicted. Over the past decade, crashes, fatalities and injuries where alcohol were involved were down, she said.

The latest figures were released to Megan McPherson, a Sensible Sentencing Trust member and lobbyist for harsher penalties for repeat drunk drivers. McPherson's organisation Cross Roads advocated strongly for alcohol interlockers in New Zealand. Her brother, Christchurch accountant Jonathan Keogh, was killed on Mother's Day 2006 by an intoxicated repeat drink-driver in a crash near Rolleston.

"The UK brought them in in 2005. The States have had them for years now . . . they have seen a 75% reduction in recidivism due to the interlocking campaign.

"We're so far behind in New Zealand. We're the only first world nation that doesn't have them."

Rose said the system being trialled in Australia required drivers to breathe into the device every 10 minutes while driving. This solved the problem of drunk drivers getting sober friends to activate their cars.

Australian courts were ordering recidivists to have them installed at their own expense. Legislative changes would need to be made before they could be introduced here, Rose said.

She said the increased number of drink-drive convictions for 2007 was because police were stopping and processing more drivers than before. They had made huge efforts to target drink- drivers and had launched numerous campaigns to that end, including the introduction of new "super- sized booze buses", she said.

Police were also targeting a small group of known recidivists - "we're not talking thousands" - by looking out for them and actively pulling them over.

"We will focus on where they live, where they work, where they drink and other areas of their lives. We're very deliberate about that.

"We provide our staff the details of the vehicles they drive and sometimes even photos of them. We're telling staff: 'These are high risk targets'. If we see them out there we're pulling them over."

Sunday Star Times

After complaints about intoxicated people wandering in Clovis parks and trails, the Clovis Police Department decided to address the problem at its source -- supermarkets, liquor stores, convenience stores and bars.

Establishments that sell alcohol will be banned from providing alcoholic beverages to habitual drunks, according to a new ordinance that the City Council reviewed April 14. Council members, who showed unanimous support Monday night, will vote on the ordinance April 21.

The ordinance defines habitual drunks as people who are arrested for pubic intoxication three times in six months or people designated by the court system as habitual drunks.

The Clovis Police Department will provide a list of the city's habitual drunks including photographs to establishments that sell alcohol. The lists must be posted in employee areas not in view of the public. Businesses that don't enforce the new ordinance will be cited with a misdemeanor.

"We want to create a citywide environment that encourages responsible drinking," Police Capt. Drew Bessinger said. "Sometimes there needs to be that extra push and we feel this is the correct vehicle."

Bessinger told council members there are up to 15 habitual drunks in Clovis. Several of them are arrested on a weekly -- sometimes daily -- basis for public intoxication. That's about two hours of staff time for each citation, Bessinger said.

"If we can reduce the number of times we arrest somebody because we cut down their access to alcohol, I've increased the amount of staff I can keep on the street," Bessinger said.

Elain Willhoite, bar manager at Jimbo's, said the ordinance is unnecessary because businesses that sell alcohol are already required to refuse service to habitual drunks by the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control guidelines. Jimbo's currently has a list of 45 people banned from the bar.

"I don't like the idea of the ordinance mainly because this is already a part of our ABC license," Willhoite said. "We can't serve alcohol to someone who is a habitual drunk."

Bessinger said the ordinance simply defines "habitual drunk."

Clovis Independent

Rider University freshman and fraternity pledge Gary DeVercelly died in March 2007, after drinking most of a bottle of vodka at a frat party.

Last October, Minnesota State University pre-nursing student Amanda Jax, celebrating her 21st birthday at a bar with friends, downed a potent mix of cocktails and shots before being helped to a friend's apartment, where she, too, died.

Officials say that both DeVercelly, 18, and Jax had blood alcohol levels well over 0.4 - much higher than the .08 driving limit - and that both died of alcohol poisoning.

It's not known whether Jax was a victim of the 21 shots for your 21st birthday "tradition," or simply of friends who allegedly kept buying drinks for her, wanting to show her a good time. Her family has sued both the friends and the bar.

But more kids than you would think do the "21 shots on their 21st birthday," or try to, says Mylene Krzanowski, executive director of the student assistance program at Comprehensive Addiction Treatment for Life, formerly the Caron Foundation, a non-profit addiction-treatment program in Wernersville, Berks County.

"Kids sort of think that's a rite of passage," Krzanowski said.

"The prevalence of how many kids are actually doing that is much higher than what the experts thought," Krzanowski said.

The results of trying to down 21 drinks on your 21st birthday can lead if not to death then to brain damage.

To the friends of the intoxicated person, "it looks like they might be sleeping, but they're unconscious because of alcohol poisoning, " Krzanowski said. "The friends think, 'We'll just let them sleep it off.'

"Even some parents have done that," she said.

Krzanowski said that, according to national health statistics, binge drinking today seems to be "pretty much holding steady" as compared with recent years.

"I think what we're seeing is that that type of drinking has become more of the normal type of drinking for young people," Krzanowski said. "The kids go out with every intention to drink as much as they can. Girls are doing it, too.

"Younger teens also are doing a lot more high-risk drinking than previously," Krzanowski said.

"We're seeing kids coming into treatment at 14, 15 or 16 who say they first used alcohol as young as 9."

Although there has been a significant decline in tobacco and illicit drug use among teens, underage drinking has remained at consistently high levels, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office said last year.

Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life, according to the Surgeon General's office.

The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that there are 11 million underage drinkers in the U.S., according to the surgeon general's office.

Nearly 7.2 million are considered binge drinkers, typically meaning they drink more than five drinks on occasion, it said.

Philadelphia Daily News

It is a Saturday night somewhere on the northern beaches and a group of girls are going through their weekly routine of preparing for a night out.

Like most gatherings of females, there is the usual talk of clothes and how cute each of them looks in their outfits, boys, work and make-up. In a well-rehearsed routine, clothes swapping and gossip is washed down with a few pre-pub bevvies.

One or two 20-somethings in the group are doing their best on a bottle of sauvignon blanc each, while the others make their way through an array of vodka-based mixed drinks.

The new Smirnoff Blacks with guarana are a favourite for those planning a big one, thanks to the equivalent of two standard drinks a bottle. Those pacing it stick to just a four-pack of the softer 5 per cent alcohol drinks.

Two drinks in and the lightweights start to get a bit loud as the alcohol becomes the first thing to hit their stomach since lunch after all, eating is cheating, because what's the point of filling up with food as it means you will have to drink more to get drunk?

After a couple of hours of this it ensures you are fashionably late enough to turn up to the pub about11pm. The girls on the wines have already finished, while the others take their final bottle from the four-pack to tide them over during the bus ride.

Just beating the girls to the bus stop is a group of guys who have ditched the make-up and clothes talk of the girls in favour of drinking and ragging on each other.

Like the girls, preparation for the pub requires a mix of different drinks. A staple is always a case of beer between two or a six-pack of bourbon or rum-based drinks. The youngest of the group, however, take the cheaper option and set about doing the goon-bag challenge drinking as much as possible of a cask wine or 'goon' in one scull.

On the road, the necessary evil of the bus is punctuated with drinking, smoking and a spew from the kid doing the goon challenge.

The spewing ignites a chain reaction as a girl gets some on her bag, a male suitor attempts to defend her honour by hitting the boy responsible for the spew and his mates retaliate.

The bus driver sometimes bothers to stop, but more often than not continues towards the pub as he is desperately outnumbered.

Off the bus and, after a quick pee in the bushes, the now-large group puts on their best straight walk in attempt to 'fool' the apathetic security guards at the door.

Despite most of them already consuming what experts say is the qualification for binge drinking, they head for the three-deep bar.

As a treat, a round of 'jager bombs' is bought first, then all start with their first of up to 10 official drinks for the night.

The boys head straight for the beers, but for the girls it's a spirit paradise, most favouring the pre-mixed Smirnoff Blacks with a touch of grenadine to give them a sugar high to keep them pepped up to help stem any passing out.

Four hours later, it is all over. Out of the original group of girls, one has thrown up, one has been kicked out for fighting, another passed out in the bathroom before her friends came to her rescue and one has hooked up with a guy who promises more booze back at his place.

A good night out, by all accounts. This scene and scenes like it are repeated across the northern beaches every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. It is not a one-off, but a night that is repeated so often that it is the norm and completely accepted. Those doing it don't see themselves as binge drinkers and they are far from alcoholics.

But it is scenes like this that are causing experts, authorities and politicians to scratch their heads and declare not only the existence of a binge-drinking problem, but also a cultural behaviour so endemic that we can't see the trees through the forest of empty bottles.

Northern Sydney Drug and Alcohol Service acting director Glenys Dore said attempts to warn teenagers about the dangers of alcohol were undercut by an image that it was cool to drink.

Parents also underestimated the influence they had and sent mixed messages either through their own consumption of alcohol, or in supplying it to their children.

'We're a culture that tends to glorify binge drinking and intoxication,' Dr Dore said. 'Parents are unfortunately role-modelling alcohol as part of their lives. They may not realise they are having an impact on their kids.'

Dr Dore said a recent survey of high school students showed that while tobacco and illicit drug use had dropped, alcohol consumption had risen, with more youngsters admitting to binge drinking.

Manly Drug Education and Counselling Centre health promotion co-ordinator Amanda Watkins said that parents had been crying out for help on binge drinking for years.

'Most of our counselling coming through now is from parents,' she said. 'Even if they can't get their young people to identify they've got a problem with alcohol, they come in and get support for themselves at home,' she said.

Many parents were confused or ignorant about alcohol, Ms Watkins. Some believed it was better to give alcohol to their children so they knew what they were drinking. Other parents would supply alcohol to their children to prove they were 'cool'.

Ms Watkins cited one local case, where parents put $1000 on the bar for young guests at an 18th birthday party, as an example of a lack of parental responsibility.'That sent a message that all this alcohol had to be drunk because it was there,' she said.

'Everyone is quick to blame kids because they're roaming drunk, but better understanding has to come from all over society not just what is taught in schools, but from parents and role models as well.'

The counselling centre has developed a program aimed squarely at teenagers, every year training 26 peer educators aged 15 to 17 about the risks of alcohol and drugs. Instead of the traditional 'thou shalt not' lectures offered by teachers and parents, peer educators are encouraged to share advice with friends and recognise the danger signs.

Daniel Bruce, 17, of Cromer, admits he has cut down his drinking since becoming an educator. 'In Year 8 I started getting people to buy drinks to take to a party. I had fun, I didn't see much harm in it,' he said.

'But I was surprised to find what the definition of binge drinking was when I did the program. It wasn't like I was getting so pissed I couldn't walk, but it was excessive.'

Cianne Scanlan, 17, of Warriewood, said she was realistic enough to know teenagers wanted to experiment but becoming a peer educator did not turn her into a wowser. 'Some people are always going to think you're a goody two shoes,' she said. 'Originally my friends laughed when I became an educator. But being an educator puts a duty of care on you. We've been given this information and know how to react.'

Both Daniel and Cianne believe as teenagers mature, they moderate their drinking. 'When you are younger [the attitude is] 'go out and get drunk' but now it is 'go out and socialise' and have a few drinks,' Daniel said.

Manly Mayor Peter Macdonald has long combated binge drinking and alcohol-related bad behaviour. The practising doctor believes issues with alcohol are far more prevalent on the northern beaches then other areas.

'Alcohol is the most used and most abused drug by young and old on the northern beaches,' Cr Macdonald said. 'It's a simple solution: reduce the availability of alcohol, and you'll reduce the problems associated with it.'

Manly Daily

New liquor reforms to tackle binge-drinking and related violence in Queensland will be ineffective, the state opposition says.

Shadow attorney-general Mark McArdle says the new reforms, announced in parliament this week, will hurt licensed venues but ignore 80 per cent of the suppliers of alcohol - bottle shops and liquor warehouses.

"It is simply disingenuous and irresponsible for the Bligh government to talk about the serious issue of binge drinking and then introduce reforms that only pay lip service to addressing cause and supply," Mr McArdle said in a statement.

Mr McArdle said the government must look at the main suppliers of alcohol and how young people are accessing and consuming alcohol.

"If licensed venues are responsible for about 20 per cent of alcohol consumption, it just makes sense that the Bligh government should be trying to find the other 80 per cent of the cause," he said.

Under the reforms, licensed venues seeking to trade after midnight would have to apply for Elevated Risk Permits for the period of midnight to 3am and 3am to 5am.

The government said the permits would only be available to venues which have demonstrated sound management, responsible service of alcohol and a clear commitment to harm minimisation.

In addition all paid employees at licensed venues would have to undertake mandatory responsible service of alcohol training and there would be restrictions on venues opening before 9am (AEST).

But Mr McArdle said it was dishonest and deceitful for the state government to find an easy political target for binge-drinking problems.

"The fact that Australian teenagers spend $200 million on alcohol each year is evidence of a serious failure by all Australian state and territory governments," he said.

"It's simply not good enough for any government to simply blame parents, or hoteliers.

"Out of control underage drinking highlights a significant lack of enforcement of the age restriction, a lack of compliance with liquor licensing and a lack of parental supervision."

A spokesman for Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the new liquor reforms were targeting liquor sales at bottle shops and warehouses, and not trying to punish licensed venues.

"The reforms put in place a $3,000 fee for every detached bottle shop across Queensland and what he (Mr McArdle) is saying is fundamentally untrue," he told AAP.

Sydney Morning Herald

The full-extent of alcohol-related problems in Wiltshire has been revealed in a major health report.

Shocking statistics show one in five adults in west and north Wiltshire engage in what is termed as hazardous drinking', while just under one in six engage in binge drinking.

Meanwhile, 11 per cent of primary school children aged nine to 11 have at least one alcoholic drink a week, and almost half of teenagers have unprotected sex as a result of drinking.

More than 200 people in Wiltshire die each year from alcohol specific mortalities such as liver disease and coronary heart disease.

The draft Alcohol Strategy paper for 2008 to 2011 highlights a need for more research into alcohol misuse and a better public understanding of safe drinking.

The paper was discussed at Wiltshire Primary Care Trust's board meeting on Tuesday as part of a three-month consultation process due to finish in June.

It was compiled through a partnership between the PCT Wiltshire County Council and West Wiltshire District Council, drawing from information supplied by a number of sources including the police, the local drugs advisory service and Age Concern.

Figures show in Wiltshire from January to December 2007, there were 21,081 incidents of alcohol-related disorder with the highest prevalence in Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury.

Warminster town centre also showed a higher alcohol-related incident rate, in comparison to surrounding towns. Maggie Rae, joint director of public health for the PCT and the county council, said at the board meeting: "I imagine that the work we have been doing with illicit drug taking has probably over shadowed alcohol problems.

"It's not like smoking where we are saying stop doing it, we are saying do it in moderation but the message doesn't seem to be getting out.

"We have somehow got to readdress the message and make sure people drink sensibly.

"We have got to educate the adults and get the message out to children as well."

Figures show the number of adults in Wiltshire consuming hazardous amounts of alcohol, which is the equivalent of 15 to 35 units for women or 22 to 50 units for men, is higher than the national average.

For women hazardous' drinking is comparable to between 15 and 35 small glasses of wine per week, or for men it equates to between 11 and 25 pints of beer at 3.5 per cent.

Binge drinking is more than six units for women in one session (about six small glasses of wine) and eight units for men (four pints of beer).

The key aims of the paper are to raise awareness of sensible drinking, reduce the level of alcohol-related harm to children, to reduce the levels of ill health caused by alcohol resulting in fewer hospital admissions and to reduce alcohol related crime.

Christine Reed, a non-executive board member, reinforced a need to focus on providing information.

She said: "I'm not convinced a lot of people really, really know the damage drinking can do to your health. I don't know. I wouldn't recognise if I was doing myself harm.

"The problem is that information just doesn't seem to be available."

This Is Wiltshire

As concerned as we rightfully are about the methamphetamine plague, and other forms of drug abuse, it is a fact that alcohol is the number one drug of choice among youth in the United States today, and Oregon has the notoriety of ranking among the highest in the nation for its incidence of underage drinking.

Columbia County’s underage drinking rates are below the state’s rate for 30-day use rates - thanks in large part, we believe, to the efforts of the Clatskanie Together Coalition, the Columbia Community Mental Health, Columbia County Commission on Children and Families and other programs that are working together to raise awareness and educate our youth and communities, not just in April, but all year long.

However, Columbia County’s 30-day use rates are still above the national average, and “binge” drinking rates at both the 8th and 11th grade level are above the state average. In Clatsop County, the most recent surveys indicate that 8th grade drinking is below the statewide average, but 11th graders drink at a higher rate than the state.

Underage drinking qualifies as a leading public health problem across the United States, according to a recent declaration by the U.S. Surgeon General.

Now that’s a pretty powerful statement - Underage Drinking Qualifies As A Leading Public Health Problem! That statement has been a long time coming.

For most of the 80 years since the end of the failed experiment of prohibition, the attempts to change society’s attitudes about alcohol have been largely ignored, except by those actively involved in recovery programs - alcoholics, their families and the professionals who work with them.

It’s about time that alcohol be recognized for the public health problem it is, in a way similar to the campaign against tobacco.

Thirty-one percent of Oregon's eighth graders and half the state’s 11th graders reported regular alcohol use last year. Approximately 38,000 youngsters in Oregon have a serious alcohol problem.

Binge drinking on college campuses is “practically an epidemic,” according to a press release from the Oregon Partnership, a highly-respected statewide nonprofit organization that works to promote healthy kids and communities by raising awareness about drug and alcohol issues.

Alcohol use is associated with the leading causes of death of young people - vehicular crashes, drownings and accidents of all kinds, suicide. For those who begin drinking young and continue (and don’t die first of alcohol-caused “accidents”), alcohol takes a terrible - ultimately fatal - toll on their livers, their hearts, their brains and other organs. It is linked to several kinds of cancer. Recent research proves that adolescent drinking severely damages children’s (including young people up to their early 20s) still developing brains.

According to the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, underage drinking costs Oregonians $697 million a year in medical expenses, pain and suffering and work loss costs. And, that doesn’t include the even higher costs associated with adult alcohol abuse.

In Oregon, approximately 66 percent of men and 50 percent of women drink. Nearly six percent of older adults and 20 percent of 18-to 25-year-olds abuse or are dependent on alcohol and need treatment.

And, all of that does not speak to the tremendous loss of potential caused by alcohol use and abuse. To state the obvious, alcohol negatively impacts students’ performance in school and adults’ performance at work. Its costs to relationships, families, our society and our economy are incalculable.

Time to End a “Rite of Passage”

The recent U.S. Surgeon General’s report found that underage drinking is viewed as a rite of passage and facilitated by adults.

I don’t see why we needed the surgeon general to tell us that. It has been considered a “rite of passage” by much of the population for years, including the communities this newspaper serves - but that attitude desperately needs to be changed.

Parents must understand that they are the biggest influence in children’s lives, and the more they talk to their children about the dangers of drugs and underage drinking (and that conversation should start in grade school, the Oregon Partnership emphasizes) the less likely their kids will give in to peer pressure.

Parents who drink more, who exhibit the attitude that drinking is an important part of their lives - if they drink to relax, to have a good time, to reduce stress, to deal with problems that arise - those parents’ children will be more likely to drink - sooner and in greater amounts

And, vice versa. Research shows that parents who don’t drink frequently, or at all, and who talk with their children about why they should not engage in underage drinking or excessive drinking at any age, will have children who are less likely to drink abusively.

“Alcohol is everywhere...it is probably harder for teens to get into an R-rated movie than to get alcohol. It’s a joke.” A 14-year-old boy from California is quoted in a report on underage drinking by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.

The most common place for youth to get alcohol? Their home, or the homes of their friends.

Ironies

In the face of the U.S. Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking,” which declares that underage drinking is a major public health problem across the United States - and Oregon’s statistics are among the worst - certain ironies are glaring.

I glanced up at the television news while writing this to see Senator Hillary Clinton tossing back “boilermakers” on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania.

Oregon music industry promoters are backing a proposed rule change that would allow teens into more establishments where alcohol is served because “teens who want to listen to live music have little opportunity because they are unable to attend venues where drinking is allowed.” How about providing some live music for teens in a non-drinking venue?

TV shows, web sites, and alcoholic beverage companies recently promoted spring break binge drinking.

During the past holiday season, Kohl’s, the national department store chain with more than 800 locations nationwide - including Portland - sold drinking games involving darts, roulette, and ping pong which promote high-risk drinking. Complaints lodged and publicized by the Oregon Partnership about the sale and promotion of the drinking games caused the retailer to pull the games from the shelves.

The Oregon Partnership points out that the now infamous Oregon legislators’ trips to Hawaii funded by the Oregon Beer and Wine Distributors Association, and campaign contributions by that lobbying group are “part of a bigger problem.”

“This peddling of influence has a profound effect on dealing with one of our top public health issues - underage drinking,” says Judy Cushing, executive director of the Oregon Partnership. “One of the beer industry’s top priorities in Oregon is to prevent the raising of the beer tax, which hasn’t been raised in nearly 30 years in the state, and is one of the very lowest in the nation. We are at the bottom of the barrel on this issue and it’s because of the powerful lobbying by the industry.”

Proceeds from an increase in the beer tax would support alcohol prevention, treatment, recovery and enforcement. Some 17 percent of the alcoholic beverages sold in Oregon are consumed by underage drinkers. States that have higher taxes on beer have been found to have lower death rates among young people involved in alcohol-related accidents.

The simple truth is, we need more citizens and more elected leaders who are willing to take a stand on underage drinking.

Clatskanie Chief

People who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day develop Alzheimer’s disease five years earlier than those who do not drink, a comprehensive study linking the condition to lifestyle has found.

Those who smoke are affected by the illness two years earlier than non-smokers, while those who smoke and drink are likely to hasten the onset of the disease by seven years.

People who suffer from high cholesterol in middle age are one and a half times more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer’s.

The impact of lifestyle on the development and the advance of the disease, which affects more than 400,000 people in Britain, was disclosed in two separate studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology’s Anniversary in Chicago.

Dr Alina Solomon, of the University of Kuopio in Finland, who worked on one of the studies, said: “Minding heart health might protect the brain as well. People need to be aware of 'the big picture’, not focus only on the heart or only on the brain.”

Alzheimer’s causes loss of memory, personality changes and is terminal.

The Alzheimer’s Society has warned that in half a century up to 2.5 million people in the UK could have dementia unless steps were taken to encourage more healthy lifestyles.

Dr Ranjan Duara, of Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Miami Beach, Florida, studied nearly 1,000 people with possible or probable Alzheimer’s.

He said smoking and drinking were “among the most important preventable risk factors”.

Heavy drinkers — classed as those who had more than two drinks a day — developed Alzheimer’s 4.8 years earlier than those who were not heavy drinkers.

Heavy smoking — defined as 20 cigarettes per day — brought on the disease 2.3 years sooner.

The study also looked at people with a genetic variant called APOE linked with the disease and found that they developed the disease three years sooner than those without the variant.

Those who had all three risk factors developed Alzheimer’s at an average age of 68.5 years.

Those with none developed the disease at an average age of 77.

The second study, by Dr Solomon with Dr Rachel Whitmer, of the Kaiser Permanente care organisation in California, found that people with high cholesterol in their early 40s were more likely to develop the leading cause of dementia than those with low cholesterol.

The study involved 9,752 men and women in northern California who underwent health checks between 1964 and 1973 when they were between the ages of 40 and 45 and who remained with the same insurance company until 1994.

From 1994 to 2007, researchers obtained the participants’ most recent medical records to find 504 people had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study found people with total cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those people with cholesterol levels of less than 198 milligrams, considered normal.

People with total cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams were more than one-and-a-quarter times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Solomon said: “It would be best for both physicians and patients to attack high cholesterol levels in their 40s to reduce the risk of dementia.”

Dr Dermot Neely, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, for the cholesterol charity Heart UK, said: “This research strengthens the conclusions of earlier studies linking common cardiovascular disease risk factors and Alzheimer’s disease and confirms what we already believe to be true - that control of these risk factors is important not only in preventing heart disease and stoke, but also in preventing age related cognitive decline.

“There enough evidence to recommend risk factor reduction, especially treatment of high blood pressure and stopping smoking, but there is not yet enough evidence to recommend statins to prevent Alzheimer’s, however.”

Telegraph

Violent behaviour in young men is closely linked to drinking in pregnancy by their mothers, according to Scotland's chief medical officer.

Dr Harry Burns told MSPs yesterday he believes foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a key element in behaviour problems once the babies grow up.

The problems caused by pregnant women drinking are known to include behavioural and learning difficulties as well as constrained growth for the children affected, and the health chief thinks it is directly linked to anti-social behaviour on Scotland's streets.

Dr Burns has said women should not drink at all while pregnant, though other specialist medical advice has risked confusion with the suggestion that a small amount of drinking may not harm a baby's health.

The chief medical officer was appearing before Holyrood's Health Committee, taking questions about the effects of poor parental care of babies and toddlers. He told them there is a need to find a range of ways of intervening with at-risk children, including specialist home visitors to help mothers know when their children need reassurance.

He also said there could be better psychological answers to help build resilience - or capacity to handle adverse circumstances - among those most likely to be at the wrong end of Scotland's large health inequalities.

The chief medical officer's annual report last November highlighted the cost of violence to the NHS, at roughly £400m per year, or between 3% and 6% of the NHS budget - far ahead of the estimates based on police statistics.

He said the only major study of prevalence of the FASD problem, including the more serious cases known as foetal alcohol syndrome, was carried out in Italy, which would not pick up the specific problems of Scottish drinking habits. That found up to 4% of schoolchildren were affected, or one in 25, and concluded that the Italian habit of drinking wine with meals had a similar impact to binge-drinking in other countries.

"I suspect that significantly underestimates the problem of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Scotland," Dr Burns said of the Italian research.

"I would bet the incidence of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is very high in young men being violent. If you can identify the risk factors in that, that's something we can definitely intervene in."

Dr Burns yesterday praised the work of John Carnochan and Karen McCluskie from the Violence Reduction Unit in tackling this issue.

He said: "What they've shown is that to a large extent you can predict who the perpetrators and who the victims of violence are, when it will happen and even down to the streets in which most of it happens. They've adopted the approach that violence is a public-health problem."

A programme is now being devised to ensure more effective intervention with youngsters in their early years, when it is already clear they are at risk of falling into a violent lifestyle, mainly because of poor parenting.

The youngsters go on to be excluded from school and start misusing alcohol and drugs, and Dr Burns believes early action is far more effective in addressing their behaviour than only after they enter the criminal justice system.

"They wander about the centre of our cities at night, particularly at weekends and that's where gang fights start," Dr Burns said, calling for more leisure facilities including midnight football leagues. "The younger working-age male experiences the greatest health inequality and we have to find better ways of tackling that."

The Herald

A Generation branded OAP - "overseas and plastered" - by the British Foreign Office need help to kick the bottle, according to campaigners.

Studies reveal the number of men and women over 60 being admitted to rehab is on the rise.

Shock figures released by the Linwood Group, a chain of alcohol treatment centres in Britain, shows a massive 18 per cent increase in the number of women over 60 and a 15 per cent increase in the number of men over 60 needing treatment over the past two years.

Gary Heather, senior manager at Age Concern Redbridge, said: "It is a forthcoming issue.

"Drug and alcohol use in older people is in the same league as sexually transmitted diseases.

"People think it doesn't apply to older people, but of course it does.

"It is to do with changing lifestyles. The people who are now turning 60 have lived a totally different lifestyle. Drug taking per se took off in the 1960s, so the people who are becoming old now have lived through that and have perhaps experimented themselves.

"As far as alcohol is concerned, it has perhaps always been a problem, but it's only coming out now.

"We have seen a lot more promotional stuff about it in the past 18 months. It is only just coming to the forefront as being an issue.

"It is something we have to look at, but these areas are very specialised.

"You have generalised services, but the services appropriate for a 22-year-old are not appropriate for a 75-year-old.

"It is going to require all agencies involved to actually look at this as a specific issue and not lump it in with older people's welfare."

The Foreign Office warned this week that a number of older Britons were indulging in risky holiday behaviour.

A spokesman said staff working abroard had witnessed the rise of the OAP - "overseas and plastered" - phenomenon among over 55s.

Rania Kossiori, British vice-consul in the Greek island of Rhodes, was reported as saying: "Most problems we see with older Brits arise from too much food and alcohol.

"Too much alcohol can also lead to the sort of behaviour usually associated with the younger generation, such as becoming abusive."

A Redbridge PCT spokesman said: "We commission Redbridge Drug and Alcohol Service to provide services to local people aged 18 and over.

"In general, there has not been a significant rise in those aged 60 plus accessing this service for alcohol problems. Most are in their 30s and 40s.

"Evidence for specialist services for older people with alcohol problems is thin on the ground, but those with long-term chronic alcohol related problems will require specialist services."

Ilford Recorder

World leaders are launching a war on alcohol, using as their main weapon the millions of men, women and children whose lives have been destroyed by drink.

The World Health Organisation's global strategy will aim to match the success of campaigns which have made smokers feel guilty about the harm secondhand smoke does to others.

Rather than focusing on the damage drinkers are doing to their own bodies, the WHO wants to highlight the suffering of the innocent victims of drinkdrivers, domestic violence, child abuse and yobbery, this week's New Scientist reports.

The unprecedented drive, to be discussed at the WHO's annual health assembly next month, comes amid mounting concern about the devastating effects of alcohol on society.

Figures show that 40 per cent of domestic violence in EU countries is committed by someone who has been drinking.

Similarly, 40 per cent of all murders are carried out by someone who has been drinking and 10,000 road deaths a year in the EU are alcohol related.

In the UK, an estimated half a million a year are victims of alcohol-related crime - and a million children suffer at the hand of drinkers.

The WHO plan, due in draft form by 2010, will not be legally binding.

Instead, it will include a "menu" of measures that countries can implement.

Likely measures include raising taxes on alcohol and clamping down on advertising and drink-driving.

Governments will also be encouraged to stand up to the alcohol industry's lobbying against price rises and restrictions on availability.

Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians said: "The tipping point for banning smoking in public places was third party damage.

"That is much greater, in terms of violence and damage to unborn children, the first sexual experience and the percentage of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."

Daily Mail

A health charity has demanded an end to supermarkets selling drink at "pocket-money prices" after a girl of 14 become one of Britain's youngest casualties of alcoholic liver failure.

Natasha Farnham, now 18, from Bath, is in rehab after doctors told her she risks death if she drinks beer or spirits again.

After experimenting with alcohol aged 12, Ms Farnham needed hospital treatment two years later after a three-day binge, and last week admitted burglary at Bristol Crown Court.

The British Liver Trust said the "ridiculously cheap" price of beer and wine is to blame for the addiction which brought Ms Farnham to the dock.

Trust spokeswoman Sarah Matthews said: "This is a tragedy and she is very lucky to be alive. I am pretty certain she is the youngest person in the UK to suffer from liver failure as a result of drinking. Certainly, I've never heard of anyone younger.

"This case raises a lot of issues. The main thing that needs to be done is for supermarkets to stop offering alcohol at pocket-money prices. It is so cheap at the moment it is ridiculous.

"We'd also like to see an end to the media glamorising celebrities who abuse alcohol and printing so many pictures of them in states of intoxication.

"There also needs to be more education in schools - a lot of people don't even know where their liver is, let alone what it does."

Judge Julian Lambert gave Ms Farnham, of Twerton, Bath, a two-year community order.

After the case, Ms Farnham said she wants to warn other teenagers not to repeat the spiral of abuse which culminated on New Year's Eve 2004 when her liver failed, adding: "I would just tell kids - don't end up like me. I have been a binge drinker, had liver failure and been in rehab and I'm still a teenager."

Press Association

If you're a manager or supervisor, you may one day face the unpleasant task of dealing with an employee with an alcohol or other addiction.

About 80% of heavy drinkers are employed either full or part time, reports the Hazelden Foundation, a treatment and research center in Center City, Minn. About 500 million work days are lost annually due to alcoholism, a 1991 study shows, while lost productivity due to alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. is estimated at $81 billion a year, according to a 1995 study.

Rather than firing an employee due to alcohol or substance abuse, or ignoring the issue, alcoholism-treatment experts say the best plan is for managers to treat the issue as a job-performance problem.

"Managers can't identify the problem, even if they are sure, because that would mean they are making a diagnosis, and they aren't qualified to do that," says Bill Arnold, corporate director of substance-abuse counseling services for Quad/Graphics, a Sussex, Wis., printing company with about 12,000 employees.

Approaching the issue as a performance problem avoids legal issues that might surface from labeling an employee and therefore being liable for their actions, says Eric Goplerud, director of Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, a program offered by George Washington University Medical Center to encourage treatment. Once they are treated and recovering, employed alcoholics and addicts are covered by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot be fired because of their illness.

"The ADA says a person in recovery is a protected class and must be treated as any other employee," says Dr. Goplerud.

Dealing with addiction issues as a performance problem applies whether an employee has been a star performer or just average. And just as with any other performance issue, it should be done as soon as problems surface. "The worst thing you can do is look the other way," says Mr. Arnold.

Most employers use a progressive approach when disciplining employees with performance problems, starting with a warning and leading up to more severe consequences and eventually, termination, if the problems aren't corrected. Managers should use progressive discipline when dealing with employees who may have addiction issues, starting by documenting the performance problems or concerns and then meeting with the employee to discuss them, says Dr. Goplerud.

"The kind of intervention that usually makes sense is for the supervisor to sit down with the employee and say, 'I have observed that your productivity is slipping,' or 'that you are missing meetings,' " Dr. Goplerud says. "If their performance deteriorates, then whatever human-resources processes that are in place for discipline or removal from the job should be applied."

During the initial discussion, managers should provide employees with a list of resources they can tap to deal with personal issues that might be causing their poor performance.

At many companies, managers refer employees to an (EAP) for evaluation. EAPs have counselors who are trained to diagnose substance-abuse problems and recommend treatment. About 86% of companies with more than 500 employees have EAPs, while 62% of companies with between 25 and 499 employees have them, according to a 2002 study by Open Minds, a market-research and consulting firm in Gettysburg, Pa.

For companies, a lot is at stake in intervening with alcoholics and addicts effectively. Screening and treating employees with alcohol problems yields a 215% return on investment in health-care savings for employers, according to Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, which offers an "alcohol cost calculator" that shows the financial return for businesses investing in alcohol treatment.

Employees are more likely to get help when they are given deadlines to improve performance and told they'll face more serious consequences, such as termination, if they don't, says Scott Basinger, associate dean of extramural affairs for Baylor College of Medicine's Graduate School of Biomedical Studies, who leads its Substance Abuse Assistance Council and the program.

Dr. Basinger says he recalls counseling an associate professor, a medical doctor in his late 40s who was sent for an evaluation. The chairman of the department said the professor had become increasingly irritable, was missing work because of the "flu," and had other performance problems, he says.

During the counseling session, the professor admitted he had a drinking problem and agreed to enter a treatment center. When he returned to work, he signed a contract agreeing to attend support meetings and counseling sessions and take random drug-screening tests. Now, three years later, he is in recovery and holds a high-ranking clinical position at Baylor, says Dr. Basinger.

Sometimes all employees need to hear to get help is that it's available and that their company will support them if they seek treatment.

A.J. Johnson says while he was a general manager of food and beverage for Marriott International Inc., he was a daily drinker and suffering from memory blackouts. After Marriott hired an EAP provider, Mr. Johnson attended a meeting for managers to learn about the new service. "They talked about the symptoms of the illness and that there was help available and employees wouldn't lose their jobs as a result," says Mr. Johnson.

He went home after the meeting and had what he says was his last alcoholic drink. "I called them that morning and said I had a friend who drinks too much," he says. "This nice lady I talked with asked me if I was drinking now, and, by 5 p.m., I was in treatment."

Mr. Johnson worked for Marriott another 11 years before starting a new career as an alcohol counselor at the Kolmac Clinic in Silver Spring, Md., where he had been a patient years earlier. He is now its assistant clinical director.

Wall Street Journal

Have you ever had a drink in the morning to steady your nerves or just get rid of a hangover? Do you have trouble at work or school due to alcohol? Have you ever felt that you should cut down on your drinking or drug use?

If yes is the answer to the above questions, you may have an alcohol problem.

Alcohol is the most prevalent drug for City College students, according to Susan Broderick, Director of Student Health Services; marijuana is the second most common.

"[Alcohol] is a social lubricant," said Broderick. "It makes it easy to socialize if you're shy."

Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) is one of the many programs on the City College campus intended to help educate and counsel students about the dangers of alcohol abuse and assist those afflicted with counseling sessions to move towards a healthier life.

"We go into classrooms and educate," said Alcohol and Drug Counseling intern Denny Rea. "We don't go to scare people."

This semester, about four to five people each week go to the ASAP office for help.

"Some come just to ask questions and some come to discuss if a friend or family member has a problem," said Rea.

Other help programs include peer counseling Project HOPE and the medical assistants and counselors in Health and Wellness Center; both are located in the Student Services Building.

"We really stress that [counseling at the Health and Wellness Center] is free, confidential and accessible," said Broderick.

The first step toward help is identifying that the person in question actually has an alcohol addiction.

"A problem drinker drinks to get drunk, spends a lot of time thinking about drinking, [and] starts drinking without conscious planning, and loses awareness of the amount of alcohol consumed," according to Drug/Alcohol Abuse section of the City College counseling website.

"Among college age students, alcohol is responsible for 75 percent of all violent behavior, 90 percent of all rapes, 50 percent of all physical injuries, one-thirds of all emotional difficulties, 66 percent of suicides and 30 percent of all academic problems," reads the City College website.

But that's not all that alcohol can take over, it can take over your health money.

Getting caught driving under the influence or having an open container, cost up to $1,300, 48 hours in jail, a towed car and a one-year license suspension.

The Channels

Children were dropped off by their parents at a York park laden with carrier bags full of booze, shocked police revealed today.

Now officers - who have seized more than 70 litres of alcohol in an underage drinking crackdown across York - plan to turn the sports field at Strensall into the city's latest no-go zone for drinkers.

They are also now providing off-licences and shops with stickers to attach to boxes of lager and wine warning anybody who buys alcohol for under-18s that they face a £5,000 fine.

Licensing officer PC Mick Wilkinson said he was shocked by reports of parents dropping children off with carrier bags of alcohol in Strensall's Durlston Drive area. "But it highlights the fact that some parents actively condone their children drinking. It's ridiculously irresponsible and can't be tolerated," he said.

Following a police purge on underage drinking in York earlier this year, officers revealed that they confiscated 41 litres of beer and lager, 19 litres of cider, ten litres of wine, two litres of spirits and one litre of alcopops - all now destroyed - after targeting areas where teenagers gather to drink.

An order is being prepared to make Durlston Drive York's 17th alcohol exclusion zone - meaning anybody refusing to stop drinking there when asked to by police will be arrested, regardless of age - with a view to having it in place by the end of this month.

"It doesn't surprise me that underage youths are drinking in the streets, but what we have to get to the bottom of is where they are getting the alcohol from," said PC Wilkinson. "A lot of the problem with underage drinking is down to the supervision of children by their parents and the fact alcohol can be bought so cheaply - sometimes it's cheaper than bottled water.

"Underage drinking is a gateway to antisocial behaviour - the perception of youths drinking in the street can put people in fear of crime. That's why people contact us to say certain shops sell alcohol to children or that particular areas have problems.

"We are always confident we will find out where children are congregating to drink, because people are very vigilant about these things and they don't want antisocial behaviour on their doorstep."

The off-licences provided with warning stickers are mainly in areas where police have been warned underage drinking is rife.

PC Wilkinson said: "It's aimed at the problem of proxy purchasing', where over-18s buy alcohol for their underage friends. The stickers are a reminder of what will happen to them, so they can't say they haven't been warned."

Although officers can seize alcohol from underage drinkers, downing it in the street is not an offence, and PC Wilkinson said: "The problem we have is proving where they bought it - we have to target and prosecute shops who are not doing the necessary checks."

* HEALTH bosses have met to discuss ways of reducing antisocial behaviour, violence and deaths in Yorkshire caused by excessive drinking. The NHS Yorkshire and the Humber will spend an extra £7 million in the coming financial year on drugs and alcohol treatments and raising awareness of the dangers of over indulging.

Drink-related incidents cost the organisation an estimated £1.7 million a year in the region, which has almost one million people with an alcohol problem.

Totally irresponsible' parents are condemned
A Local councillor has spoken out about the underage drinking problems in her area.

Madeleine Kirk, City of York councillor for Strensall ward, and the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for York Outer, said: "As far as I'm aware there have been recent cases where parents have dropped their children off at the sports field at Durlston Drive with bags of alcohol."

Coun Kirk said residents in that area had either complained to her or the police, after seeing parents dropping off their children at the sports field with bags of alcohol.

She said she believed the children were probably aged between 14 and 16.

"I haven't heard of any very recent occurrences, but that doesn't mean that parents still aren't doing this," she said. "The problem could resurface because of the improving weather. The parents have obviously got to be discouraged - it's totally irresponsible. Many of the children don't even live in the ward - this is parents bringing them several miles to a location to drink.

"This type of activity is just the kind of thing that we're trying to stamp out by bringing in the alcohol exclusion zone." She praised the police for supporting the local community on the issue.

Peter Jesse, chair of Strensall and Towthorpe Parish Council, said the sports field was being secured with a 2.4 metre fence in an attempt to keep the teenagers off the land.

He said: "I'm afraid the problem will happen again I do hope sincerely that it doesn't and this action will stop it. Talking with the police, my perception is the problem has reduced. I'm not saying it doesn't happen anymore."

York Press

The Arkansas City Police Department is teaming up with community members to fight a common cause: underage drinking.

According to the ACPD, underage drinking has risen in the past couple years, and so have crimes associated with it; such as sexual assault.

The ACPD held a town hall meeting held in the on the Cowley County Community College campus Monday night. Ark City Police Chief Sean Wallace hosted the meeting and narrated the presentation. Several community experts were also invited to speak and answer questions at the end of the presentation.

All the speakers agreed that underage drinking is an important issue in Cowley county.

"Our youth are our greatest resource in this county," said Cowley County Undersheriff Don Reed. He said he was surprised to find that Cowley County was No. 1 in alcohol arrests out of 10 counties that he compared it to. Reed urged cooperation between parents, community members and law enforcement. "We've all got to work together to figure out how to fix this problem," he said.

State Sen. Greta Goodwin (D-Winfield) attended on an invitation from Wallace. She praised the ACPD for organizing the meeting.

"I pride you for putting together this meeting this evening, because we need to talk," said Goodwin. She said that "15.6 percent of 100 children" binge drink every week.

Wallace spoke to parents and audience members about the effects of alcohol; notably the effects that occur at each age level. The mind does not completely mature until age 24. Wallace called the 21 year old minimum a "good compromise" between 18 and 24. Wallace warned of the effects that alcohol can have on a person during their developmental teen years. He said that many of the decision making skills present in adults at ages of 21 and up are not there yet in teenagers.

"If you add alcohol to that developmental stage you only inhibit it," he said.

Wallace said that the number of rapes in the county have risen in the past three years , along with issued Minor In Consumption charges.

"There's a direct correlation between the two," he said.

Wallace warned that abuse of alcohol can lead to abuse of other drugs. "Alcohol is traditionally a gateway drug," he said.

Steve Lungren, an Ark City resident, parent and business owner said he was surprised by the statistics relating to underage drinking.

"Twenty-five percent of the kids have a problem, it's just that simple." Lungren urged parents to take a stronger role.

"Parents, it starts with us," he said. Lungren said that he has opened up an "information highway" with his children that allow him to talk about issues like underage drinking.

Jean Laymon, a panelist who works with troubled teenagers at Cowley County Mental Health echoed Lungren's sentiments on parenting.

"Kids drink because of lack of supervision, she said, adding, "An absent parent is a huge, huge factor in the kids that I see."

She said most of the adults she counsels for excessive DUIs have said they started drinking between the ages of 14 and 16.

All of the speakers condemned alcoholic parties hosted by parents.

"Parents that are allowing their kids to drink, or let their kids drink at home are simply not good parents," Laymon said. Reed echoed her statements. "Even when you have the best intentions these things just don't work out," he said, citing examples that he has seen in his career.

Teenagers were encouraged to speak out against drinking to their peers. "You can make a difference with just a simple message," said Wallace. Reed said that attention should also be focused on those who do not drink underage. "We've got a lot of good kids in this county who aren't in trouble, so let''s not forget them," he said.

One of the most personal accounts of drinking and its dangers came from panelist Rebecca Heimer, Ark City High School senior and president of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Heimer struggled with alcoholic parents.

"We never really lived a stable life." She said the issue of underage drinking was "very, very personal."

"Kids are our future and I don't want them to go down the same path that my parents did," said Heimer. SADD now has 234 members at ACHS. Heimer has been a member for four years.

Speakers praised the teenagers who attended the meeting. "You guys are the ones that say no, and you guys do make an impact on those around you," said Laymon.

"You are our most precious asset and resource," said Wallace, speaking to the teens.

There were some high school students in the crowd that appreciated what was being said.

High school senior Kip smith said "It does change your outlook. It gives you statistics to look off of."Senior Kosh Metzinger said "the statistics really stuck in my head. Number one (out of 10 counties), that's pretty bad."

Arkansas City Traveler

Not everyone drinks in response to stress. A number of factors, including genetics, usual drinking behavior, experiences with alcohol or other drugs, and social support, help determine whether a person will drink during a stressful situation.

Does drinking help people relax? Researchers aren’t quite sure. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, there is some evidence that low doses of alcohol may reduce stress, but a large body of research demonstrates that alcohol actually induces the stress response.

What is it about stress that makes people turn to alcohol? Does alcohol help you relax, or can it make matters even worse? What else can you do to cope during a stressful situation?

Drinking in Response to Stress

Stress isn’t just the psychological feeling you have after you bounce a check or lose your job. Stress is a physiological response to certain stressful stimuli, including illness, injury, extreme temperatures, depression, and fear.

When your body perceives or experiences stress, it responds by secreting hormones into your blood in an attempt to cope with the stressor. This stress response affects the way your body functions, and alters your body temperature, appetite, and mood. This is one reason some people turn to alcohol after a stressful event.

In many cases, people will turn to alcohol when a stressful situation feels out of their control. Between 60-80% of Vietnam veterans treated for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have alcohol use disorders. Many studies have also shown that stressful situations can lead to relapse among alcoholics.

People who don’t have the resources—such as a social support network—to cope with stress are more likely to drink in response to a stressful situation. They use alcohol to help buffer the effects of the stressor.

Alcohol’s Effects on Stress

Some studies have found that alcohol itself can actually trigger the stress response. But other studies suggest that low levels of alcohol can reduce stress, tension, and anxiety. Moderate drinking has even been shown to improve your mood. So which is it? Does drinking help or exacerbate stress?

Although low doses of alcohol have been shown to reduce stress, research has shown that alcohol induces some of the same physiologic effects as other stressors. Drinking alcohol interferes with sleep. It also numbs the emotions, impairing your ability to cope with stressful situations. Excessive drinking can lead to social isolation, anger, depression, and paranoia.

Other Ways of Dealing With Stress

Alcohol is not a healthy way of dealing with stress. Drinking to deal with stress can interfere with work, relationships, finances, and lead to more problems, like alcoholism and health complications.

If you find yourself in a stressful situation, it is important to have coping strategies that don’t involve drinking. Symptoms of stress include feeling tired, having back pain, headaches, stomachaches, and having difficulty sleeping. To reduce or control the stress you are experiencing, the National Mental Health Association recommends the following strategies:

• Learn to say no. If you are overwhelmed with responsibilities, make a point not to take on more than you can handle.

• Meditate. Take 10-20 minutes each day to quietly reflect. Listen to music, relax, and clear your mind of stress.

• Take one thing at a time. If your workload seems unbearable, pick one urgent task at a time to work on. When you finish that task, choose another.

• Exercise and eat healthfully. Get 20-30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week and focus on eating a healthful diet. Limit your intake of caffeine and alcohol, both of which can interfere with your sleep.

• Share your feelings. Talk to a friend, family member, or healthcare professional about what is causing your stress. A friend or family member’s love, support, and guidance can help you through a stressful situation, and a professional is trained to assess levels of stress and recommend coping strategies.

• Learn to breathe. When stressed we frequently forget how to breathe properly. Our breaths become rapid and shallow. Learning a few breathing techniques might become a useful tool in combating stress.

In addition you may consider taking a good quality supplement. A supplement with vitamin B complex and magnesium may help to offset the effects of chronic stress on your health.

If you’re feeling stressed, it may help to talk with your doctor, who can refer you to a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or other qualified counselor for professional help. But don’t wait until things feel “out of control.” By that time, you may no longer know that you need help.

East Texas Weekly

You expect your parents to teach you things. But alcoholism? Frances White recalls how her mum encouraged her to binge when she was just a child - and eventually passed on her own addiction

I was nine when my mum poured me my first drink. "Here," she said, handing me a glass of Cinzano and lemonade. "Now you're just like me!" I am 40 now and have spent most of my life since that time trying to prove her wrong.

As children, we have little sense of what is or isn't normal, but I always had an inkling that something wasn't quite right in our family. On the outside we were perfectly respectable. My dad had a good job in the fishing industry and we lived in a big house in a village by the coast. My brothers and I appeared to want for nothing. Behind closed doors, though, things were not quite as idyllic as they seemed. Dad's work took him away from home most weeks and Mum had given up her job in order to bring us up. I think it was a combination of loneliness and boredom that drove her to drink. We had moved to the area because of Dad's career and Mum had few friends around her.

I remember the feeling of dread that would build up inside me as I walked home from school. Would Mum be cooking our tea, or slumped over the kitchen table clutching an empty wine glass? When she drank, only passing out would cause her to stop.

I could always tell if she had been drinking, even if it was just a glass. I could see it in her beautiful green eyes. They became cloudy and distant. The way I saw it, alcohol took my mum away and replaced her with a stranger.

This stranger was short-tempered and defensive. She wouldn't ask about my day at school or my plans for the weekend. Instead, she would either sit silently doing a crossword, or go on and on about her problems: the husband who didn't love her, the friends who had let her down, the loneliness she felt. Sometimes she would get angry and cry and smash crockery.

I was too young to understand why Mum was like that. But I remember feeling dreadfully anxious about her erratic behaviour. My mind would go into overdrive, and I would worry about what would happen if we were burgled. With Dad away, Mum was the only one who could protect us. Often, she was in no fit state even to rise from the chair.

I remember vividly the night I confronted Mum about her habit. I was 13 and had been watching an episode of Dallas on TV. Someone described the character Sue Ellen as being an alcoholic. Mum was having one of her drinking sessions and it was the early hours of the morning before she dragged herself to bed.

I could never rest until I knew she was asleep. It made me angry. I had school the next day and knew I was going to be exhausted. I thought it was time Mum started to take responsibility for herself. I went into her room and told her I was worried she was an alcoholic. She flew into a rage. "You don't know the meaning of the word," she yelled, hitting me hard across the face.

Even as I ran sobbing from the room, I knew it was the drink making her act that way. I also knew I could never mention the A-word in front of her again. From then on, it was a taboo subject.

Soon after that, I started drinking regularly with her. I hadn't touched a drop since that first bittersweet taste of Cinzano, but when she offered me a glass of red wine, I took it. She hated the disapproving looks I gave her when she was drinking. Seeing me with a glass stopped her feeling guilty and put her at ease. She let her defences down and I became part of her world.

To start with, I drank out of loyalty to Mum because I knew it made her feel better. Soon, though, I was drinking for my own selfish reasons. A night on the sauce with Mum was far more fun than one spent watching her drink herself into a stupor alone. She would put on her Bob Dylan and David Bowie records and we would dance and sing until the early hours. At those times, I felt closer to her than I ever had before.

I also began to understand why she loved drinking so much. It took the edge off my anxiety and made me forget about all my problems. I didn't realise it then, but Mum's addiction was slowly becoming mine.

Looking back, Mum did try to find other ways to fill the void in her life. At one stage, she even started going to church. I always felt a little guilty when Mum's religious friends came round because they had no idea about her drinking.

It is a common myth that alcoholics need to drink all the time. When she had to, Mum could get through daylight hours without alcohol. That is why no one else realised she had a problem. Dad was emotionally very distant from us and difficult to talk to about personal matters. I don't think he understood just how serious Mum's addiction was. It was probably because she was such a lovely person when sober. Kind and outgoing, she was the sort who would talk to anyone.

By my mid-teens, Mum's drinking had ravaged her looks. She had put on four stone and her face was constantly puffy and red. I was still drinking with her and even started inviting friends home to join in the party. I think some of them thought my mum was cool because she had such a relaxed attitude to booze, but to me she was an embarrassment.

After school, I fled to the continent and got a job as an au pair. I wanted to get as far away as possible from Mum and all her problems. I didn't drink every day like she did, but I still used it as an anaesthetic whenever I was feeling nervous or sad. And, just like her, I didn't know when to stop.

I suffered all the usual consequences of binge drinking. I would sleep with inappropriate people, have memory blackouts and tell lies to cover up my bad behaviour. The next morning I always vowed, "never again" but, of course, there always was a next time. I also excused my behaviour because everyone else was doing the same thing. Getting drunk was a normal part of growing up. Only somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't normal for me. I tried to convince myself that my drinking habit wasn't the same as Mum's, but I didn't really believe it.

I was 25 when Mum called to tell me she had collapsed and been rushed to hospital. She was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. By then, Dad had met someone else and left her. I nursed her at home as her health deteriorated. She told me how ashamed she was about what she had done to herself and begged me not to tell my dad why she was so ill. She must have known I couldn't stop him finding out, though. He eventually talked to her doctors himself. She died two months later.

Even seeing her in the last stages of her life, when her belly swelled and her skin turned yellow, failed to put me off drinking.

A few years later, I became a mother myself, but that didn't stop me going on binges. Friends looked after my son when I got really bad. No one ever chastised me for my behaviour, but I was starting to realise I had a serious problem.

The final straw came when I got drunk at an in-law's birthday party. We were in a restaurant having a big family meal when I sat on his lap and started flirting outrageously. Minutes later I fell down and promptly threw up all over the floor. After I had been carried away, another guest approached my husband and told him she thought I was an alcoholic. She told him she was one too and gave him her number in case I needed her advice.

I rang her the next day and finally admitted to myself that I needed help. I started seeing a counsellor and made contact with a charity called the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, which helped me no end.

I have been sober for five years now and the relief I feel is immense.

For many years I felt angry at Mum for the pain she caused and how she allowed me to drink from such an early age. Now I have learned to forgive her. A couple of times before she died, she mentioned that her father had sexually abused her. Drinking was not her only secret.

I don't know whether people can inherit a predisposition towards alcoholism, but it seems more than a coincidence that my brothers are also suffering from the same addiction. Unlike me, they have been unable to kick the habit. Even today, we are all still suffering from the effect of Mum's alcohol abuse. I will never let myself forget how bad it was, or how close I was to ending up just like her.

Frances White is a pseudonym.

The Guardian

She started drinking heavily at the age of 12. And by the time she was 14, Natasha Farnham was told by shocked doctors that she was the youngest patient they had ever seen with liver failure caused by alcohol abuse.

She was drinking up to six bottles of wine a day - and now, at 18, she has been warned that if she drinks again she will die.

Her descent into a life of ruined health and petty crime again illustrates the perils of cheap alcohol and the culture of binge-drinking that grips Britain.

The teenager wants to tell her story to warn others of the dangers.

Natasha Farnham would steal from her mum Michelle to pay for her spiralling habit

"I didn't think my drinking was a problem because all my friends were getting wasted every weekend as well," she recalled.

"I suppose I thought I looked grown-up and would drink as much as possible - sometimes even passing out.

"But now I have no short-term memory and doctors warn me that if I drink any more, I will die. Don't end up like me.

"I have been a binge-drinker, had liver failure and been in rehab and I'm still a teenager."

After drinking a bottle of highstrength cider when she was 12, Natasha soon turned into what she describes as an "alcoholic dropout", drinking up to four times a week and skipping school.

Natasha started drinking at the age of 12

"I never questioned what I was doing and my mum didn't know because I would pretend I was staying at a friend's house," she said.

"I would save my dinner money and spend it on booze.

"It was never hard to get our hands on alcohol.

"In fact, it was the easiest part. The hardest part was saving for it."

Natasha, of Bath, Somerset, also stole from her mother to pay for her habit.

She said: "At 13, I would drink up to three litres of wine a day, followed by two bottles of Lambrini and perhaps a litre of vodka.

"I was too young to understand what an alcoholic was, let alone understand that I was one.

She is now warning youngsters about the dangers of binge drinking

"When I was told about the liver failure, it was the doctors that looked the most shocked.

"They said that they hadn't ever seen liver failure in someone so young.

"But it didn't sink in at all."

On New Year's Day 2004, she was rushed to hospital after a three-day binge in which she drank four boxes of wine - equivalent to 16 bottles.

"The doctors warned me to clean up my act or I could die," she added.

"But I didn't listen."

Natasha, who continued to drink while taking tablets for her liver failure, pleaded guilty to burglary at Bristol Crown Court last week and was given a two-year community order.

She has been on a rehabilitation programme for two months and is finally working with doctors to beat her addiction.

Her mother Michelle, 40, said: "When she started drinking, it was around the same time that alcopops were being advertised.

"I'm sure Natasha is not the first, or the last, teenage binge-drinker to be diagnosed with liver failure."

Sarah Matthews, of the British Liver Trust, said: "This is a tragedy and she is very lucky to be alive.

"I am pretty certain she is the youngest person in the UK to suffer liver failure from drinking.

"This case raises a lot of issues.

"The main thing that needs to be done is for supermarkets to stop offering alcohol at pocket-money prices.

"It is so cheap at the moment it is ridiculous."

Daily Mail

Drinking experts have come together to tackle booze misuse in a holistic way. Reformed alcoholic Kevan Martin has set up a group in Sunderland called North East Regional Alcohol Forum to help recovering alcoholics with holistic therapy methods

Alcohol misuse campaigners gathered in the region to explain why a new holistic approach was needed to support people with the problem.

Kevan Martin, chief executive of the North East Regional Alcohol Forum (NERAF), set up the national charity after the system failed to help him through his own journey out of addiction.

Addressing experts at a special Alcohol Abuse Symposium, hosted by Northumbria University’s Centre for Public Policy, Mr Martin said it was pointless giving people detox as the only form of support.

“It is essential that we move towards a more holistic approach to tackling alcohol misuse,” he explained.

“It’s pointless giving people detox alone as it just doesn’t work in isolation – you have to look at all other aspects of life at the same time as providing treatment.

“Relationships, housing and debt are just some of the external factors that can all impact on a person’s treatment programme and ultimately on their recovery.

“We believe that by taking this holistic approach, it will enable people to enjoy a total and radical lifestyle change, which is what is needed for people who have been misusing alcohol for many years.”

Alcohol misuse affects every area of life, from education, employment and health to crime and disorder.

At the event some of the strategic priorities for reducing the risks of alcohol abuse were addressed.

The event focused on alcohol misuse in its broadest sense, with a specific interest in young people and binge drinking.

It also looked at the links between alcohol and domestic violence and focused on alcohol policy within a regional context.

The Centre for Public Policy, which has had a team of staff working with NERAF, organised the meeting.

They have devised an extensive toolkit that is set to help people experiencing problems with alcohol, as well as providing a wide source of data regarding misuse.

Rob Wiggins, business manager at Northumbria’s Centre for Public Policy, said: “This project is part of a major initiative called Urban Regeneration: Making a Difference.

“The aim of the scheme is to tackle some of the real and very complex problems facing communities across the North of England.

“Working with NERAF has given us the opportunity to provide academic and research expertise to a valuable organisation while working alongside the team in a holistic way.”

He added: “We have devised a special toolkit that enables individuals to chart how alcohol is affecting their lives overall, including their health and wellbeing, relationships with family and friends, finance and employment and their self-esteem.

“The progress results will be charted on a specifically tailored database that will then give a clear view of the wider social and economic impact of alcohol misuse in the lives of the individuals.

“The results from this database could also potentially have a policy impact in terms of the way individuals receive and respond to treatment, as well as the implications for wider society.

“This has been an excellent opportunity for us to help make a real difference to people’s lives, as well as providing a greater understanding of the key issues. We believe this could eventually become the template for a national model of excellence.

“It has also given us the opportunity to work alongside the NERAF team in a genuinely collaborative way.”

The Alcohol Misuse Symposium was chaired by David Warcup, Det Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, along with Rob Wiggins from Northumbria’s Centre for Public Policy and Rosie Cunningham, associate dean of Northumbria’s School of Arts and Social Sciences.

The event came days after the findings of a study conducted by Northumbria and Keele University were presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, revealing binge drinking by teenagers may put them at risk of everyday memory loss.

Binge drinking teenagers run the risk of losing their memory because of the permanent damage alcohol is doing to their brains.

Psychologists in the region discovered high levels of everyday memory loss among university students who have regular heavy boozing sessions.

Bingeing appeared to have a large impact on prospective memory, the kind used to remember future tasks such as calling a friend or buying washing powder from a supermarket.

Study leader Dr Thomas Heffernan, from Northumbria University, said: “There is evidence that excess alcohol and binge drinking in particular damages parts of the brain that underpin everyday memory.

“Not only may these teenagers be harming their memory, if their brains are still developing they could be storing up problems for the future.”

Scientists who carried out the tests on volunteers aged 17 to 19 from the region believed the harm caused to the brain may be long lasting or even permanent.

Teenagers were asked to fill in questionnaires about how good they believed their memory was before carrying out a video memory test.

Dr Heffernan added: “We found no differences between binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers in the self-reporting questionnaires, but when it came to the video the binge drinkers recalled significantly less than the non-binge drinkers.

“Although from their own reports they appeared to have good memories, they didn’t perform as well in the video test. The binge drinkers recalled up to a third less of the items, a significant difference.”

Help in looking at your lifestyle

Reformed alcoholic Kevan Martin was addicted to booze for 20 years but has now turned his life around and set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum.

The 47-year-old, of Whitburn, South Shields, said his out-of-control habit ruined his life as it cost him his job, his marriage and his relationship with his daughter.

He would consume an average of eight litres of cider a day until he won his battle in 2000.

To help others in a similar situation, Kevan set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum (NERAF) to offer a holistic approach to tackling the problem.

He said: "I misused alcohol for 20 years and it ruined my life during that time. I lost my job, my home, my relationship with my daughter and my wife.

"My addiction to alcohol started when I was in my 20s. I enjoyed going out to the pub and I liked socialising.

"I did not realise how addictive alcohol was and how much of my lifestyle was taken up by drinking. My problem just crept up on me without any warning signs."

He added: "When I finally accepted I was an alcoholic and stopped drinking I realised I’d been failed by the system. I had only been given ways to combat the issue through medication and was not encouraged to look at my lifestyle – which is essential.

"As a result I set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum, which I did using my own money as it is something I’m very passionate about.

"It is crucial if someone wants to give up drinking that they look at the root cause of the problem, which generally involves assessing their lifestyle as that can be why the misuse of alcohol begins.

"Often people start drinking because they are in debt, unemployed, have a terrible home life and very few friends. NERAF provides long term aftercare and support to those affected by alcohol misuse.

"We highlight the dangers and health risks of misusing alcohol and, at the same time tell you that if you treat alcohol with respect and drink safely then none of the health risks should affect you."

Evening Chronicle

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Welsh Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan pledge their support for a major crackdown on alcohol abuse during a visit to Flintshire.

Ms Smith and Mr Morgan met Cllr Aaron Shotton, leader of Flintshire Council, and community councillor Ian Dunbar at Fron Road Park, Connah's Quay, on Friday, to back the introduction of five alcohol-free zones in Flintshire.

The Home Secretary and First Minister chose to visit Fron Road Park, as it has in the past been plagued by anti-social behaviour and vandalism and have promised to do their best to combat alcohol abuse in areas under siege from illegal drinkers and vandals.

Ms Smith said: "I really admire the work that is going on in Flintshire to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Our local council has worked incredibly hard to combat anti-social behaviour.

"I know that the council leader, Cllr Shotton, is committed to providing our law-abiding majority the sorts of public facilities they deserve, free from intimidation and vandalism.

"He is also determined to provide plenty of youth facilities, so that our young people have something constructive to do with their spare time.

"The vast majority of our young people are well-behaved and have so much to offer."

Mr Morgan added: "Across Wales councils are taking tough action on anti-social behaviour, that their local people demand.

"We are in touch with the needs of people in areas like Connah's Quay and will do our best to deal with the problem of public drinking, vandalism and intimidation.

"I know this is something Cllr Shotton takes extremely seriously and I fully endorse his policy to get tough on public alcohol abuse."

The areas of Maes Bodlonfa recreation ground and Bailey Hill, Mold, the playing field next to Wat's Dyke Infant School and the play area at Llwyn Derw in Mynydd Isa, as well as Greenfield Valley Herit
age Park, were recently approved as alcohol-free zones by Flintshire councillors.

The bans enable police to stop people drinking in these areas and is expected to be enforced from next month.

They will be in addition to two already enforced alcohol-free zones in the county, at Wepre Park and Flint Castle.

Cllr Shotton said: "Our public parks and facilities are hugely important for local people.

"Our hardworking families and older people deserve to be able to go to their local park for a stroll without fear of intimidation.

"We will continue to work with the police and introduce more alcohol-free zones, where there are problems with drinkers causing distress and vandalising public property."

Cllr Dunbar said: "People in Wepre will welcome this move and the fact that we brought the Home Secretary to Connah's Quay shows how serious we are about dealing with this problem."

Wrexham Leader

Welsh teenagers are using their dinner money to buy alcohol.

The shock revelation was uncovered by a Wales on Sunday investigation after official figures showed how police had seized 37,000 pints of beer and cider from children in England and Wales in the space of just two weeks.

And more than 5,000 youngsters were caught boozing in public places in that fortnight alone.

But we can reveal how children barely into their teens are ignoring public health messages and forgoing food in favour of spending their cash on booze.

In a bid to get to the heart of the problem of teen drinking, we took to the streets of Brackla last Friday night.

And what we were told makes chilling reading for every parent in the country.

They told how:

Youngsters as young as 13 are indulging in regular bouts of binge-drinking;

teenagers are aware of the dangers of drinking, but choose to ignore public health messages, saying that drinking alcohol every weekend is “not as bad as getting pregnant or smoking long-term”;

several children in the Bridgend area alone have become so dangerously drunk that they have required hospitalisation;

teens are routinely stealing alcohol, unnoticed, from their parents’ own supplies;

some parents routinely send their young teenagers out on the streets with flagons of cider;

some teenagers are so desperate for drink that they use their own dinner money to either buy alcohol themselves, or get older-looking friends to buy it for them.

Wales on Sunday visited The Triangle in Brackla – an area which has been plagued by problems associated with underage drinkers – to talk to teenage drinkers.

One 13-year-old girl told us, “I’ve taken drink from my mum’s supply before now.

“Everybody does it. It’s so easy.

“And you can always buy it – or if you don’t want to do it yourself there are plenty of people out there who will get it for you.

“Some kids scab money off other kids in the school yard for it, use their dinner money, anything.”

Many people would like to see Bridgend county council declare it an alcohol prohibition zone, and Labour councillor David Sage is campaigning for this order to be put in place.

Across Wales there are already hundreds of prohibition zones – and there are plans for dozens more in the coming months.

But councils are reliant on the police for enforcing the zones.

Dr Tony Jewell, Wales’ chief medical officer, said: “Reducing alcohol consumption is a key priority for the Assembly Government. We are aware of growing evidence that young people are starting to drink at an early age and regularly binge-drink.

“The increasing culture of binge-drinking in young people is leading to greater risk of injury, road crashes, unsafe sex and anti- social behaviour. It will also lead to serious health issues in later life and greater pressures on the NHS.

“In order to tackle the problem we need to develop a programme to raise self-esteem in young people and reduce the culture of binge-drinking.

“Tackling the harm caused by alcohol is at the heart of a new 10-year substance misuse strategy issued for consultation in February by the Minister for Social Justice, Dr Brian Gibbons. Tackling the sale of alcohol to young people is a key part of the strategy and this involves, for example, the use of mystery shoppers in shops that sell cigarettes and alcohol.

“The Welsh Assembly Government will also press for stricter rules on the sale and promotion of alcohol, an increase in taxation and a drink-drive limit reduction.

“In addition to this, I have written to the Treasury to express concern about the relatively cheap price of alcohol and the need to consider tax policies as part of a programme of action.”

The Triangle in Brackla is typical of many other areas throughout Wales which are blighted by drunken teens – and the British Beer & Pub Association is urging more local authorities to make great use of their powers to declare public alcohol-free zones.

Mark Hastings, of the BBPA, said: “We would like more local authorities to declare specific public places alcohol-free zones.

“And we would like to see more children and underage teenagers prosecuted for buying alcohol, as well as prosecutions against the traders who sell it to them.”

OUR A&E departments are overflowing with drunken teenagers. And police can barely cope with the tidal wave of anti-social behaviour sweeping Wales thanks to children as young as eight drinking alcohol on our streets.

So what do Wales’ young people really think of drink and its dangers?

Sarah Manners talked to some teens on the streets of one Welsh binge-drinking blackspot.

And what they told her might surprise you.

IT’S A freezing Friday night in Bridgend and teenagers Stacey, Joanne and Jane are huddled in the porch of Brackla Tabernacle.

They look 16, but in fact Stacey is the oldest at 14, while the other two are just 13.

They are intelligent, friendly and articulate – but what they have to say about “typical” teenage drinking habits in Wales makes hair-raising reading.

Surrounding the church is a wooded area, heavily scarred by the frequent fires lit by young people who go there to drink.

Now councillor David Sage is campaigning to have the area declared an alcohol-free zone in a bid to crack down on the drink-related anti-social behaviour which is blighting this Welsh commuter town.

“The creation of an alcohol-free zone would give police the powers to arrest anyone caught drinking in that area, which would help fight anti-social behaviour,” said Mr Sage, chairman of Brackla Community Council.

“Let’s face it, most people have done it – drunk alcohol underage.

“In some ways it’s a rite of passage into adulthood, but it’s the amount that kids today are drinking, the frequency that they are drinking, and the dangerous and anti-social consequences of that drinking which is so concerning now.”

Mr Sage says he and his colleagues are working closely with the town’s young people to improve resources for them in the area, pointing out two “youth shelters” – covered seats where older children and teenagers can gather to chat.

But as he listened to Sophie, Stacey and Joanne’s stories in the porch of Brackla Tab, he acknowledged that much more needs to be done throughout Wales – and quickly – if more lives are not to be ruined by underage binge-drinking.

‘I was so drunk, I’m never going to touch it again until I’m 65’

“I was in town one Friday night with my mates, and it all started off just having a laugh,” said Sophie, the youngest of the group at 13. “I started drinking Strongbow. I don’t know where we got it from. Then I was drinking Smirnoff with Lucozade.

“I was so bad I didn’t know what I was doing, but my mates took me home, where my mother sussed out straightaway what had been going on because she found me lying on the table.

“But she didn’t go mad – she stayed calm and asked me if I’d been drinking.

“She tells me I said ‘No’ but obviously I had.

She looked after me, but I felt so sick and so awful for ages afterwards.

I’m never ever going to touch drink like that again – at least not until I’m 65.”

‘It’s not about stress – everyone’s got problems’

Stacey, 14, the tallest and quietest of the group, denied that stress played a part in underage drinking.

“Everyone’s got problems,” she said.

“But there are counsellors in school and we’ll talk about our problems with our friends anyway.

“I don’t think that kids drink because they are stressed. I think they drink because everybody else is drinking.”

‘It’s better than smoking or being pregnant’

Blonde Joanne, also 13 but who could easily pass for 17, says that she’s never been so drunk that she lost control.

“I’d never do that,” she says. “No way. Never. To me that’s not enjoyable. But I know plenty of people who do just that, every weekend.”

Joanne tells the story of one boy, aged 14, who got so drunk that he broke his arm after punching a wall in frustration.

“I don’t think his mum knows how it happened – I think he told her that he just fell down,” she said.

“But he was angry about problems with his girlfriend and the drink made him punch the wall.

“His arm snapped just like that.”

Joanne says that she does drink alcohol regularly – which is perfectly legal – although she maintains it is always at social functions like parties or family get-togethers, where there are responsible adults present and where the alcohol has been bought by an adult.

“Personally, I’d never put myself in the position where I didn’t know what I was doing,” the bright and easy-to-talk-to teen insists.

“We’ve done the dangers of drinking in school. We know the risks. You could get attacked, or get pregnant, or anything, if you’re so drunk you’ve lost control of yourself.

“But having a couple of drinks at the weekend is a lot better than getting pregnant, or smoking long-term, isn’t it?”

‘It’s all about the people you hang out with’

Joanne: “This one girl we know, who is 13, went out recently and got so out of it on 80% proof, out-of-date, dodgy vodka that she collapsed on the Common and had to be taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, and put on a drip. It was so scary. She could have died.

“I don’t know why she drank like that. She never used to. I think she does it because she’s got in with the popular people and she has to drink to fit in with them. But all she’s really doing is making a fool of herself.”

‘Getting hold of alcohol is really easy’

Jane: “I’ve taken drink from my mum’s supply before now. Everybody does it. It’s so easy.

“And you can always buy it – or if you don’t want to do it yourself there are plenty of people out there who will get it for you.

“Some kids scab money off other kids in the school yard for it, use their dinner money, anything.

“People drink anything, but it’s mostly Bacardi Breezers, vodka, alcopops.

“And there are some parents – a lot live round here – who’ll even give their kids flagons of cider to go out with at the weekends.”

‘We’re not all violent when we drink’

Joanne: “Not everybody who drinks is violent or scary.

“But it’s not nice to think that some people are afraid of teenagers on the streets because they think they may have been drinking.

“A lot of kids just don’t care, though. Drinking makes them feel good and they don’t think that anything can go wrong.”

‘It’s hard to say what would make kids stop drinking’

Stacey: “I don’t know what would make teenagers stop drinking.

“My mum would absolutely kill me if I got drunk and into trouble, so that stops me. But some people’s parents just don’t care, so they’ll just carry on whatever.”

Joanne: “I don’t think you can blame it all on parents, though.

There’s a lot of reasons why kids drink to excess. Mostly, it’s because everybody else does and it’s so much to do with the people you hang out with.

“If you get in with the wrong crowd – older lads from bad areas – then it’s going to be very hard to say no.”

(Names have been changed to protect the girls’ identities)

Responding to Wales on Sunday’s findings, South Wales Police Chief Inspector Simon Belcher said: “We were encouraged that the Wales on Sunday reporter did not come across too many underage drinkers while out in Brackla but obviously concerned by claims made by the young people about other young people drinking and to excess.

“We would remind young people and parents of the dangers of underage drinking.

“Residents have raised concerns about under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour in Brackla which we are tackling.

“It has been raised as a priority in the Pact (Partnerships & Communities Together) meetings and we carry out patrols in the area and have carried out operations to seize alcohol from under-age youths.

“During the two weeks of half-term, we carried out Operation Camber, targeting under-age drinking and confiscated alcohol from youths.

“Recently on one particular day five anti-social behaviour referrals were made for youths causing anti-social behaviour.

“These activities allow officers to identify how young people came by the alcohol and it will also allow parents to be notified by means of letter that their children are consuming alcohol in public places.

“We would consider any measures suggested by our partners aimed at reducing under-age drinking and last week I met with councillors, to discuss any late night economy issues covering the whole of the county borough, including Brackla.

“The Brackla community can be reassured that South Wales Police will continue to engage with young people, carry out our patrols and confiscate alcohol as well as making referrals to the anti-social behaviour unit, while at the same time parents must take responsibility for making sure they know what their children are up to and we would remind shopkeepers of the laws surrounding the sale of alcohol.

“We would urge people to continue to tell us if they are experiencing anti-social behaviour and to attend the local Pact meetings.

“Residents can log on to the Ourbobby.com site to get updates about what our community team are doing to tackle issues and see precisely what patrols their local officer have undertaken to tackle anti-social behaviours and youth annoyance in the area.”

Wales On Sunday

The lowering of the drinking age has led to an explosion in teenage drink-driving convictions, new figures show.

Sunday Star-Times' analysis of drink-driving convictions over the past decade show teenage New Zealanders, women and those aged 40-plus are our worst drink-drivers.

But the teen figures are the most alarming in 2006, excess breath-alcohol convictions for boys aged 17-19 were up almost 54% on 1996, and the number of girls convicted in that age group more than doubled, from 470 in 1996 to 1147 in 2006.

Industry experts are blaming the surge on the 1999 lowering of the drinking age from 20 to 18, and today's easy access to cheap alcohol.

Massey University research has already linked the law change with increases in alcohol-related crashes and other alcohol-related offending in teenagers. Research author Taisia Huckle believes it is also to blame for the rise in drink-driving convictions. The figures prompted renewed calls for the drinking age to be returned to 20, and restricted access to alcohol.

Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven said the government's moves to introduce a zero-alcohol limit for drivers on restricted licences would go a long way to addressing problems. Otago University lecturer and leading alcohol researcher Jennie Connor suggested taxing alcohol more heavily.

She said overseas studies had shown increasing tax on ready-to-drinks (RTDs) or alcopops reduced heavy drinking in teenagers. New research about to be published in Australasian journal, the Drug and Alcohol Review, shows the sweet spirit-based drinks are closely linked with heavy drinking in young Kiwis, particularly girls.

Huckle, author of that research, said the study was the first in New Zealand to show RTDs were the "drink of choice" for young heavy drinkers.

They were taxed at a relatively low level despite having alcohol contents of up to 9%. But special taxes to make RDTs less attractive to young people in Germany had led manufacturer Bacardi to withdraw its Breezers from the market.

Connor said New Zealand lawmakers had largely ignored measures that were proven to be successful in curbing problem drinking. "The obvious thing is to raise the drinking age," she said.

Last year, then justice minister Mark Burton announced proposals to address youth drinking after a review of the problem. The announcement came almost a year after a bill to return the drinking age to 20 was thrown out. But the proposals were widely dismissed as toothless by industry experts. They included criminalising the supply of alcohol to under 18s in a public place and implementing a "three strikes and you're out" approach for suppliers caught selling to underage people three times in two years.

National law and order spokesman Simon Power said the focus needed to be on liquor licensing and better enforcement.

"The glaring issue for me is the proliferation of licences," he said.

Statistics showed drugs and alcohol were involved in a huge proportion of crimes and a range of proposals to address the problem were with the party's leader, John Key.

But neither Labour nor National would commit to putting a raised drinking age back on the agenda.

Land Transport NZ spokesman Andy Knackstedt said drink-driving remained a serious issue and accounted for a third of all crashes on New Zealand roads.

But the Star-Times' figures suggested efforts by his authority and police were working, he said. A total of 20,919 people were convicted of drink-driving in 1996 compared to 21,450 in 2006. The 2.5% increase was due to the population increase of 11% over the same period, Knackstedt said. The number of deaths and injuries from drink-drive crashes had dropped 26.4% and 12.8% over the same period.

The figures also showed drink-drive convictions for men aged 20 to 39 had dropped more than 20% between 1996 and 2006, and had dropped slightly for women that age. But the conviction rate for women skyrocketed 75% up from 3703 in 1996 to 5010 in 2006. Men's convictions fell slightly from 17,216 to 16,440.

Experts agreed women were increasingly engaging in risky drinking.

"Women are drunk much more now than they were," Connor said. "There are a lot of especially young women who go out with the intention of getting blind drunk."

This area of hazardous drinking could be addressed by better enforcement of the current liquor laws.

It was impossible for women to "get as drunk as these women do" without club and pub staff noticing and the industry needed to take responsibility and stop serving intoxicated people, she said. But it would take more than "just asking them nicely".

Figures showed a staggering 82% increase in drink-drive convictions for women aged over 40. Convictions for men in the same group had increased 13.45%.

This was further evidence women are playing catch up to their male counterparts as heavy drinking becomes more and more socially acceptable in New Zealand, the researchers said.

Studies showed that moves to sell alcohol in supermarkets, 24-hour and Sunday trading all introduced in the 1990s had increased problem drinking across all age groups, Huckle said.

"Alcohol is marketed like any other product, but in fact it's not it has health risks and all sorts of other risks associated with it. It's not an ordinary commodity... But it's all about the normalising of alcohol in New Zealand society and culture."

Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand spokeswoman Wendy Moore last week told a Nelson conference its research showed some 785,000 New Zealand adults regularly indulged in binge drinking.

Teenage binge drinkers, for whom drinking had become a rite of passage, were simply aping the actions of adults, she said.

Sunday Star Times

Most of us know someone at work whom we believe drinks a bit too much.

It can be the co-worker who puts away a couple of six-packs of beer after work, or the colleague who imbibes too much wine at various gatherings, or even the boss who smells like alcohol after lunch, despite the breath mints.

It's not that we think they're alcoholics, but we are aware that there could be a problem. And that's where a little education can go a long way to making sure these little problems don't become full-scale disasters that ruin professional and personal lives, says one expert.

Eric Goplerud, director of Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems at The George Washington University Medical Center says that while workers' alcohol problems cost employers millions of dollars each year and contribute to skyrocketing health insurance costs, the problem often is not effectively dealt with in the workplace.

'One of the reasons that more employers have not addressed this issue is because it's perceived as a private issue in the life of an employee,' he says. 'We're hoping that people will see there are several things they can do that are relatively easy.

'You go to someone and you say, 'You know, you seem to be drinking more - how much are you drinking?' Then, you inform them that what they're drinking seems like an awful lot. Finally, you motivate them to get help, by expressing your concern and saying: 'Have you thought about changing?' "

Goplerud also explains that just as an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to more serious issues such as diabetes, drinking too much can really impact someone's health and possibly lead to alcoholism.

'What we've learned is that many people drink alcohol in ways that are unhealthy to themselves and others,' Goplerud says. 'There's no need for them to go to AA [Alcoholics Anonymous], but it does affect their health and there may be a need to go to counseling in order to handle the progression.'

In a recent report, the Ensuring Solutions team found that workplace alcohol problems seem to hit some industries harder than others. Specifically, those in construction, hospitality and manufacturing have 'a higher-than-average rate of alcohol misuse and dependency.'

Goplerud says one step that employers can take to help employees is to request their health care providers screen for alcohol problems or a tendency to drink too much at the same time they screen for other health issues. That way, an employee headed down the wrong path can be informed of the hazards early and be given treatment, if needed.

He stresses that employers need to be aware of situations that can lead to overuse of alcohol by employees, such as workers who labor with little or no supervision or in remote locations, or who travel a lot for business. Also, younger workers (males under 21 have the highest alcohol dependencies) can be greatly influenced to drink more in a company culture where older employees drink heavily.

Unfortunately, research also shows that only 10 percent of working people with serious alcohol problems receive any kind of treatment, Goplerud says.

'This is a problem that is a whole lot easier to treat before it gets out of control,' he says.

Salt Lake Tribune

Increasingly large pub measures are pushing customers towards unsafe levels of drinking, the Royal College of Physicians has warned.

RCP president Ian Gilmore accused the pub industry of acting irresponsibly and urged it to put its house in order.

The 125ml wine glass used to be the standard size but many pubs and bars are now using 175ml and 250ml measures.

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers hit back that it was in the business of offering customers choice.

Maximise profits

Just 16% of pubs surveyed by industry magazine The Publican magazine said the 125ml glass was their normal size.

The 175ml glass was found to be the standard in three quarters of pubs, with 14% saying they use the 250ml glass - equivalent to a third of a bottle - as a standard measure.

Meanwhile, many premises are said to have increased spirit measures from 25 to 35ml and offer doubles as standard.

BBC correspondent Keith Doyle said there was even anecdotal evidence that some pub staff were under pressure to maximise profits by encouraging customers to opt for larger drinks.

Industry magazine The Publican recently advised landlords to "train and incentivise staff to upsell products such as larger measures of wine and spirits".

Jeremy Beadles, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "Our view is that customers should be offered a choice of different wine glass sizes when they are drinking in a pub or restaurant."

The industry also insists it merely offers what customers want and that larger sizes are better value for money.

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the larger glasses were a result of consumer outcry during the 1980s.

"People felt short-changed in pubs because we were selling 125ml glasses," he told the BBC.

"So the pub sector moved to serving us in exactly the same way as people drink in their own homes. In other words it's what people want to buy."

If people were asking for smaller measures, he continued, "you can guarantee pubs will start producing them, because they want customers to be happy".

Safe limits

However, as fears about a binge drinking epidemic mount, the trend has triggered a backlash from senior doctors and politicians.

Professor Gilmore warned: "There is no doubt at all that many people are drinking significantly more than they realise.

"People are aware of units, they want to stay within safe limits, but they are being pushed up way over those limits by just not realising what they are drinking.

"I think the industry is being irresponsible and needs to put its house in order."

Greg Mulholland, a Liberal Democrat health spokesman, has introduced a bill in the House of Commons to amend weights and measures legislation to force all bars, pubs, clubs and licensed restaurants offer the 125ml measure.

"Quite simply it's profiteering," he said.

"It's getting people to trade up, calling a 175ml measure - which is really a large - a standard glass, and calling a 250ml a large - when in fact it is a third of a bottle of wine, nearly half a pint.

"All I'm saying really is people should have a choice. If they want a smaller measure they should get it."

BBC News

Ross-shire's top cop has spoken out on drink-driving as a campaign to have the level at which drivers can be prosecuted reduced gains momentum.

A campaign championed and led by MSP Dave Thompson to cut the drink driving limit will be considered by Westminster and is gaining cross-party support, it has emerged.

An online poll carried out by the Ross-shire Journal earlier this year revealed that the majority of respondents (around 80 per cent) agree with the MSP's campaign to cut the limit from 80mg to 50mg.

Mr Thompson said, "I am pleased to hear the UK Government is finally considering the option of a cut. The SNP want to see a cut in the drink-driving level to combat the problems alcohol causes on our roads, particularly in rural areas."

Ross-shire's top cop, Superintendent John Darcy, agrees the limit should be cut, but stresses his view that the key way to curb drink driving is through public awareness, rather than solely cutting limits.

He said, "Currently, I believe that it would be appropriate to cut the drink-driving limit. There's been a large number of drink drivers in the area and there's no excuse. People are consciously taking the decision to drink and drive and we have even come across drunk drivers actually falling out of their cars."

During April 2006, the Ross-shire Journal reported eight drivers in Superintendent Darcy's command area who were charged with drink-driving offences – more than half the total of the entire Northern Constabulary force area.

Dingwall Sheriff Court dealt with one drink-drive case every day, during a 17-day period in August 2005. And less than a week after a high-profile festive crackdown on the issue, a woman in Ross-shire was caught three times over the limit.

The area has for long been burdened with an above-average drink-drive problem.

The Superintendent said, "Certainly I fully support it and at times legislation is necessary.

"Perhaps it will help us to catch more drink drivers and I say let that be the case. The only acceptable solution is if you are driving, you know you are driving that evening, or it's late and you know you'll be driving the next morning, just don't drink.

"It's not a difficult decision to make.

"Being caught could mean you lose your license, you may even lose your job over it. If you are in the country you can share a taxi, but there will always be excuses that people make up, but there is no excuse.

"The simple solution is, just don't drink if you know you are going to be driving."

Meanwhile Mr Thompson will be writing to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith emphasising the need for the cut to be introduced in Scotland as soon as possible, and would like to pilot the reduction in Scotland to make an immediate impact.

Yet Jamie Stone, LibDem MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, urged caution, "It would have an effect, but the thing is you'd have to be very careful that it was the same limit on both sides of the border.

"I would generally support the move, but I think really it is the issue of responsible drinking that needs to be tackled and it's really about educating people."

He continued, "My main concern is that yes you have to have laws and you can have all sorts of laws on driving, but until we can get to the route of the problem people can still get completely blind drunk at home.

"Drinking kills. It can ruin families, it can ruin lives."

Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) is a national charity which promotes responsible drinking, raises awareness of alcohol related problems and works to influence national alcohol policy.

It wants the legal drink-drive limit to be reduced from 80mg to 50mg, which it says would bring Scotland in line with many other European countries.

Ross-shire Journal

Consuming alcohol is acceptable – taking drugs is not. Yet one expert who's helping abusers overcome their habits insists the key difference is the way we perceive them.

Georgia Foster is trained in the complex field of Jungian psychology. She's also a hypnotherapist and runs a specialist clinic in London helping people with deep emotional problems.

Although she started out with the emphasis on the broad psychology of her patients she slowly started to move specifically into the field of alcohol abuse.

"What I found," she said, "was that an incredibly high number of people had a problem with alcohol, and I don't necessarily mean they were alcoholics.

"I'm talking here about people who regularly turned to alcohol but weren't quite candidates for Alcoholics Anonymous. And yet they were doing themselves harm by their behaviour.

"Because not only did their problems lead to abuse but the abuse itself either exacerbated existing problems or, worse still, created new ones."

As a result of her findings Foster wrote the book The Drink Less Mind, a practical approach to battling the booze in a stressful world.

Workshop

Next month, as part of a UK tour, she visits Leeds with a one-day workshop designed to help those on the cusp of a serious problem.

And there's no underestimating the harm the demon drink can do to us, though its normalisation, insists Foster, is a curious anomaly of a society which bans certain dangerous substances while celebrating others.

"Alcohol is a drug," said Foster. "It can be just as damaging as cocaine or cannabis and yet it's socially acceptable, we class it as being OK.

"Yet it is a toxin. It's addictive and, like other drugs, it alters our brain state so we aren't functioning as we normally would be if we weren't intoxicated.

"The trouble is that our society is built on the consumption of alcohol and has been for centuries whereas other drugs have been made illegal because they're relatively new.

"But could you imagine what would happen if we ever tried to make alcohol illegal – there'd be complete uproar."

If the concept of blurring the lines between legal and illegal drugs seems too difficult to grasp, consider Foster's own findings.

She said: "What's particularly interesting is the fact that an increasingly large number of cocaine users develop a habit after consuming large amounts of alcohol.

"One can often lead to the other because you develop a cavalier attitude, over-confidence and the belief that you can do anything, which is often associated with the effects of cocaine, they're closely linked because they're very similar and heightening in their effects."

Although Foster makes less of a distinction between commonplace and prohibited substances than many, her answer isn't to make them all legal or illegal.

She acknowledges that society is unlikely to adopt such a radical approach any time in the near future, so our only answer is to work to limit the damage of alcohol.

Habitual

"Much of the problem behaviour is habitual," said Foster. "How many people out there get home and almost automatically open a bottle of wine when they come in at night from work?

"And there must be some kind of ingrained problem because we're constantly told by health experts that men should have a certain number of alcohol units a week and men should have a certain number a week.

"And yet we ignore it. Why? What is it that makes us turn a blind eye to the health warnings and the advice which guides us as to what it responsible drinking?"

So which members of society is Foster talking about and how can we help them?

"Well this is particularly interesting because I'm not necessarily talking about those people who are technically addicted and face imminent, life-threatening health problems.

"We're talking here about people whose consumption is at a worrying level and they may not even realise it, or they may have some idea but choose to ignore it.

"What I set out to do is to identify a cause because often a habit is born out of stress, it can be an emotional crutch we turn to.

Compensate

"Alternatively we may drink to boost our self-confidence, to cover up parts of ourselves we feel are lacking and we need to compensate for.

"There are so many factors which have to be considered and treated in combination with the symptoms."

So how, exactly, can Foster help?

"Well there are all kinds of very simple things which people can do which they might not even realise," she said, "like dealing with problems rather than running away from them, because all drugs are a form of escape in some way or another.

"And, for example, on a very basic level there are ways to stem drinking. Often people will get
home, open the wine and never once put their glass down, they sit their holding it all night, sipping every minute or so.

"One very minor act which can make a big change is just putting it down for a few moments at a time - you'd be amazed how much that cuts consumption.

"And there are numerous other simple solutions which are available and really will make a difference. All people have to do is be prepared to make the change."

Factfile:

How alcohol ranks against other drugs

Number of UK users - Annual related deaths

Alcohol 40,000,000...........................40,000

Cannabis 3,000,000................................1

Cocaine 80,000..................................214

Ecstasy 500,000..................................27

Heroin 300,000................................. 700

Yorkshire Evening Post

"We've lost a lot of friends," says Gloucester High School student Christina Lewis. In the past 10 years, 35 Gloucester High pupils or former students that were still under 21 have died due to substance-use related accidents, overdoses or suicides.

But unless adolescent substance abuse is addressed and reduced, these tragedies could continue to happen, since the recent Gloucester Health Needs Assessment revealed high rates of drinking and drug use among area youth.

When Lewis, a senior, became aware of these statistics, she found them "pretty alarming," but did not doubt they were true. A member of the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group at the high school, she said "the survey made me realize just how big a problem there really is, and everyone perceives that everybody's drinking, but it's not the truth, I am taking a stand to prove that."

The 25 member student group is dedicated to demonstrating sober, healthy behaviors to their peers and works to increase awareness about this issue in their neighborhoods.

Amy Kamm, program director of the Student Assistance Program and SADD sponsor, says SADD originally met as a grief and loss group for students, but "has since become an activist group to prevent these tragedies."

Many of the students in SADD have been exposed to substance abuse and overcome it, so can share their success stories with others. "Most of the kids have been impacted through family, by losing a friend or by watching friends struggle with the issue so they know there is a problem. But all feel compelled to speak out and make a difference. These kids are making a safer community," Kamm said.

All the SADD students agree that drinking and drug use are a well-ingrained part of the culture at Gloucester High School and the town itself, and that alcohol is the primary gateway drug, with marijuana coming in second. "It's part of the culture in Gloucester," senior Kyle Bacon said. "Talking about it is sometimes taboo, too, because people might not want to accept that fact that we have a huge problem."

The student activists observe alcohol and drug use all around them each day at school, and are distressed how widespread it is. "It's very clear who is doing these things and who doesn't because you hear the 'drunk stories' on Monday mornings," says junior Melanie Scanlon. "Kids find these really funny — they may not inside, but they act as if they do."

The group said drinking and drug use pervades much of the student body, and is prevalent among students who participate in a variety of activities, from drama to sports teams, "There's not just one sector of kids drinking," Scanlon said. Bacon added that alcohol use, especially binge-drinking, is sometimes a "conformity issue" in school, and that certain students "compete to drink the most."

Alex Bigger-Allen, a sophomore, said "I think the stats are pretty accurate, especially the increase (in usage) by senior year. People just get used to doing this and it becomes something they do every weekend. It may not seem bad because it's just one drink at first, but judgment becomes clouded, and one drink can lead to even more drinks, so we have to do something to prevent that."

He added that marijuana is often believed to be "less dangerous," so students may be more inclined to use it, especially younger kids who have never used drugs before. "They may say 'It's my first party, so I think I'll fit in and smoke this to relax,' but it soon becomes a weekly routine," he warned.

Bacon said that most adolescents do not deliberately set out to become substance abusers, but become so through habits. "They think they're doing it that one time at that one party. They don't realize it will likely continue," he said.

Lewis believes that many youths drink or abuse drugs because they have underlying emotional health challenges such as depression, the presence of which was confirmed by the needs assessment. "Drinking can stifle these feelings so you don't have to deal with reality," she said, "but it (alcohol) will make depression worse." She pointed out that mental heath problems can also develop after young people begin using alcohol or drugs "because of their effect on brain chemistry," so mental illness is both a cause and effect of drug and alcohol usage.

The students would like to see a stricter policy in effect at Gloucester High School to protect against substance abuse, and more tools available to the teachers so they can deal with this issue more effectively. "Right now, it's absolutely pitiful," Bacon said.

With summer approaching, the students are strategizing to combat the unhealthy behaviors that often accompany warm weather events. For example, the group believes that St. Peter's Fiesta has grown beyond its respectful origins and sometimes descends into a drunken revelry, as do many Fourth of July celebrations. Although the Fiesta itself does not provide alcohol, many people over-indulge at parties and in bars during this time. And when adults are drinking and not watching their children, dangerous things can happen. At a Fourth of July party last year, one of the SADD students saw some teenagers giving a "louge" (a shot of alcohol) to a 6-year-old; another SADD member observed a 4-year-old girl imitating her father when he was drunk, and the whole family laughed and encouraged her.

The group wants to present a sober presence on these occasions, and may wear buttons that will indicate to others that some people are not drinking. "We want to try to be a good example there," Bacon said.

The students also believe that it is not helpful when adults and, or law enforcement officials "let kids off the hook" if they are caught drinking. They believe that clear abstinence policies should be in effect and upheld by all, even when the culprits are local sports stars. Similarly, some adults furnish alcohol to minors at house parties because they incorrectly believe it is safer to do this than risk having their teenagers drive somewhere else to party. But SADD does not support this behavior either, because underage drinking is always risky, whether it's done at home or elsewhere. These situations can be avoided if parents join the "Safe Homes Program," a network of families who pledge not to serve alcohol to minors in their homes.

The SADD students were greatly encouraged last month by the "Take it Back" community forum, which brought together students, parents, teachers and community members to discuss the scourge of substance abuse and develop solutions. "We had an awesome turnout," Scanlon said. "I'm just really happy that people are listening now."

Lewis said the forum "really motivated us all to keep going with it. Adults have now stepped up to take a role." The group now expects the adults who expressed concerns at the forum to follow up on their good intentions with some action.

Bigger-Allen hopes that many adults take part in these prevention efforts by talking frankly to their children about substance abuse.

"We need role modeling by parents," he said, "and parents must also be parents to their kids, not friends."

The SADD members are role models for younger Gloucester students, and speak at O'Maley Middle and St. Ann's schools to promote abstinence.

"We are their peers, which makes more of an impact, and we share personal stories about substance abuse, not horror stories," Lewis said. "We make sure they know not all of the kids are drinking. If we give them this information, maybe we can stop (substance use) before it gets to be a huge problem."

Gloucester Daily Times

Hoping to save a life when an army buddy's had too much to drink, 767 soldiers and civilians on the army's largest training post now carry personal alcohol detectors in their cars or on their keychains.

Fort Jackson's safety director Sean O'Brian has been handing out the 10-centimetre devices since the first of the year.

"It's a good way to not get into a confrontation with a buddy, in case they've been drinking," said Master Sgt. James Smith. "It's impartial. It lets you say, 'Hey, let's let this be our guide.'"

While there hasn't been a big problem with drunken driving on the base there were 10 alcohol-related accidents in a recent 12-month span that's still too many in O'Brian's opinion.

Fort Jackson is one of eight army installations that have begun using the pocket-sized detectors, base spokesman Pat Jones said.

Staff Sgt. Tenesia Vann at Fort Benning, Ga., said she grabbed half of dozen of the tiny breathalyzers when she first arrived at the base in January.

"If I go to a gathering where people are drinking, I want to be able to hand them out. I think they could be a deciding factor in convincing people not to get behind the wheel," said the 35-year-old administrative assistant. "I keep them at home in case I have people over for a cookout."

Fort Benning, home to multiple infantry units and the service's Airborne and Ranger training schools, got 155,000 of the devices last May. Officials have handed out 100,000 of them in nearly a year's time.

Yvonne Wilbanks, alcohol and drug control officer for the post, has worked for 25 years trying to convince soldiers not to drink and drive. Handing out the devices has been "one of the better things that we've done," she said. All army bases mandate safety lectures for soldiers, while others try to emphasize the message through posters or offering no-questions-asked rides home should someone have one too many.

The army, with more than 524,000 men and women on active duty, is the largest military service in the U.S. Besides Benning and Jackson, other installations trying out the detectors include Fort Lee, Va.; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Fort Greeley, Alaska; Fort Sam Houston and Corpus Christie Army Depot in Texas, and Fort Dix, N.J.

In South Carolina, the detectors come amid a state legislator's proposal that would allow members of the armed forces younger than 21 the right to buy alcohol even though it's in contrast to the military's efforts to diminish underage drinking and related accidents.

Five years ago, there were 23 alcohol-related accidents at Fort Jackson, where 55,000 to 65,000 soldiers pass through the gates annually. Luckily, none of the accidents has been fatal, OBrian said.

Smith, 41, who has been in the army for 23 years, said he wished he had the device earlier in his career. At Fort Jackson, he is in charge of a dozen drill sergeants and their 240 basic training recruits.

"I think it's an excellent idea to 'police up' yourself and your buddies. I keep it in my car," Smith said.

The detectors are not a self-diagnostic tool. They require a buddy's help.

Known as "Breathscan" tubes, they're carried inside the yellow plastic key fob designed for military use, said Patrice McMorrow, marketing director for Akers Biosciences Inc. in Thorofare, N.J., which produces the devices. They aren't marketed directly to the public, she said, although some might be found for sale on the web. O'Brian, who is in charge of giving safety lectures to all new soldiers and the 4,400 civilian workers who come to Fort Jackson, got 2,500 of the devices to hand out along with information designed to puncture myths about drinking and driving.

For example, he said, "Coffee doesn't make you sober. It just wakes you up. Another myth is that you know when you're too drunk to drive. You don't."

That's where a friend with the tiny device comes in.

To use it, soldiers simply pull a cardboard tube out of a yellow plastic container. Pressing the outside of the tube breaks a small vial containing yellow crystals. The drinker holds the tube vertically and blows hard for about 12 seconds. Then, the non-reusable tube must be placed on a flat surface.

After two minutes, the colour of the crystals detects whether a person has a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 per cent or higher, which O'Brian said is enough to "slow your reflexes and impair your judgment." The crystals remain yellow if no alcohol has been consumed.

A non-drinker should administer the test because of the multistep process.

Sarnia Observer

Alcohol-related admissions may be much higher than previously thought

Alcohol-related admissions of the under-20s to accident and emergency departments could be six times higher than past research has indicated. This was the message from emergency medicine specialist Paul Quigley to the Alcohol and Advisory Council (ALAC) conference in Nelson today.

Dr Quigley, from Wellington Hospital, told the conference that accident and emergency data from the past four years which showed the primary cause of an admission as “alcohol” shows a static and not very large number of admissions.

“If research looks at people admitted primarily because of alcohol – and we are talking here, for example, about someone passing out in a street somewhere – there appears to be a level and relatively small number of cases over the last four years. But our clinical staff know there has been a significant increase in the number of alcohol-related admissions.”

“So we looked at data which was coded ‘alcohol’ as the primary cause of the admission, but also included a secondary cause of ‘injuries related to alcohol’.”

Dr Quigley said that resulted in a “six fold blowout” of the alcohol-only figures.
“This means past research could have grossly underestimated how often alcohol is related to emergency admissions.”

Paul Quigley told the conference that the alcohol-only data also shows a steady increase in the number of females being brought in, particularly 14 and 15 year olds. “The common perception is that being ‘smashed’ is a male dominated activity, but we are now seeing more young women than men presenting with severe intoxication. If the trend keeps going women will hit 60 percent of drunk presentations this year.

“The really disturbing thing is that emergency departments see only the tip of the iceberg. You have to be really bad to be admitted to an emergency department, so what does that say about the numbers of drunk under-18 year old girls staggering along the streets of Wellington?”

Once data includes alcohol-related injuries, males begin to dominate admissions again, particularly with ‘fighting injuries’: concussion, facial injuries and fractured hands. But there’s an increasing number of women being admitted with similar injuries.

“It used to be that women had a much higher rate of admissions as a result of mental health issues related to alcohol, for instance, attempting suicide during a binge session. The proportion of those types of admissions has changed lately as the number of women’s ‘fighting injuries’ increases.

“The really scary thing is that there are girls, some as young as 14, who are repeatedly admitted for injuries caused by alcohol. What does that say about their lives and our communities down the track a few years?”

Dr Quigley is calling for improved awareness in emergency departments across the country of the association between weekend injuries and episodes of binge drinking, especially in the under-18 year olds.

“There have been some very good studies done on how easy it is to alter harmful alcohol-related behaviour, just by pointing it out to the patient. The problem is we don't always think about the cause of minor injuries.

“We also need to study the ‘consumer’ patterns of drinking. At Wellington Hospital we are going to begin a study that establishes where the drinker comes from, where they got the booze and where they passed out. This type of information could then be used to find problem areas and enable law enforcement and liquor authorities to be more focused on preventing harm.

“Apart from all the other disturbing features of youth drinking problems, every Sunday my staff are filling out ACC forms with patients unable to work for days. I hate to think of the cost to the country of such hazardous drinking”, said Dr Quigley.

The Alcohol Advisory Council

More money than ever before will this financial year be spent on the problem of alcohol misuse in South Lanarkshire.

Funding to tackle the county’s bevvy culture has been increased almost 200 per cent to £2,455,6988.

That compares with spending of little more than £855,000 last financial year.

The extra cash will be used to tackle a 66 per cent increase over 10 years in the county’s alcohol-related death toll.

Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Action Team chairman Colin Sloey welcomed the extra cash, and said it would give them the opportunity to speed up the programme of service improvements for those with drink problems.

The money will be targeted at alcohol screening, prevention and treatment services.

A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire said they were already providing training for GPs, practice nurses and other community health on problems of alcohol misuse.

“This extra money will help us to offer treatment at an earlier stage and therefore reduce the number of people who develop more severe alcohol problems,” he added.

“We are also looking to enhance services for younger people, focusing on education, prevention and treatment.

“There is evidence that more and more older adults are developing alcohol problems, and this is an area that we want to address by offering enhanced support, treatment and care.”

The £2.455m allocation is Lanarkshire’s share of a £25m package of spending on alcohol misuse announced by Scottish Government Public Health Minister Shona Robison.

She said the budget for across Scotland for alcohol treatment services will more than double.

NHS Lanarkshire’s director of public health, Dr Dorothy Moir, has described the impact of drink on people in the county as “among the worst in Britain.”

In 2006, no fewer than 215 Lanarkshire people died from alcohol-linked disease compared to 130 10 years earlier.

These figures, however, tell only half the story.

In her annual report, published in November, Dr Moir notes that in Lanarkshire in 2005-06, there were 3827 alcohol-related hospital discharges.

Alcohol misuse in the county led to 15,050 consultations with GPs and practice nurses.

The number of 13-year-olds and 15-year-olds who had tried alcohol fell in the five years to 2006, according to a Lanarkshire survey.

However, for those 13-year-olds who had consumed alcohol in the week before the study, average consumption rose from 11 units to 17 units over the same period.

The average alcohol intake of the older children went from 13 in 2002 to 20 last year.

Dr Moir concluded: “Alcohol-related problems in Lanarkshire, already serious, have continued to worsen.

“Education and preventive action, including fiscal measures as well as improvements in health care and joint working with other agencies who have a significant role, are all required to address this growing problem.”

Hamilton Advertiser

When 24-hour drinking laws came into effect in November 2005 there was widespread concern it would lead to an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and a rise in the binge drinking culture.

A government review of the law earlier this year found a mixed picture of their impact with crime and alcohol consumption down overall.

And while some areas of the UK struggle to control the rise of the binge drinking generation and the crime that goes with it, police in Great Yarmouth say the town has coped well with the change in licensing laws reporting no increase in the number of call-outs on weekends.

Several premises on Yarmouth's seafront operate late licenses including the Long Bar which opens until 6am at weekends and the Pier Tavern, which opens until 4am.

Police superintendent for the eastern area Jo Parrett said the service had actually seen a drop in violent crime in the area in total, adding that strong links with licensees and landlords had resulted in the smooth running of 24-hour drinking.

The most noticeable difference was an increase in call-outs between 2am and 5am.

She said: “On the whole the majority of licensees and landlords are responsible and work well with us and on the whole the public have behaved well.

“We deal positively with any type of anti-social behaviour and people should expect to have restrictions placed on them if they misbehave.”

Supt Parrett said one of the successes for the night-time economy was Nightsafe - a scheme operated by pubs and clubs which bans troublesome revellers from dozens of establishments and not just the premises they cause trouble in.

“People could find they are not allowed in licensed premises so when their friends are out having fun they are stuck at home,” she said.

Police resources are increased in the summer months and tackling issues related to the night-time economy isn't simply sending officers out on patrols ensuring there is a visual presence on the street as Supt Parrett explained.

“Depending on intelligence we receive there are a number of tactics used such as drugs dogs, and plain clothed officers. Just because uniformed officers are not about it doesn't mean your behaviour is not being watched.”

And while Supt Parrett applauded the behaviour of the majority of licensees and landlords she warned them not to become complacent.

“Licensees who choose not to follow the law, whether by serving people underage or allowing bad behaviour, can expect a visit from us, and we will not be afraid to use our powers to close you down on the spot if it is in the public interest.”

South Yarmouth's Insp Danny Kett said police had forged “good relationships” with licensees and landlords which meant staff in pubs and clubs would not hesitate to call police at the first sign of trouble.

“As they sense trouble starting we will get a call,” he said. “That's what we want. It's about nipping it in the bud before an incident gets out of control.”

While police receive “several” calls to the seafront to deal with small incidents, Insp Kett said the service welcomed them as it meant officers could control incidents before they escalated into something bigger such as a “nasty assault”.

He said police had also tackled other issues related to the night-time economy including criminal damage in areas behind the seafront.

“The seafront is heavily covered by CCTV which allows us to filter staff into areas where the CCTV does not cover, for example areas behind the seafront. So if someone is not allowed entry to a pub and wants to take it out on a car they will think twice if there is a police presence. However, if there is an incident on the seafront staff can get there quickly.”

He said Yarmouth was a “very safe place to be” at the weekends thanks to a “pro-active policing” which had changed over the last five years.

“People are still leaving premises now at 6am, whereas before people would leave at 2am.

“Before the change in licensing laws you had a clear migration of people from pubs to clubs and at closing time you would have thousands of people on the streets at the same time and crime would usually peak at that time. Now we don't have that.”

Insp Kett added one of the biggest problems at weekends was handbag thefts and urged pub and clubgoers to keep their possessions with them at all times.

And Supt Parrett had a stern message to late-night revellers who caused trouble - saying they would be caught and prosecuted.

“Not only will you have a conviction for violence but that could affect your job and you will have to deal with the repercussions of that.

“You also risk being barred from premises.”

Yarmouth Mercury

Despite the issues that are raised almost weekly on college campuses about underage drinking and the perils of alcoholism, in some cases the problem may be met much before a student reaches their chosen university.

Recently, in Great Britain, a 6-year-old boy was treated for alcoholism at a hospital.

There is a debate, which rages principally amongst many young adults ages 16 to 20, which questions what exactly the drinking age should be.

Whether it is 21, 18 or 16 I think everyone in the debate can come to a consensus that six is far and away too young.

There are some well publicized studies which preach the negative aspects of drinking for people whose bodies are still developing.

Whether you think you are still developing at 18 or not, six is a developmental stage for everyone in the world.

In addition to this, the primary targets of anti-drinking propaganda are the culprits of the drinking. Perhaps parents should be targeted more.

Not only should parents be targeted to understand the negatives of drinking themselves, but also of the extremely negative effects of drinking as a young child.

Furthermore, this child was not a one-time drinker. He was treated for alcoholism, which suggests that this was not the first time that the child was drinking.

How can a parent be so irresponsible to not realize not only that their child was drinking, but that he was drinking heavy amounts on a regular basis?

That is bad parenting, plain and simple.

In the United States, this child would be either a Kindergartner or a first grader.

Perhaps the health curriculum which outlines the effects of alcohol on a person's body should be moved to the first day of classes that a child takes.

Who cares if a person can read, distinguish colors or add, if they are not equipped with the common sense to stay alive?

This responsibility usually rests on the parents because they are believed to have enough sense and understanding of life to protect their children.

However, cases like this show that everyone should be armed with the knowledge to stay alive at the youngest age possible.

Parents are given free reign to raise their children the way that they please. In many cases, they can choose to allow their children to follow or break the law.

After all, who's going to know?

But in many cases, that can create situations just like this.

Educating a 6-year-old is unlikely to do enough to make them realize not to drink, but it is perhaps necessary for the few that it might save.

Let's face it, compulsory education for parents will never happen and 99 percent of parents do not need it to understand something as simple as this.

Something should be done because no matter what excuses you may have, it is an abomination for a 6-year-old to be hospitalized for alcohol.

Daily Vidette

Many of us like to enjoy a couple of pints of beer or glasses of wine at the end of a hard day but even this seemingly moderate amount could be hazardous to our health.

That is the message that health bosses will try to get across today as they stage a conference in Derby to discuss ways to cut alcohol misuse across the county.

There are 25,100 alcoholics in Derbyshire and experts estimate 147,400 of us have a problem with drink.

Shocking figures show that hospital admissions in the county due to drinking have risen by 7% and one in 16 hospital visits are now caused by alcohol.

Experts say that even people who do not consider themselves to be heavy drinkers could be at risk, because even a glass or pint more than the recommended daily maximum can cause serious damage.

Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust says from 2002 to 2003 there were 8,724 alcohol-related hospital admissions in Derbyshire, excluding Derby patients, and in 2006 to 2007 this had risen to 11,941.

These range from injuries as a result of drunken accidents to serious liver damage and mental health problems.

And the trust says men are much more likely to be hospitalised as a result of boozing than women.

The trust also says 68,000 people visit their GP every year with problems caused by alcohol abuse - including mental health problems like depression and chronic health conditions that need on-going management, such as heart disease. Figures for admissions of Derby patients were not available.

Alcohol experts in Derbyshire are meeting at Morley Hayes Hotel, in Mansfield Road, today for a conference aimed at tackling the problem. John Stamp is co-ordinator for Derbyshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team, which works with health services, police, councils and patients and will be taking part in today's conference.

Mr Stamp said: "It is a fact that alcohol consumption is on the increase.

"Alcohol industry figures show sales are rising and Britain is one of the biggest drinkers in Europe. Put simply, we have a problem.

"Alcohol has short, medium and long-term effects including falls, road accidents, depression, degeneration of the nervous system, problems with the guts, pancreas and liver, breast cancer, throat cancer, mood swings and heart disease and it is the NHS that picks up the final bill.

"Interestingly, the highest proportion of alcohol-related hospital admission are for the older age groups who have drank steadily throughout their lives, which shows that alcohol has cumulative effects on the body."

This week is also National Alcohol Awareness Week so the event is being supported by the Government.

Experts are trying to come up with ways of making people aware of safe drinking limits and how to enjoy a social drink without causing harm to themselves or others.

The trust thinks that the increasing numbers of people admitted to hospital due to alcohol could be due to a combination of binge-drinking and people not knowing their limits.

Alison Pritchard is consultant in public health at Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust and will be speaking at today's conference.

She said: "One of the things we will be looking at during today's event is changes in patterns of drinking.

"We hear a lot about young people binge-drinking and this is certainly a factor but I think there are a number of social drinkers who may not realise the dangers having one-to-many glasses of strong wine can cause to their health.

"We also need to work with retailers to look at the price of alcohol and also discourage drinks promotions such as buy-one-get-one-free or selling three bottles of wine for the price of two.

"We need a more sensible approach."

The trust says that alcohol abuse in Derbyshire is the fifth largest cause of accidents and illnesses, behind factors such as obesity and smoking.

But drinking patterns in Derbyshire are no higher than the national average.

Across the country an estimated 19% of the population are "hazardous drinkers" - knocking back 25 to 50 units a week if they a man and 15 to 35 units a week if they are woman.

The Department of Health recommends that men drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week and for women the limit is 14 units.

Mr Stamp said: "I think a lot of people drink over their limits without knowing.

"Even a couple of pints or glasses of wine each evening can add-up if you are drinking strong wine or beer.

"A good tip is to start diluting your drinks, so try drinking shandies, spritzers and single measures. Four shandies instead of four pints means you can spend a happy evening in the pub without damaging your health."

David Keeling, 44, is a recovering alcoholic from Derby and says that alcohol is as dangerous as illegal drugs.

He said: "I learned first hand that alcohol is just as serious as any of the illegal drugs.

"For something that most people treat so lightly it can ruin your life and leave you with nothing.

"Being addicted to alcohol is a prison sentence and it is almost impossible to escape it without help and support."

Derby charity Action Housing and Support helps alcoholics and believes alcohol can cause as much harm as many illegal substances.

It says problem drinking can lead to family breakdowns, unemployment, homelessness and addictions can be fatal.

Russell Ward, the charity's chief executive, said: "It's about time we realised the nature of the threat posed by alcohol.

"Society is dangerously blase about a substance which wreaks countless lives and causes chaos."

this is derbyshire

A Child of six was admitted to hospital with a drink problem, shocking new research has revealed.
The youngster, who has not been identified, was one of almost 175 underage drinkers treated at Hull Royal Infirmary last year for a range of drink-related illnesses, including acute alcohol excess, acute alcohol intoxication, alcohol withdrawal and alcoholism.

The findings, which have alarmed health professionals and police, are contained in a report by Hull Citysafe into the drinking habits of people aged 25 and under in the city.

Other grim findings include:

# 95 per cent of young people are drinking at a level regarded as harmful;

# More than a fifth have a "serious alcohol dependent addiction";

# 79 per cent of teenagers under 18 drink alcohol;

# More than a fifth of underage drinkers are bought alcohol by their parents.

Wendy Richardson, director of public health in Hull, said: "I can't comment on individual cases, but I'm shocked as any responsible person would be.

"We have just completed our own research and what we have found is that up until now we have known there has been a significant alcohol problem but we haven't known about these pockets of different types of problems.

"The sort of people we have become worried about over the last two or three years are young people who might have jobs and be careful about drink-driving, but are drinking far too much, far too often."

Supt Ian Furlong, of Humberside Police, said he was concerned about the availability of cheap alcohol and said more investment was needed in alcohol treatment programmes.

He said: "A significant increase in the price of alcohol is never going to be popular and is politically sensitive. But the availability of cheap alcohol is a real concern to us because of the harm and disruption it can cause.

"There is a significant amount of funding for drug treatment but I personally don't think the same is available for alcohol. I'm sure my colleagues in the health service would like to see more investment nationally."

Kate Stevenson, alcohol project manager at Hull Citysafe, said: "The results from this study are concerning, but it will help us address the issue of alcohol misuse with young people much more effectively as we now understand the severity of the problem.

"The majority of young people aren't purchasing alcohol themselves, they are asking family members or strangers to buy alcohol for them, and this is something we now need to look at addressing."

The findings come less than two months after West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison warned that the number of people dying from drink problems in the region would increase.

He warned of an acceptance in youth culture of "drinking to oblivion".

Yorkshire Post

Police confiscated 44,000 pints of alcoholic drinks during a crackdown on under-age drinking in February.

The 25,000 litres of drinks - mainly beer and cider - were seized during a two-week operation involving 39 forces in England and Wales.

It was the largest ever enforcement operation of its kind, with alcohol seized from more than 5,000 youths.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said the public wanted police to "choke" the supplies of alcohol to youths.

The Home Office said information from the £760,000 operation would help target individuals and trouble spots.

Seventy per cent of the drink seized was beer, 15% cider, 5% alcopops, 5% wine and 5% spirits.

Acting on public tip-offs and local intelligence, police officers and Police Community Support Officers approached groups of youngsters in underage drinking hotspots and confiscated alcohol wherever they found it.

The campaign was targeted to coincide with the school half-term holiday in each area.

When police asked the under-age drinkers where the alcohol came from, 70% refused to say, while of the remaining 30% half said they got the drink from a shop.

Under-age drinkers need to understand that there will be consequences for their actions
Shane Brennan, Association of Convenience Stores

Mr Coaker said that confiscating the alcohol was "just one part of our strategy" to address the damage and disruption caused by underage drinking.

"I know the public will welcome police action to disperse groups of threatening youths and choke their supply of alcohol. This campaign will not be the last," he said.

"I also want to remind parents of their responsibility and where poor parenting is identified as an issue I want to see greater use of parenting contracts to tackle persistent underage drinking.

"Police officers tell me that these campaigns yield valuable intelligence about where children get their alcohol.

"With this in mind, I want to send a strong signal once again to those persistent few irresponsible retailers that deliberately sell to under-18s. They will be caught and they will be punished."

'Loophole'

Frank Soodean, a spokesman for Alcohol Concern which campaigns against alcohol misuse, said the government needed to look at a loophole in the law surrounding the sale of alcohol.

"As stores have tightened their sales policies, teenagers appear to be more reliant on a mix of rogue retailers and, increasingly, adults who've either been cajoled or bullied into buying it on their behalf.

"It hardly seems appropriate for an older cousin to get away with a £50 fine when stores face penalties of up to £5,000 for selling drinks to the under-age.

"Kids are smart. They seem to have cottoned on to this loophole."

Mr Soodean added that the figures should also put an end to the stereotype that all teenagers just drank alcopops.

"So much of the industry's self-regulation is based on the false premise that only drinks that have cutesy cartoon characters on their labels should be censured," he said.

"The fact is teens in many cases are drinking exactly the same labels you'd expect a twenty-something to buy."

Shane Brennan, of the Association of Convenience Stores, said young people needed to be made to fear the consequences of their actions.

"Retailers need to take their responsibilities seriously, but young people need to understand that under-age drinking is wrong.

"The act of on-street confiscations is the right thing to do, and it's vital that police target youths with penalties and by taking them back to their parents for a warning.

"Under-age drinkers need to understand that there will be consequences for their actions."

'Targeting retailers'

Chris Allison, deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, speaks for the Association of Chief Police Officers on licensing issues.

He said officers up and down the country were making use of the powers they had to confiscate alcohol from those under the age of 18.

"The results announced today give a clear indication of the issue that we are dealing with.

"We will continue to use these powers, as well as targeting those retailers who still sell to those who are under-age."

A Home Office spokesman said information gathered by police during the operation would help them target individuals and trouble spots in future.

BBC News

Health bosses in the county have been accused of failing to deliver adequate treatment for heavy drinkers.

A damning report by Alcohol Concern, the national charity which campaigns for better treatment for people who are dependent on alcohol, revealed just 6.2pc of people in Norfolk have access to alcohol services.

NHS Norfolk, formerly known as Norfolk Primary Care Trust, has been accused of not providing enough support for chronic drinkers who need regular access to treatment and services - accusations health chiefs deny.

The survey revealed massive differences across the country over quality of support aiding the recovery of people who have become dependent on alcohol and said too much emphasis was put on binge drinking.

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “Helping people to stop binge drinking is important, but we must not lose sight of the more than one million dependent drinkers, many of whose lives would benefit from more intensive help.

“The findings of this research show that people with drink problems are being let down at the very moment they need support.

“The postcode lottery of alcohol services needs to end now, or the needless costs of alcohol related harm will just continue to spiral.”

Drawing on data gleaned from a Freedom of Information request sent to each PCT its findings show in Norfolk, just 6.2pc of the dependent population appear able to access alcohol services; this compares with 86pc in Wirral, 131pc in Central Cheshire and 153pc in Rochdale.

Daniel Harry, partnership liaison officer from Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT), said: “The Alcohol Concern Report highlights that the strong focus that central government has placed upon tackling binge drinking.

“While this is clearly an area of concern, it has diverted attention away from looking at the drinking practices of the population as a whole.

“There are increasing concerns about rising levels of alcohol use in the domestic setting, which may have been influenced by the availability of cheap alcohol.

“The social and health impacts of these rising levels of consumption may then be exacerbated by the increasing strength of alcoholic drinks. For example, over the past 30 years the average bottle of wine has increased in strength from 9pc to 12pc. It is now not uncommon to see wine of 14.5pc.”

DAAT works closely with the PCT and other key partners to help develop the range of alcohol treatment options available to people in need in Norfolk.

Jocelyn Pike, NHS Norfolk's lead commissioner for substance misuse, said: “The Alcohol Concern report reflects the overall national picture and should not be taken as the treatment system in Norfolk.

“A large number of people seeking dependency treatment have multiple needs, often needing help with alcohol and drug issues simultaneously.

“NHS Norfolk commissions services in partnership with Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team to meet entire dependency needs and not just alcohol.

“Any assumption that commissioners in Norfolk do not invest in alcohol services is not accurate or helpful.

“NHS Norfolk agrees with the recommendations made in Alcohol Concern's report and feels central government has a role to play in ensuring funding opportunities are available to allow services to be commissioned according to local need.

Evening News 24

A town hall meeting held Monday at the Farmington Public Library addressed issues of underage drinking and DWI, emphasizing the fact that teen drinking is not the norm, and that the misconception that most teens are drinking and driving only makes the problem worse.

Data cited in the meeting show the majority of San Juan County residents believe most teens drink more than once a week and many drive while intoxicated. However, statistics show on average 65 percent of teens are drinking alcohol less than once a month, and that of those who are drinking, less than 12 percent are driving while intoxicated.

"By supporting those good choices, we're also going to decrease use and increase positive behavior," San Juan County Partnership Program Manager Laura McClenny said.

As an example, the panel noted a survey of Shiprock Career Prep High School found 85 percent of students said they would rather not drink while they are hanging out with their friends.

"Eighty percent of the kids are not drinking and that means 80 percent of the kids got it," said David Florez, the library's teen zone coordinator and pastor at Journey Church. "We need to encourage that. We need the community to get involved."

Although alcohol abuse among teens is less prevalent than many assumed in San Juan County, the problem is real. During the meeting, library staff reported a man was arrested for drinking in his car while waiting in the parking lot.

"We want to change the way people in San Juan County think about drinking," San Juan County Partnership Director Pamela Drake said, noting the culture shift that reduced smoking rates in recent years. "We want to make it not acceptable," she said.

While local school anti-drinking programs help, such as planned events to give students something fun to do on prom and graduations nights, the schools can't do everything.

"We still need to empower our youth to make those good decisions on the Saturday night (after graduation) and on," Farmington Police Lt. Keith McPheeters said.

Parents can best play a role in the problem by talking to their kids about drinking, said Glen Wierenga, with the state Traffic Safety Bureau. Those conversations may have to start earlier than many parents think, he said, noting that on average, kids have their first drink at the age of 12.

"It's just not a good idea to mix teen brains with alcohol," he said. "We are an alcohol-saturated culture — there's plenty of opportunities to talk about this."

Other panel members included local Youth in Action teen leader Anna Doherty, Diana Cooper, a former counselor in Aztec schools, and Carol Kohler, coordinator of the San Juan County Victim Impact Panels.

Farmington Daily Times

From a distance we might take their issue lightly and ignore them or even punish them just like that. Of course workplaces are not rehabilitation centres for alcoholics but there is something they can do for an individual who has work related drinking problems. For some the drinking is done at the workplace while for some it is done at home and the hangover is suffered at work. One way or the other both cases affect work and need dealing with. Those who do it at work risk getting fired and I would not spare them if I handled their case.

I did show last week but one that alcohol is as controversial in the workplace as it is in the Bible. Somehow people tend to do what they believe is right. An attempt to have zero tolerance on alcohol becomes the very reason people find themselves facing disciplinary cases relating to alcohol. Inherent in human beings is the desire to outwit authority and the very fact that people are told not to touch alcohol makes them want to do so. It is important therefore to avoid labeling beer the devil but to condemn the devilish acts of some people when they consume alcohol. Some companies go to the extent of having Friday beer sessions say for managers and sometimes with the workers committee. That is a gesture of goodwill. The statement they seem to make is that this can be taken but responsibly. Most of these sessions take place on Fridays to preach the correct gospel of avoiding alcohol during the week.

There are those though who will remain a problem no matter how hard companies try to normalize the consumption of alcohol. I once employed a cook with drinking problems. I was aware of both his brilliance in the kitchen and his unparalleled craving for the wise waters as some call beer. The guy would glee with gladness at the very mention of an opportunity to drink. He loved his beer I can tell you. So I employed him with the hope of closely monitoring his moves and protecting him against himself and the brown bottle. I even allowed him to drink on Sundays and allocated some pints for him to enjoy as part of his package. I learnt too late that I was dealing with a serious and irresponsible alcoholic. He stole my money one day and only appeared a number of days later, drunk of course. I had to come to terms with the fact that he was my mistake and life had to go on.

Interestingly people with drinking problems tend to go through denial until they get to a point of no return. Drinking daily as some people are in the habit of doing is applying for serious drinking problems. That is how it begins and when you offer advice to such people they will tell you that they are in control and will stop anytime they want to. But before they know it they are struggling with the difficult problem of work related drinking. It is essential that one does not expose themselves to that kind of environment because as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow they will struggle with the problem one day. Apart from work related problems, even the body needs to rest from alcohol intake. That is of course beyond the scope of this article but consumers please take note and do your research.

Then you get people with the ambition of climbing up the corporate ladder allowing themselves to be known as friends of alcohol. Someone drinks to the extent of being known as someone who loves his beer even by his managers and directors. This militates against anyone’s chances of progressing and attaches the wrong tag to any ambitious person. The person who mentored me in human resources management had drinking problems. He was an intelligent person who knew his stuff well and I am what I am today thanks to him to a large extent. But he really never progressed in the practice because of alcohol. He became known as a drinker and no one took him seriously.

Then one gets those who drink to the extent of having alcohol ravished faces. These prejudice themselves of getting jobs. Any serious interviewer will see that they are dealing with a person with drinking problems and that person is not likely to get the job.

On a closing note if you ask me it is not good to drink on Sunday if your working week starts on Monday. When you get to work you are dehydrated and irritable. Enjoy your beer but take your job seriously because it is the very source of your beer.

Zimbabwe Sunday News

Pediatricians alerted to the developmental nature of underage drinking in special journal supplement

In a special supplement to Pediatrics, edited and sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), physicians will have access in one place to the reviews and analyses of current research on biological, behavioral, and environmental changes during childhood and adolescence that foster the initiation, maintenance, and acceleration of illegal use of alcohol by underage youth. This is a first time collection of where science is in our understanding of underage drinking as a developmental issue. NIAAA, one of the institutes of the National Institutes of Health, is committed to moving scientific discovery to strategic prevention and intervention strategies in order to decrease the toll that alcohol is taking on our youth--and as these youth grow--to our society.

“We now recognize that underage drinking must be addressed, not as an isolated phenomenon, but as one fully embedded in the context of child and adolescent development,” said NIAAA Director Ting-Kai Li, M.D. “From birth through adolescence, a complex cascade of biological, psychological and social development interacts with dynamic environmental influences, leading to behavior that may either move individuals toward or away from underage drinking.”

Looking at developmental perspectives to determine the risk of alcohol dependence is a relatively new scientific approach that is bearing results. For example, according to recent research, binge drinking by young people makes them more vulnerable to the development of alcohol dependence over a lifetime. Further, risk of an individual’s becoming alcohol dependent is related to how early the young person starts drinking. NIAAA’s Pediatrics supplement includes researchers from a wide range of scientific disciplines.

A sampling of the resources available in the supplement includes:

Ann S. Masten, Ph.D., professor in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues, present a rationale for the developmental approach to alcohol in an article offering age-related data on patterns of onset, prevalence and the course of alcohol use and disorders in young people.

Robert A. Zucker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his team looked the relationship between early developmental processes and the continuity of risk for underage and problem drinking by summarizing the evidence on early pathways toward and away from underage drinking. This article has a particular focus on the risk and protective factors, mediators, and moderators of risk for underage drinking that become evident during the preschool and early school years.

In “Transitions into Underage Drinking and Problem Drinking: Developmental Processes and Mechanisms between Ages 10-15” - Michael Windle, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Emory University in Atlanta, and his group examined pre- and mid-teen groups during the time when the initial initiation and escalation of alcohol use commonly occurs, in relation to puberty, structural and functional maturation of the brain, and changes in social contexts.

Looking at the next age group, youth aged 16-20, Sandra Brown,Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues review the normative neurological, cognitive, and social changes that typically occur in late adolescence. Their report discusses evidence for the impact of these transitions on individual drinking trajectories. The team also describes evidence linking heavy alcohol use in late adolescence with neurological and social impairments.

“Ensuring that pediatricians have access to this new data and a comprehensive view of how alcoholism affects our youth, matched to their developmental processes, will help physicians take a new look at these issues and the impact that early alcohol consumption can have on the life of not only the child, and teenager, but for the life of the individual,’’ said Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., director of the NIH.

Examining prevention strategies, Richard Spoth, Ph.D., director of the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute at Iowa State University, and his team reviewed the current evidence base for preventive interventions addressing underage drinking. They recommend applying emerging consumer-oriented and community-participatory models for intervention development and research as a strategy.

In an article called, "Developmentally Informed Research on the Effectiveness of Clinical Trials (DIRECT): A Primer for Directly Assessing How Developmental Issues May Influence Treatment Response among Adolescents with Alcohol Problems" Eric F. Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor in the Community-Based Intervention Research Group at Florida International University, reviews the degree to which developmental processes have been considered in adolescent alcohol treatment research and discusses promising concepts and methodologies from applied developmental science.

Alcohol treatment outcome studies discussed by Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H., professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, include family-based interventions, motivational interviewing, behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and limited pharmacotherapy studies.

“These papers comprehensively address the complex relationship between development and underage drinking,” noted Vivian B. Faden, Ph.D. deputy director of NIAAA’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research and co-editor of the Pediatrics supplement. By providing clinicians with this information, we anticipate that this supplement will advance the goals set forth in the U.S. Surgeon General's recent Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking.”

Released in March of 2007, the Surgeon General’s first Call to Action on underage drinking appealed to Americans to do more to stop America’s 11 million current underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

David is a fairly typical teenager in a fairly typical local high school. He can't wait to get his driver's license, he eats like a horse and he's an accomplished athlete. But, unbeknownst to his parents and siblings, David and his friends were having drinking parties — not all the time but, in his words, a few times.

"I got caught the first time and I said I wouldn't do it again, but I did," he said matter-of-factly as he sat with his mother at an underage drinking forum sponsored by local community leaders.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month and the forum David attended is but one of nearly 20 similar forums and town hall meetings being held across New Hampshire and in the Lakes Region.

The forums, or "town hall" meetings, are supported by a federal grant from the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Underage Drinking and are chaired by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in partnership with the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services and the Governor's Task Force on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

According to New Futures, an advocacy organization working to reduce underage alcohol problems in New Hampshire, nearly one in five youths in this state take their first drink before they are 13 years old.

Alcohol is strongly linked to three of the top five causes of death in 15- to 24-year olds: Unintentional injury, suicide and homicide. New Futures estimates underage alcohol use costs N.H. taxpayers $180 million a year when considering traffic accidents, violence, high-risk sex, alcohol treatment and other alcohol-related factors, including incarceration.

"I'm sitting in my office right now looking at the jail and my guess would be eight of 10 inmates have serious alcohol or drug problems," said Belknap County Sheriff Craig Wiggin.

Wiggin, a former trooper with the N.H. State Police, said his most vivid reminder of the consequences of underage drinking is a personal one — a classmate of his in Bristol was killed in a drunken-driving accident nearly 30 years ago.

"I see it getting better. There is more awareness," said Wiggin, who said there are far fewer large drinking or "keg parties" than there were in past years and he believes today's youth are more aware of the risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse because of school education programs and police efforts like D.A.R.E.

Wiggin also credited what he called two pieces of key legislation with giving law enforcement additional tools that have lowered the underage drinking rate: The "house party" law and the "internal possession" law.

Enacted in 2007, the "internal possession law" not only makes it illegal for minors to possess alcohol but also makes it a violation punishable by a minimum $300 fine for a first offense for those minors who are drunk enough to have more than. 02 percent blood-alcohol concentration, with the proceeds going to the county where the offense occurred.

The "house party" law, or RSA 644:18, was enacted in April of 2004 and makes it a misdemeanor to hold an gathering of five or more nonrelated people where minors have consumed or intend to consume alcohol or drugs.

Increasingly, law enforcement is charging party hosts under this act — including the memorable cases of Susan L. Hanlon, 40, of Gilford who was charged in March of 2006 after hosting a party in her Weirs Road house and John B Paula, 49, of Laconia who was charged in June of 2004 and was the first area person charged under the law.

While both pleaded guilty to lesser charges, the cases generated controversy about whether it was safer to allow minors to drink alcohol under supervision than to have them drink without supervision and chance a possible overdose or drunken driving.

Wiggin doesn't buy the 'they're-going-to-do-it-anyway' argument nor do most law enforcement officials.

"It's a wink-and-a-nod that tells youths it's OK to break the law," said Wiggin, echoing the same sentiment as Joe Diament, the Chair of the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Policy.

"As adults, we disagree with adolescent drinking," Diament said, explaining that young brains respond adversely to the effects of alcohol — effects that can lead to permanent damage and addiction. "We're not prohibitionists, we just don't think young people should drink."

New Futures State Strategy Project Coordinator Aviva Grasso said these laws are just two examples of a host of efforts to combat underage drinking, including lobbying against a bill that would allow the alcohol content of flavored alcoholic beverages to be increased and sold in New Hampshire and a bill to repeal a clause that prohibits the advertising of happy hours on outward facing signs.

"We also worked against a bill last year that would lower the drinking age," said Grasso, who said if similar legislation is reintroduced, New Futures would continue to fight it.

Grasso also thinks the education and enforcement efforts are beginning to pay dividends, as does Laconia Police Chief Michael Moyer, whose local statistics show underage liquor law arrests peaked at 161 in 2005 but have tapered since then, with 141 arrests in 2006 and 139 in 2007.

"There's certainly still a problem and our arrest records show that," said Moyer who, before becoming chief, served on the N.H Attorney General's Task Force on Underaged Drinking.

"The days of large keg parties are gone," Moyer said, adding the instances he sees of parents condoning or hosting drinking parties are not as prevalent as adolescents hosting their own parties when their parents are away and that most of these parties involved 10 or fewer juveniles.

According to David, the high school student who was recently caught drinking, these are exactly the circumstances under which he and his friends were abusing alcohol.

David said the parents of the students were all notified and, depending on the family, punishments were meted out — including his which was a grounding.

"I think it's fair," he said shrugging.

About the drinking, he was even less enthusiastic.

"Sometimes it was fun but most times it wasn't," he said, saying he wasn't very energetic the days after he drank and the headaches were awful. "I'd just kind of lay in bed the next day."

David's mother believes he has learned his lesson and the experience opened a dialogue between him and her that, although they were already close, caused her to have a great deal of respect for her son.

"I also learned about all the good choices and decisions he made," she said.

The Citizen

A Vomit-Covered child lies unconscious in an alley with an empty bottle by his feet.
The police and emergency services are nowhere to be seen – while an aggressive gang of wine-swilling yobs roam the streets nearby.

It sounds like every parent's worst nightmare, but in reality it is the scenario behind a controversial computer game that is set to be played in schools throughout Scotland.

A PlayStation-style ThinknDrinkn? game is being targeted at 11 and 12-year-olds in a bid to address the growing problem of pre-teen alcohol abuse.

The object of the animated adventure is to come to the aid of a classmate who lies comatose and helpless after a bout of binge drinking.

Pre-teen players have to negotiate their way through hazard-filled streets to provide fluids and food for their ailing friend and either get them home or to hospital.

The game is made more difficult by the presence of thuggish "street gangs" – who are portrayed as surly baseball-cap-wearing youths clutching what appear to be bottles of super-strength tonic wine.

Critics say the game is "irresponsible" and could prove traumatic for youngsters while those behind the venture insist it needs to be hard-hitting to get its message across.

The computer simulation – which was designed by school pupils – is being pioneered in classrooms across Renfrewshire.

It will then be added to Glow, the national schools intranet, to be used in schools throughout Scotland and to be downloaded on mobile phones.

In the game the worsening condition of the inebriated friend is represented by a disembodied face in the corner of the screen.

The longer he is left without help the greener his face becomes, before eventually he becomes violently sick with vomit dripping down the screen. If help still doesn't arrive the youngster then lapses into unconsciousness.

Scottish Conservative schools spokeswoman Liz Smith expressed concerns about the age of youngsters being targeted.

The former secondary teacher said: "The power to shock can sometimes be very effective, but I think youngsters of 11 and 12 are too young to fully understand this issue.

"For youngsters to fully comprehend issues like underage drinking they need to be a little bit older and have a bit of the adult responsibility that goes with it.

"They are too young to be expected to cope with that kind of scenario."

Nick Seaton, of pressure gro
up the Campaign for Real Education, described the concept behind the game as "downright bizarre".

He said: "It is quite irresponsible to confront children of just 11 or 12 with the idea of a friend lapsing into unconsciousness because they have had so much to drink."

The game was funded by Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership in a bid to tackle underage drinking.

First-year pupils from Paisley Grammar School and St Andrew's Academy designed the game which was produced with help from computer experts at the University of the West of Scotland, formerly Paisley University.

Paisley Grammar teacher Andrew Dickie, who is behind the project,

shrugged off criticism and said: "In the UK in the last five years 600 children under the age of eight have been hospitalised because of alcohol. That shows it is never too early to start educating kids of the dangers of drinking.

Scotland On Sunday

With underage drinking on the rise, parents and school officials look for a solution.

Almost half of all Avon kids in grades 6-12 say they have consumed alcohol in the past month, and a third of them say they binge drink.

Katrina Beers, an eighth-grade student at Avon Middle High School, said, “It’s just kids being kids.”

“They do what they want, and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s stopping them,” said Beers, 14. “Sometimes maybe kids just feel like they need to relax, so they just drink. Sometimes they do it because they just want to fit in.”

Underage drinking — and especially binge drinking — has increased among Avon’s middle and high school students since 2002, according to a youth risk behavior survey administered in April 2007. The results of the survey has caught school and community leaders and parents by surprise.

In response, a forum will be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Middle-High School auditorium, focusing on what the community can do to address the problem.

According to the survey, 47 percent of Avon Middle-High School students reported drinking alcohol in the past month, up from 38 percent in 2005 and 37 percent in 2002. High-risk, or binge drinking — defined as consuming five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours — increased from 19 percent in 2002 and 2005 to 35 percent in 2007.

“I was shocked,” said Kristin Suzor, whose son, Colin, is a sixth-grade student. “I can never imagine him having any alcohol at all.”

“It seems every year it gets younger and younger with the drinking and the drugs,” she said.

From 2005 to 2007, alcohol use increased:
From 40 percent to 69 percent among high school seniors. From 39 percent to 56 percent among juniors. From 17 percent to 25 percent among Grade 8 students. From 5 percent to 10 percent among Grade 8 students.

Meanwhile, statewide, the percentage of high school students who reported drinking alcohol actually dropped from 55 percent to 44 percent from 2004 to 2007, and the percentage of middle school students who drank dropped from 23 percent to 11 percent, according to a survey conducted by the state departments of public health and education in conjunction with the federal Centers for Disease Control.

“This is good for the kids to see,” Kathleen MacDonald said about the state survey results.

“I have not seen kids in this age group drinking,” said MacDonald, who is a member of the Park & Recreation Commission and has two children who are in grades 8 and 9.

On Wednesday, about 100 parents, students and other residents attended a forum presented by the school department outlining the survey results and the risks and consequences connected with underage drinking.

“What we found from the survey was that in most cases the majority of our students are making responsible decisions, and that’s a good thing,” said school Superintendent Margaret Frieswyk.

At the forum planned for this Wednesday, Frieswyk said the school department plans to use the results to develop programs and interventions to keep students safe and develop a townwide coalition.

School Committee member Robert LeGrice, who is a Randolph police officer, said the idea is to let parents and children know that they can turn to the school and police for help before a problem leads them to serious trouble.

Police Chief Warren Phillips said underage drinking has become an epidemic.

“In today’s society, drinking is considered by many young people as well as their parents a rite of passage, a phase in adolescence that occurs during high school and college. However, it is something far more dangerous, something that is becoming more widespread and something that is affecting younger and younger children,” he said.

Phillips said police take a zero-tolerance line against underage drinking. If police respond to a house party, anyone under 21 found there is automatically detained and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, and parents are told to pick them up at the police station.

If a minor drinks at a house party and later gets injured or dies, the homeowner is subject to civil and criminal penalties for furnishing alcohol to a minor, even if the adults did not know about the house party, said Michael P. Jackman, director of school and community programs for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office.

Youngsters who drink also face health consequences, said Marisa M. Silveri, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School based at the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital.

A teen brain is less sensitive to the motor impairment that comes with alcohol consumption, tempting youngsters to drink more to feel the effects and making intoxication tougher for adults to detect, Silveri said.

But drinking alcohol is more harmful to a teen brain’s ability to learn and remember things. Teenagers who drink lose the ability to make decisions, remember things, do well in school and even become independent adults, she said.

The younger a teenager starts drinking, the greater the chance of alcohol dependency later in life, she said.

Alan Hoffman, who has children in grades 7 and 10, said the numbers alarmed him, but the forums presented engaging and good information.

Hoffman said discussions in his household are usually blunt and straightforward, and talking about underaged drinking as a community issue helps get the conversations going.

The Enterprise

After I finished Year 12, I had no idea what I wanted to do and found myself working as a trades assistant in a metal workshop.

Unfortunately, trades were never my real strength and my career ended abruptly when I injured my hand with an angle grinder.

I spent almost a week in St Vincent's Hospital and realised I should probably seek employment elsewhere.

During my stay, I shared a ward with five other young men; almost all of them had been seriously assaulted - their injuries were shocking and you won't be surprised to find the common factor was alcohol.

Last week, while yet another sporting identity was reportedly involved in a drunken incident, a national debate got under way about teenage binge drinking and whether this country has a crisis.

I am not a wowser and drink socially.

But, as a young man involved in rugby league and the surf club, I drank heavily with friends and team mates.

Alcohol and, specifically, binge drinking was part of the culture and a rite of passage.

When you're young and intent on a good time, you rarely think about the consequences of your actions.

The biggest problem with binge drinking is that it encourages risk-taking.

From brawls and car accidents, to unprotected sex and sexual assaults, young people do not think about these things when they arrive at a party.

Add to this the untold impact of binge drinking on families and the links to depression and youth suicide and we have a very serious social issue.

Prime Minister Rudd is taking binge drinking seriously, launching a campaign to crack down on the problem. He'll start with funding for community partnerships, early intervention and advertising.

The Government will also consider putting warning labels on alcoholic beverages and other measures.

You would think there was bipartisan support across the political spectrum.

Dead wrong! Last Sunday, I was perplexed by comments from Joe Hockey, the Liberal spokesperson for health, who told the media that there is no binge drinking crisis and that it is "only a bit of a problem'' amongst young Australians.

He went even further, saying the Government shouldn't "over-play'' on the issue.

This, from the person responsible for developing Liberal health policy, is really disappointing.

On the same day a study was released by national mental health care group Headspace, which puts the problem into perspective.

It found that 40 per cent of young Australians surveyed didn't realise they had an alcohol problem, a third didn't believe alcohol was a drug.

Scarier still is research by the Australian Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER) that found that one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds considered themselves binge drinkers.

And more and more young women are now involved in binge drinking.

The study found 37 per cent of 18- to 24-year-old women considered themselves binge drinkers compared to 30 per cent of men. As a father of two daughters, these are scary figures.

Joe Hockey is an intelligent and likeable guy, but he's got this one wrong.

What disturbs me most about his comments is that they probably represent what many Australians really think, that there is nothing wrong with binge drinking and that it is part of our way of life.

To get real results, all of us will have to change our attitudes on alcohol. There is no problem with young people going out and drinking in moderation.

But we have to frown upon and stop glorifying the practice of going out and getting "hammered'' and that applies to everyone, especially our sports stars and role models.

If we can change the image of binge drinking from being fun and entertaining to being seen as unhealthy and uncool, then we may start winning the battle.

Sunday Telegraph

Longview's three fatal wrecks so far this year involved alcohol, according to Sgt. Buddy Molpus with the Longview Police Department.

With statistics like that, city officials say it is important to crack down on alcohol violations in East Texas and raise awareness about the effects of alcohol.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence designated April as alcohol awareness month in 1987. The organization encourages local communities to focus on and provide information about alcohol-related issues throughout the month.

"We have to change norms. People have so many more options. We have to stand up and be leaders," Lorri Essary, with the city of Longview's Partners in Prevention, said during an alcohol awareness forum on underage drinking in March. Partners in Prevention is a communty partnership of more than 300 organizations and people who work together to prevent substance abuse among youth.

Molpus said Longview has increased its enforcement to crack down on alcohol violations.

Longview Police Sgt. Shaun Pendleton said while the department has not hired additional officers, it has added more DWI officers to its shifts.

"We have our officers being more aggressive in their DWI enforcement," he said. "We are looking harder than what we had in the past. Our officers have just been more aggressive in their enforcement."

Molpus said some of the extra enforcement comes from a STEP grant that pays for overtime for officers to target certain offenses, such as DWIs.

"All law enforcement agencies in Gregg County have recognized that we have an issue here with people driving under the influence of alcohol," he said.

The extra enforcement has resulted in an increase in the number of tickets and arrests made in the city.

Molpus added that the increase in numbers doesn't necessarily mean there is more of an alcohol problem.

"You don't really know what's out there. The problem was out there the whole time, we just weren't making as much contact," he said.

According to Kim Higgins, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving program specialist, more than 17,000 people die in alcohol-related crashes each year nationally. She said 15- to 20-year-olds account for the biggest group in that statistic.

"Alcohol is the No. 1 killer among teens," Higgins 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."

Alcohol sellers say they try to help prevent underage drinking.

Food Fast Corp. works closely with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and local law enforcement agencies on prevention programs, said Lewis Oswalt, loss prevention and safety supervisor for the Tyler-based company.

"I think underage children drinking is always a problem. I think we as the retailers have a responsibility to prevent that," he said. "It is actually a dual responsibility. It is the responsibility of the young person; it is the responsibility of the parents; and it is the responsibility of the retailer. It is a team effort to prevent this from happening where we can. We recognize our responsibility to the community to do that."

Alcohol sales contribute to area cities' coffers

Alcohol plays an important role in overall sales and tax revenue, some local business and government leaders owners say.

Alcohol sales contribute between $140,000 to $150,000 to Longview's annual budget, says Jill Laffitte, budget manager, and added "it really just depends on consumption."

Laffitte said 14 percent of vendors' mixed beverage sales is sent to the state. Vendors include stores, restaurants and any business that sells mixed beverages, she said.

According to one local business owner, sales tend to increase in April because "it's also beer season."

"Beer is what people prefer this time of year," said Charles Adams, owner of Adams Package Co. in Easton.

Adams says people are responsible for their actions when they consume alcohol, adding that his store encourages people to drink responsibly.

"We are very careful about how we distribute alcohol," he said. "I don't sell to minors. We thoroughly check IDs. When people come in here, we think they are even a little intoxicated, we don't sell to them."

Food Fast Corp. takes a strong position against selling to minors, said Lewis Oswalt, loss prevention and safety supervisor for the Tyler-based company.

"One of our priority goals is that we do not sell alcohol to minors," Oswalt said.

"We work with not only beer distributors but with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and other crime organizations."

Oswalt said all supervisors go through training and seminars, and clerks cannot sell alcohol until they are certified to do so. Those measures are taken to help ensure that alcohol is not sold to minors, he added.

"We follow even stronger policy than is recommended. If a person appears to be 30 years old or younger, we ID them," he said. "In addition, each store is equipped with special scanners to check the license and get a proper age on each person."

Longview News-Journal

A driver who was found to be six times over the legal limit is believed to be Britain's worst ever drink driver.

Peter Banks, 44, was caught by police drink-driving over the Easter weekend.

He was pulled over in his Nissan Sunny and it is believed officers saw he had five cans of unopened Stella Artois on the front seat, and an empty can of Carlsberg Special Brew beside them.

Banks was said to have drunk large quantities of vodka, before driving to local shops for chips.

Garage staff are understood to have seen him staggering as he went to pay for fuel. Concerned about the fact he was driving, they called police.

Banks, of East Grinstead, had 210 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when he was tested.

A second reading is understood to have given a figure more than 220 microgrammes - as high as the breathalyser would go.

Officers from Sussex Police who arrested the self-confessed alcoholic on Easter Saturday said it was the highest level of alcohol on a drink-driver they had ever recorded.

At Crawley magistrates Banks was banned from driving for five years and sentenced to four months' imprisonment.

He was caught in a crack-down on drink-driving over the Easter weekend - where one in eight drivers failed breath tests.

Superintendent Paul Morrison said a hard core of drink-drivers believe they can get away with it.

Vodka binge: The driver was six times over the legal limit after guzzling spirits

He said: "There is always a chance you're going to have a crash, and it is increased when you drink.

"You are going to be breath-tested and you are going to lose your licence."

Banks was arrested on the day it emerged the Government could cut the drink-driving limit so that just one small glass of wine or a single pint of beer would put motorists in the dock.

The crackdown could see up to 200,000 drivers a year losing their licences - double the present number.

But road safety experts believe slashing the drink-drive limit will save up to 65 lives a year.

In 2006 a drunken mother was reported to the police by her husband after she drove their young twins while more than four times the legal limit.

Samantha Levesley, 32, was so drunk she cannot even remember the journey home with sons Bradley and Brandon - then three years old.

Daily Mail

Casualty admissions are said to be up by 18 per cent since the introduction of all-day drinking. What's your reaction to that?

It is really difficult so say exactly what the figures are. The Government has focused a lot on binge-drinking, and with the introduction of 24-hour drinking, that has raised the profile of alcohol and the monitoring of how many people attend with alcohol-related (injury or illness) has started. Prior to that, the systems for recording things related to alcohol weren't good. Whether that rise is happening because we are monitoring, or whether it is a true increase, is difficult to say. If someone comes in intoxicated with alcohol we will capture that, but if someone comes in and they have a broken hand because they were intoxicated that is more difficult to capture. That's where the ambiguity comes.

What is your personal experience of how attendance in the emergency department has changed?

I think our overall attendance due to alcohol has gone up, but in a variety of different ages. We are definitely seeing more teenage people who have been drinking. The reasons behind them drinking are huge: it might be social chaos, peer pressure, all sorts of things. We are seeing more people with problems from chronic liver disease at a younger age. Some come in as an acute attendance, an alcohol-related illness rather than an injury. It's important to highlight the people we see with alcohol-related injuries are also the people at home who have had a few beers with family, then decide to get Christmas trees out of the loft or put up some shelves, or trip up on the way out to the garden or during a family barbecue. It's not just related to binge drinkers on the streets. It is people at home, in pubs and everywhere.

I hesitate to drop another statistic in, then. But the NHS Direct website says 40 per cent of emergency department admissions are related to alcohol. Is that the true size of the problem? Is that why you are so busy?

People have accidents doing all sorts of things - even putting their back out cutting a loaf of bread. They will forever happen. In this country we have a bizarre relationship with alcohol. We have a big cohort of people who are binge drinking and causing injuries, but also it is the chronic and the low-key use at home which causes a lot of domestic accidents. Alcohol affects many more admissions than first appears. Also I'm worried how, recently, we have seen more drink-driving offences that ten years ago we weren't seeing in A &E. A lot of people perceive they have done a lot of work to reduce alcohol intake, but we are not seeing any evidence of that. My feeling is we are seeing an increase.

The media is full of stories of how packed with drunk and abusive patients the country's A &E departments are on weekend nights. What is it like on an evening shift in Derriford?

I think things have changed. The problem now is the 24/7 culture. People are going out for big nights throughout the week. It is spread out. Because of reduction in waiting times, down to two hours 20 minutes in minors, a lot of the anger in the waiting area has dissipated. But in the evening you see a completely different clientele than in the day.

I guess drunken anger affects all the staff, from the receptionist all the way through.

People's behaviour when they are intoxicated is often totally unrelated to what they are like sober. They don't respond to normal attempts at control. Asking someone to mind their language because there is a child in the bay next door will often not yield the response you expect. They carry on being abusive. That is devastating to the staff, because we are responsible for the care that child is getting, and disappointing as a human being. Often if they are kept in overnight, in the morning when we have to speak to them they are devastated because they can't remember what their behaviour was like.

How young are some of the young people with booze-related problems?

We are seeing 11 and 12-year-olds intoxicated on strong lagers or spirits, who've been sitting in parks drinking and on the street. They are out of the social network of drinking, and can't be legislated for.

That must worry you as a parent, as you see what society is becoming.

It does. In France, they drink with the meal, but their aim is not to get drunk. Children are introduced to alcohol in an adult setting. In this country people go out with the intention of drinking a huge amount and having a big laugh. That puts them into situations where they have accidents and fights. With teenagers it is all sorts of things. Look back 20 years and a lot of children were involved in Boys' Brigades and youth clubs. Now a lot of those are perceived as uncool and they want to do what the older teenagers do: drink.

What long-term problems with disease are being stored up?

They are putting alcohol into a body which is not mature. Twelve to 16-year-olds feel they are old but their body is a child's. They get liver damage really early. My liver specialist colleagues are seeing far more chronic liver disease in an advance stage in people in their 20s and 30s. Those are people who are potentially going to die. There is the rabid and overtaking addiction which they are trying to deal with in some cases at the same time as puberty and their GCSEs and all the teenage problems. If you look at the tabloid press about celebrities and in TV dramas such as soap operas there is a huge amount of alcohol kicking around.

TV producers would say they are just reflecting life.

I'm not saying there should be a nanny state stopping things on telly. But compared with 20 years ago most children stay up much later and watch adult dramas with a child's mind.

What can be done to reduce the problem?

Some say 'just legislate'. Look at alcohol services, though: we have set up a local group of consultants and providers for mental health and alcohol services, but drugs have had so much financial input over the last 10 years and alcohol is the poor cousin. We did a snapshot looking at one day in Derriford Hospital and how many were in a beds with something alcohol related: there were 40-50 who could have had an impact from an alcohol worker to change their behaviour and we just don't have that resource in this trust. There is a conflict between government targets for performance and what the commissions would like as a mark of quality. In a quality service when somebody came with an alcohol problem we'd get them an alcohol worker so they could change their behaviour - striking people when they have that acute problem concentrates the mind. Alcohol (treatment) is chronically under-funded throughout the country. There needs to be different education at school and more of it, and there needs to be more education to parents on what is a dangerous level of drinking or behaviour. And some of it I don't know how to address: changing that community spirit that makes society a bit more inclusive again.

Should the availability of alcohol be reduced, or more tightly controlled?

Alcohol is now available in supermarkets, some of them in the back of petrol stations and in pubs open all day. If you can buy alcohol from anywhere at any time of day you are making a drug with real consequences available more frequently, more are people are going to be taking it. One of the reasons for going towards 24-hour drinking was to dissipate the problems of the 11pm chuck-out, but that availability is only making it easier for those with a problem with alcohol to get hold of it.

Should we re-think the licensing hours?

I think we need to re-evaluate it, but it's not the only answer. There is a problem with the whole culture of alcohol. Possibly there needs to be more issue or control made about someone who is really, really intoxicated. Those news pictures need to be followed up, and not just accepted.

The definition of binge-drinking for men is eight units and women six, in one session. That's only three or four glasses of wine in an evening.

The real unmonitored drinkers are those at home. They perceive they are just having a drink in the evening. They have no sense of how much they are drinking.

this is plymouth

The number of drug abusers and alcoholics on incapacity benefits has more than doubled in ten years.

Figures show that more than 100,000 addicts are now claiming the benefit, which can be worth as much as £87.50 a week.

The increase has come during a decade when the Government has relaxed laws on cannabis possession and introduced 24 hour drinking across the country.

In 2007 a total of 51,410 people picked up the benefit because they were classified as suffering from alcoholism - a rise from the 1997 figure of 26,800.

Those claiming the benefit because of drug abuse has risen from 21,900 in 1997 to 49,890 last year.

The total number of people claiming Incapacity Benefit has risen over the past 10 years and now stands at 2.64 million.

Some 1.8 million have started their claim since 1997 This means that drug abuses or alcoholics now account for almost one in every 25 claimants.

In 1997 they accounted for less than one in 50. The Conservatives said that the benefits bill for these claimants is estimated to be running at over £8.5 million per week, and over £400 million a year.

Chris Grayling, the shadow Work and Pensions secretary, said the current system does nothing to encourage addicts to receive treatment for their condition.

Mr Grayling said: "These figures yet again show how Labour cannot get to grips with our welfare system. [Work and Pensions secretary] James Purnell likes to talk tough about Welfare Reform, but Labour's record over the last ten years shows they have failed."

Matthew Elliott, chief executive for the campaigning group TaxPayers' Alliance, added: "It is absolutely shocking that so much taxpayers' money is being wasted on subsidising a lifestyle of alcoholism and drug. The benefits system is meant to be about helping people fallen on hard times to get back on their feet not keeping people on the breadline in lives of addiction for the long term."

The incapacity benefit figures were revealed shortly after the Government admitted that nearly £3million is paid out every year to 12,000 people who no longer live in the UK.

Anne McGuire, Work and Pensions minister, said that drug abusers who are not in treatment will in future attend a meeting with an "appropriate specialist treatment provider".

The Government is also planning to try to cut down on the number of people claiming benefits by forcing hundreds of thousands of claimants to attend "work focused interviews" from 2010.

The reforms follow a review of the system last year by David Freud, an investment banker, which concluded that the number of people on benefits could be significantly reduced from 2.7 million to 700,000.

The news came after a report from Dame Carol Black, the national director for health and work, found that Britain's "sick note culture'' was costing Britain more than £100billion a year.

Telegraph

Alcohol abuse and underage drinking continue to plague Oregon, and the health and social consequences are serious, sometimes fatal, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Division.

Drinking starts young in this state. Thirty-one percent of Oregon's eighth graders and half the 11th graders reported regular alcohol use last year, approximately 38,000 youngsters have a serious alcohol problem, and it's the leading cause of death among youth here. That's why Gov. Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month in Oregon.

As noted in the proclamation, alcohol contributes to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, traumatic injuries, poor school performance, and health and safety problems. Research shows that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more likely they are to become alcoholic. And alcohol, not methamphetamine or marijuana, is the most frequently used drug among Oregon high school students.

Alcohol causes big problems for adults too, according to DHS statistics. In Oregon, approximately 66 percent of men and 50 percent of women drink. Nearly six percent of older adults and 20 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds abuse or are dependent on alcohol and need treatment. Each year there are more than 1,000 alcohol-related deaths in Oregon. About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve alcohol.

"Alcohol Awareness Month is a great opportunity to get people involved in solving some of the problems associated with drinking," said Rick Cady, prevention manager of DHS' Addictions and Mental Health Division. "April is just a starting point. Underage drinking and alcohol abuse have such life-shattering consequences that we must be vigilant about it year around."

Cady recently joined DHS in the newly created position and is nationally recognized for his leadership and consultation work in the field of alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

Cady said DHS works with the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Oregon Partnership, and other groups and community providers to broaden its alcohol prevention outreach mission.

One new partner in the fight against underage drinking is the Statewide Leadership Team for Alcohol-Free Kids, chaired by Oregon Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham).

The Governor called for creation of the team to develop a wide-ranging set of youth alcohol prevention strategies, recommendations, and a five-year action plan for consideration by the 2009 Legislature. Areas of focus are:

• Strengthening community mobilization and leadership;
• Implementing research-based school and family prevention curricula;
• Enhancing support for enforcement and adjudication efforts;
• Creating targeted and consistent statewide public education efforts; and
• Improving data collection to monitor programs and inform policy decisions.

Underage drinking must be addressed on "multiple fronts with multiple strategies," with collaboration among state and local agencies, community partners, researchers, health care entities, business leaders and elected officials. And all segments of the public must be willing to adopt recommendations for change to occur, said the Governor in calling for the Alcohol-Free Kids team.

"I'm excited about the work of this leadership team, because we're looking at solving underage drinking problems in a multi-disciplinary way," said Monnes Anderson. "If changes in laws are needed, then we'll propose legislation. We can work with police and courts on enforcement and judicial issues, or if a treatment option is needed, then we'll go for that. We're bringing a lot of different partners to the table."

Cady said it will take the support of all Oregonians to cut the underage drinking rate, especially the support of parents, who are the critical "ounce of prevention."

"Parents play a stronger role than they might think in influencing their kids not to drink," said Cady. "Parents must talk about the issue, set some boundaries and get kids thinking about alcohol's consequences. And all of us, really, should be concerned about those consequences."

Bend Weekly News

College is a time of great pride and happiness for most kids and parents. Parents are excited that their children have gotten into a university and the teens are excited to embark on their first adventure away from the nest. College gives teens the freedom they have been craving and gives parents that sense of self satisfaction that they raised a child on the path to success. The four glorious years of college are supposed to mold our children to become the future of our country. But not one cocktail at a time!

Nationally, college has come to symbolize frat parties and underage drinking. After many recent deaths from alcohol poisoning at several universities, Minnesota is the first state to ban limitless drinking at college bars. The state may be the pioneer we need to prevent our children from drinking themselves into destruction.

Move over “land of 10,000 lakes,” because Minnesota’s new nickname is going to be a lot dryer than that! A new law, which went into effect January 1 of this year, has effectively eliminated all “bottomless drinking” specials at bars, as well as all drinking specials after 11 p.m. That means that no longer can bars offer $20 all you can drink for the entire night, encouraging kids to drink. After the deaths of three college students linked to alcohol in the past four months, Minnesota has put its collective foot down. Minnesota Congressman Lanning said, “All kinds of bad things happen to students as a result of binge drinking.” Duh!

Bar owners disagree with this policy — not a shock-tail considering the business they have to lose. They responded by saying the ban is actually a bad thing. “You’re just going to be pushing them to the house parties, the “keggers,” to a totally unsupervised area,” stated a Minnesota bar owner. While they do have a point, this mother of two still thinks their financial interests may outweigh their true concern for our childrens’ safety.

But don’t worry folks, bar owners have found ways around the bottomless drinking ban. Bars now simply offer $1 beers or $2 mixed drinks before 11 p.m. — effectively allowing students on a short budget to still drink like fish. Many are even worried that these restrictions may even encourage MORE drinking, in part because students are going to want to drink as much as they can before the deals end. So, is there a solution to our children’s binge drinking problem? It doesn’t look like frat parties will be serving Shirley Temples anytime soon.

You may be surprised to hear about a new study showed that Minnesota is home to more binge drinkers than almost anywhere in the nation, other states are not far behind. Nationally, a Harvard School of Public Health study found that 44 percent of collegians binge drink. The study also found that college may be the catalyst in these children’s chain reaction into drinking so heavily. The college graduation age, 21, has even been found to be the peak age for binge drinking across the country. To show how startling the college binge drinking epidemic is, would you be surprised to learn that 12,000,000 undergraduates drink four billion cans of beer every year? I sure was!

The long term risks of alcohol include everything from liver damage, to pancreatitis, to certain cancers, and even literal shrinkage of the brain. Not to mention the short term effects, alcohol poisoning and immediate death! Three Minnesota college students found out the hard way. In a $115 billion industry in the United States alone, it’s not unusual for us parents to feel like its David vs. Goliath. Don’t panic though, because we can help!

Although parents cannot physically be there every time our child is offered a drink, we can help to shape their decision making process. Parents are responsible for their children’s upbringing up until they are 18, or go to college. The pressures to binge drinking can be avoided somewhat if we educate our children. Actively educating our children on the detrimental effects of alcohol could lead to a healthier, and hopefully dryer, solution.

And alcohol should not be some secret, mysterious thing that adults get to do! Something we don’t talk about. Parents, your teens (even the honor students) have probably at least had an opportunity to try alcohol. Teaching kids about sex educates them about the consequences — alcohol-Ed if you will — should eliminate the mystery of drinking, and teach them the consequences of that choice.

Explaining to our children the dangers of alcohol in an accurate, caring, and unbiased way, could alleviate at least some of our worries. So, when talking to your kids be honest, be informative, and be straightforward. After all, binge drinking and college are not a good mix.

FOX News

For many untreated alcoholics, there may be an alternative to staying in a specialized facility for weeks.

The proposed alternative is the family doctor.

New research says the primary care physician's office can become the new base for alcoholism treatment.

Doctors can prescribe new drugs that help alcoholics start treatment and stay sober, refer them for outpatient behavioral therapy and also direct them to local support groups -- never requiring a stay in a residential rehab facility, according to an article published last December in the Journal of the American Medical Association .

Jim Cowser, a chemical dependency therapist in the Center for Behavioral Health at Baptist Hospital East, thinks it is a treatment model that is long overdue for some people who abuse alcohol. For example, "women who are single parents can't just leave for a month to go to an alcoholism facility," he said.

Some people who are abusing alcohol also face employment issues or lack insurance that covers a residential facility, Cowser noted.

New drugs are a big part of the reason for the shift to more office-based treatment, according to the JAMA article. In April 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved an injectable form of the drug naltrexone, which curbs alcohol cravings. An injection lasts for a month, greatly aiding patients who use it on their journey to abstinence. The same drug in the oral form has to be taken daily, and it's easy for a patient to skip pills and start drinking.

"If they are planning a bender, they can stop taking their oral naltrexone on Thursday and be able to feel the effects of alcohol again on Friday," Cowser said.

Naltrexone blocks opioid receptors involved in the rewarding effects of drinking alcohol and the craving for alcohol after establishing abstinence. It has been shown to reduce relapse among heavy drinkers. It also has been shown to benefit patients with a family history of alcohol problems.

Another drug in the family physician's arsenal is acamprosate, which is used when patients have been abstinent, not while they are still drinking, or it may not work. It affects the biochemical systems involved in alcohol dependence.

Acamprosate is taken several times a day, said Dr. Billy O. Barclay, a Louisville psychiatrist who treats patients at University Hospital and the Norton Psychiatric Center. He said taking pills that often can represent a challenge for some patients, while others use the act of taking their pills as a frequent reminder that they are trying to stay sober.

There is also disulfiram, a long-available drug for treating alcoholics. It interferes with the activity of the liver enzyme that processes and metabolizes alcohol. A person on disulfiram becomes ill if alcohol is consumed.
Off-label uses

Physicians are also turning to topiramate, an anti-convulsive drug, which has not been approved by the FDA for treating alcoholism, but is being prescribed off label to help alcoholics stay sober.

"I think the fact that this medication is being looked at in this way is good. It's going to lead to better things and the use of drugs (for treating alcoholism) that doctors in general are used to."

For now, topiramate is out of reach for many patients, Barclay said, because it is expensive, and insurance often doesn't pay for it.

Cowser and Barclay both said that some patients who suffer with alcohol dependency regard taking any medication as another form of dependence on chemicals and refuse.

"People have all kinds of attitudes that prevent the use of these medications," Barclay said.

"They feel the only solution is abstinence and have a sense that to take anything is a crutch or cop-out," Cowser reported.

He said the use of medications need not be long-term. "I have worked with people who stopped the medication after a few months and did well. Some have used them for a year or two. They are usually not taken for the rest of your life," he said.

After abstaining from alcohol, it takes the brain a year or two to recover, Cowser noted.

Barclay said the role a primary care physician plays in helping a patient fight alcoholism may depend on the physician's interest in the problem.

"Some are gun-shy about it and quickly refer a patient to a specialist. Some have more experience and interest in it and might do a nice job of it," he said.

"There are studies that show that even brief interventions about smoking by a family doctor make a difference," Barclay said. Perhaps that would prove to be true of family-doctor interventions with the addiction to alcohol as well, he suggested.
Doctors step up

"I'm seeing a lot more confidence on the part of family doctors," Cowser said. "There is a very promising swing. A lot of people who have had a barrier to getting help with their alcohol problems are now able to start with their family doctor."

Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, recommends that physicians consult the NIAAA's recently updated "Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide."

Courier-Journal

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the brain is involved in decision making. New rodent findings show that PFC neuron N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors are especially sensitive to concentrations of alcohol achieved during drinking. This suggests that alcohol's alteration of NMDA receptor function may inhibit normal PFC function.

Researchers have long believed that abnormal function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the brain contributes to the impulsive behavior and lack of control over drinking that characterize alcohol dependence, but how this occurred was unknown. This study used rodents to examine the effects of alcohol on three specific ion channels that control the activity of PFC neurons, finding that N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors are especially sensitive to alcohol disruption.

"The prefrontal cortex is a part of the brain that helps us decide whether we should take actions or not," said John J. Woodward, a professor in the department of neurosciences and the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs at the Medical University of South Carolina. "It weighs the relative risks and benefits of our behavior and normally protects us from risky or dangerous actions or those that may be inappropriate during social situations. When the PFC is damaged or its activity is decreased, behavior can change dramatically and people can lose much of their inhibition and ability to weigh the consequences of their actions."

Woodward, also the corresponding author for the study, explained that ion channels are gates in the neuron membrane that let ions into and out of the cells when appropriate. "We reasoned that alcohol may affect one or more of these ion channel gates, leading to alterations in the function of the prefrontal cortex ... and that this may contribute to an individual's inability to control their drinking," he said. "This may help to explain why many alcoholics appear to lose control over their drinking despite serious adverse consequences that can arise, such as loss of job, family or even health."

Researchers used general anesthesia to humanely euthanize male Sprague-Dawley rats. Their brains were quickly removed, chilled, sliced, and placed in a chamber for recording electrical activity. Using sophisticated single-cell neuron recording techniques, the researchers measured currents carried by NMDA, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors in the absence and presence of alcohol.

"Our major finding was that alcohol, at concentrations that are associated with mild to moderate intoxication -- blood alcohol levels of 0.08 percent and above -- significantly inhibited the function of the NMDA receptor ion channel without affecting AMPA or GABA ion channels," said Woodward.

"Our results provide an explanation for how alcohol affects the ability of the prefrontal cortex to carry out its normal duties," he said. "When NMDA receptors are inhibited, as with alcohol, the ability of the neuron to carry out its task is affected, thereby reducing the ability of an individual to control their behavior and possibly leading them to engage in actions that are not beneficial. In other words, the normal risk/benefit assessment that this brain region engages in is disrupted."

"While potent alcohol effects on NMDA receptors (NMDAR) and NMDAR-mediated transmission have been seen in past studies in other brain regions," added David Lovinger, chief of the Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "what stands out about this paper is that this effect is seen in the absence of alterations in other aspects of transmission. This selectivity is more pronounced than what has been seen in brain areas such as the hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum."

Lovinger said that targeting this receptor with pharmacological agents might be an effective strategy for treating problems of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, particularly if future research could identify the specific subtype of NMDAR affected by alcohol. "It would also be helpful to determine if the alcohol effects on NMDA receptors contribute to neuroadaptations or neurotoxicity in this brain region after prolonged ethanol exposure, thereby contributing to alcoholism and alcoholic brain damage."

"These types of studies are important because they show that alcohol has specific effects on ion channels that control the activity of neurons," observed Woodward. "This means that it is possible to determine how alcohol causes its effects on the brain, to understand how these changes lead to uncontrolled drinking and, eventually, to develop better treatments for alcoholism."

The co-author of the Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research paper, "Ethanol Selectively Attenuates NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission in the prefrontal cortex," was Carl Weitlauf of the Department of Neurosciences, and the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, at the Medical University of South Carolina. The study was funded by the Charleston Alcohol Research Center; one of 15 centers nationwide that are supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Science Daily

Lori Fitzgerald saw the warning signs, but couldn’t stop her daughter’s alcohol and drug abuse.

Her daughter distanced herself from friends and school activities, culminating in the 16-year-old’s arrest on her mother’s birthday.

“I left her there,” Fitzgerald told a group of concerned residents and parents Tuesday at a town hall meeting meant to address underage drinking.

About 30 people attended the meeting at Belvidere North High School that tackled the growing problem of minors consuming alcohol.

About 41 percent of adolescents have had alcohol by the time they’re in eighth grade. Nearly 20 percent report being “drunk,” according to the Monitoring the Future survey.

A five-person panel with law enforcement, school and substance-abuse officials led the discussion that was organized by the Boone County Health Department in conjunction with a national effort.

The alcohol can lead to harder drugs and crime, members of a panel said.

“If partying is the mind-set, it’s whatever is available,” Fitzgerald of Rockford said.

Her daughter has since turned her life around, but their lesson was learned the hard way. Now Fitzgerald is trying to help other parents.

The first step in dealing with alcohol abuse is setting rules and sticking to them, she said.

“When we set boundaries with our kids, we’re really teaching them to set their own boundaries,” Fitzgerald said.

Superintendent Michael Houselog spoke publicly for the first time about his now-29-year-old son’s past addictions.

“I felt comfortable (sharing this) because of where my son is at today. He’s in a good spot,” Houselog said. “I like where he’s at now, but it was a scary spot.”

Alcohol abuse led to two driving under the influence arrests within three months while his son was 19.

It was unexpected from an otherwise “good” kid, House­log said, and illustrates an important point: Don’t be naive. Alcohol abuse can affect anyone.

He also said parents should not give up on their children, no matter how bad the problem becomes. “The feeling that his mother and I have is that we knew we had a good kid. -- he’s a sweet one and a good one and he cared deeply. He has a lot to give and we didn’t want to give up on him,” Houselog said.

There were 378 drug and alcohol-related arrests among 9- to 19-year-olds in Boone County between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2006, according to sheriff and police reports.

Officer Jeremy Bell said parents have the right to monitor their underage children’s activities.

“Don’t feel like their privacy is so important,” Bell said. “Get involved, get nosy. They might hate you for it now, but when they’re 22-23, they’re going to thank you.”

Belvidere parent Ed Rentschler said parents need to work together.

“A lot of parents are hoodwinked into thinking they’re the only ones who have a curfew. ‘I’m the bad guy,’ they think,” he said. “Parents need to stick together. A few phone calls and talking to people can make a huge difference.”

Rockford Register Star

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill joins some of Europe's leading thinkers on alcohol misuse this week, insisting they have as much to learn from Scotland's efforts as it does from looking overseas.

Mr MacAskill, who will be joined by some of the country's leading health professionals in the field, will discuss approaches to tackling alcohol problems and their social spin-offs with ministerial colleagues from across the continent at the Building Capacity for Action: European Alcohol Policy conference which starts tomorrow in Barcelona.

The Scottish Government was invited to attend on the basis of Scotland's raft of efforts to address the social and health effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

They include the incoming ban on "irresponsible" promotions, bringing in separate display areas for alcohol, the national test-purchasing scheme and attempts to change attitudes and culture.

The conference will look at issues such as priorities for action, involvement of the industry, changing attitudes to drinking, prevention of harm and the role of education.

Mr MacAskill will take part in a round-table discussion, hosted by UK broadcaster Channel 4, on the issue of alcohol policy across Europe.

He will be joined by health ministers from Catalonia, Poland, Spain, Slovenia and Sweden, Germany's Federal Drug Commissioner, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Europe and the European Commission director-general of health and consumer affairs.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) will also attend based on its report on the impact of price on the consumption of liquor.

The Scottish contingent insists that while it will find out more about methods being used in other countries, it will be able to highlight action taken so far in Scotland.

Mr MacAskill said: "There is no doubt that Scotland has a problem with alcohol misuse but it's important to remember Scotland is not alone. Other countries in the EU are facing similar challenges.

"This conference will give me a valuable opportunity to learn about approaches that have been taken in other countries and what the results have been so far."

Despite the habitual and near-cliched use of the term "continental drinking culture", most European nations are struggling to cope with the impact of alcohol abuse.

Academic reports from southern European nations talk of an imported drinking culture. While Mediterranean countries do not have the "culture" of the UK, France has some of the highest rates of alcohol consumption and resulting liver disease.

Evelyn Gillan, of SHAAP, said: "We're very interested in German taxation approaches to alcopops and the impact of Finland's de-regulation of alcohol but other delegates are interested in learning from us.

"We have a very rosy view of how other Europeans drink which isn't always rooted in the reality."

The Herald

Merseyside students were today warned they could be drinking their careers away.

The warning comes as it was revealed Edge Hill University students who admitted drinking more booze than their counterparts performed up to a degree level lower.

Today the academic leading the research, Dr Philip Murphy said: “Students need to be aware of the danger and the impact alcohol can have.”

His words came after he looked at a sample of 46 second-year Edge Hill students with an average age of 23.

Less than half admitted dabbling with cannabis and between them the students drank an average of 11 units when they went out for a drink.

The recommended daily amount is four units for men and three for women.

The research found that cannabis use was minimal and played little role in the difference in students’ marks.

But the volume of alcohol consumed was having a major impact on results.

Dr Murphy said: “The more they used the less well they did and it could have meant the difference between a class of degree.

“Students should be responsible for the amount they drink not just in terms of health and law and order but for their long-term careers.

“The difference in a degree class could have a major bearing on their job prospects.”

The warning comes days after we revealed how Liverpool university was scrapping cheap alcohol promotions to stop binge drinking.

Boost for Pssst campaign

PUBLIC health experts from across the UK are meeting in Liverpool.

The UK Public Health Association (UKPHA) delegates are being welcomed to the city at an alcohol free drinks reception hosted by the Primary Care Trust.

A PCT spokesman said the non-alcoholic reception would help raise awareness about its award winning Pssst! campaign.

Dr Paula Grey, director of Public Health for Liverpool, said: “This forum, with more than a thousand delegates attending, provides us with the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the groundbreaking work we are doing in Liverpool in the field of public health.”

Liverpool Echo

It's a day Patricia McCollum and Penny Clark will never forget. The sisters were called into a small, cramped hospital room and were told by the coroner that their brother, Lester, was killed in an automobile accident.

Every bone in Lester's body was broken, and it took emergency crews more than two hours to cut him out of his vehicle. The family could not touch Lester's body because it would fall apart due to all the broken bones.

So, all the sisters had left of their brother was a quart-sized, resealable plastic bag that contained his keys, wallet and wedding band.

However, the automobile crash was not by chance. The accident was inevitable because Lester was an alcoholic. He was drinking heavily the last few weeks before he died as he was going through a difficult divorce. This drinking problem led him to show up to work drunk and eventually, the drinking led to his demise as he was driving around intoxicated.

"I have trouble talking about this," McCollum said. "We used to have a lot of fun together. I wish I could say goodbye."

McCollum and Clark hope their brother's death 16 years ago will leave the same impression on young people as it has on them - drinking alcohol and driving do not mix. This was the message the members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving gave on Monday night at the Champions for a Drug-Free Carroll County town hall meeting.

The meeting was put together to address Carroll County's greatest problem - underage drinking. Champions for a Drug-Free Carroll County had a group of medical, legal and student panels to inform the public about what children are not telling their parents and how to help students who might be involved in underage drinking.

"Provide education often and early is what we are trying to do tonight," Carroll County High School student Hayley Franklin said.

In Carroll County, 32 percent of senior high school students reported participating in binge drinking. Binge drinking is where five or more alcoholic beverages are consumed in a short amount of time.

"A lot of people say they are bored," Franklin said.

Likewise, students in Kenton County, which is near Cincinnati, share the same statistics as Carroll County students when it comes to drunkenness and binge drinking.

"Most kids know where to get it," said Amy Webber of North Key. "This isn't an isolated Carroll County issue."

Logan Barr, a member of Carroll County High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions club, said 99 percent of students know where to access alcohol, if they wanted it.

"A lot of us don't think of alcohol as a drug, but it is a drug," Dr. Samer Hussein said.

Hussein said alcohol will impair one's judgment, can cause malnutrition and dementia after long-term use and affects all the organs of the body.

"You don't make proper judgments," Hussein said.

Hussein said the best way to curb underage drinking is to inform the children. He said parents need to expose their children to the problem.

"You just can't isolate them," Hussein said. "Alcohol is everywhere."

Webber said students need to know they have adults who care about them. Whether parents think their children know they care or not, children need to be told that they are cared about.

"You can go home," Webber said about students who are intoxicated. "As a friend, the best thing you can do is keep someone safe."

At home, parents need to know that they can be held legally responsible if they decide to provide their child and their child's friends with alcohol. Adults can be charged with neglect, endangering the welfare of a minor and unlawful transaction with a minor on a criminal level, if they provide alcohol to minors.

This does not include the civil lawsuit that might happen if an adult provides alcohol to a minor, the minor drives intoxicated and the minor is involved in an automobile accident.

"It gives parents a false sense of control," Webber said. "Parents who allow their children to drink at home are more likely to have a child become an alcoholic."

Carrollton Police Chief Michael Wilhoite said parents who know other adults are providing children alcohol can report the activity to police. However, the police need to have physical proof of the incident.

"We want to put an end to it," Wilhoite said.

"We're trying to tackle this head-on," said Nick Marsh, assistant county and city attorney. "We're there trying to help your child."

Parents can find help for their children through the court system without having to have their child face a judge. Court Designated Worker Amanda Caldwell said 80 percent of the juveniles she works with never go in front of a judge.

"We want you to hold your child accountable," Caldwell said.

Caldwell said parents can have their child evaluated in a mental hospital to see if their child has an alcohol or substance abuse problem. Parents can even file charges against their child through a court diversion program. Caldwell said she can work with parents to have their child follow strict behavioral guidelines.

"Not every child goes to court," Caldwell said.

However, some children do wind up in the juvenile court system.

"Every year, it's getting younger and younger," 15th District Judge Elizabeth Lester said. "Kids have more to do than ever before."

Lester said children are more than ever overstimulated by the world around them, and the overstimulation brings on boredom. She said one day, it will be alcohol, and the next day, because they are bored, it will become meth or worse.

"As a judge, I'm beginning to see the problem," Lester said. "(Juveniles) see adults as hypocrites and phonies. You all are ultimately the answer. We're just Band-Aids."

Madison Courier

The use of alcohol has been increasing steadily in all age-groups among Finnish women. Approximately one in ten women can be reckoned among the large-scale consumers or "heavy users" who take at least 16 drinks a week.

Some 5 to 10 per cent of female problem-drinkers have been driven to serious alcohol-related difficulties, while alcohol-related deaths among women have increased fourfold during the past two decades.

In fact, alcohol-related deaths are more common among working-age women than deaths from breast cancer.

In comparison, approximately one-fifth of male problem-drinkers are large-scale consumers, taking at least 24 drinks a week.
The information is based on a survey on alcohol use conducted by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES).

Alcohol for many has become a daily or weekly habit to soften the pounding of their everyday life, helping to lift their spirits.

Elderly women frequently succumb to the temptation of drinking a little in secret every day, while there is a trend towards binge-drinking among younger women, who have developed a habit of drinking cider and wine, mainly at weekend parties.

Typically, women try to conceal their drinking problem longer than do their male counterparts, as alcoholism is still seen as more shameful in women than in men.

Mothers also fear losing their children if their alcohol-related problems are revealed. In fact many women with alcohol use disorders seek treatment only when they are facing the risk of losing custody of their children.

In addition to traditional addiction rehabilitation programmes, including detoxification and institutional treatment, there are a number of addiction treatment prorammes which women can attend once a week in order to discuss their problems anonymously.

The cold fact is that women cannot tolerate alcohol as well as men. They get drunk faster, become addicted to alcohol more quickly, and develop alcohol-related diseases quicker than men do.

Moreover, even a small amount of alcohol can harm a developing foetus.

One drink can consist of a bottle of light beer or cider, 12 cl of mild wine, or 4 cl of strong alcohol beverages.

Helsingin Sanomat

Since the dawn of time, or perhaps since Animal House, drinking has been synonymous with college culture. There's nothing wrong with drinking itself, as the occasional beer, glass of wine, or Jack and Coke can attest. But even the most benign activities can become vices if abused in the extreme. And when 85 percent of Boston College students cite alcohol use as the No. 1 problem on campus, it should qualify as a problem demanding consideration.

It's time to acknowledge the alcohol problem that students have observed for a long time and take positive steps toward changing it. Whether we want to admit it or not, BC has a higher-than-average rate of alcohol misuse, according to statistics from AlcoholEdu. More students played risky drinking games or took shots, and more students engaged in alcohol binges or regular heavy drinking than the national average.

When alcohol consumption reaches this level, it's no longer recreational - it's abusive. And it is a problem that cannot be chalked up to an Irish-Catholic heritage.

The statistics are staggering. Three-quarters of the freshman class have done shots or played drinking games, and well over half have chugged alcohol or pre-gamed. With the number of students who drink irresponsibly quickly growing - and the number of students who don't drink at all continuing to shrink - it's time to reexamine the consequences of drinking heavily.

Some of the most common negative results of alcohol misuse include blackouts, doing something you regret, or falling behind academically. And almost everyone has had to take care of a drunk friend or has been woken up by a drunk roommate. These are some of the most obvious effects, and while they deserve repeating, it is the subtler effects that are equally detrimental and perhaps longer-lasting.

Unfortunately, BC students have, of late, taken on the reputation of being heavy drinkers. The Boston Globe and other local media have continued to refer to us in this light, perpetuating and normalizing this image around the community. This could potentially deter prospective students who are not attracted to this drinking stigma, and attract more heavy drinkers because of it. It has given neighbors a reason to block our Brighton Campus construction plans. And it could possibly give employers pause when considering BC students for hire.

Let us hope that it does not get to that stage. Let us hope that we can outgrow this nasty "college habit" and that this reputation does not plague us as we look for jobs. But until our actions on the weekend stop legitimizing this characterization of BC students, we can expect to continue the "J. Crew with a hangover" stereotype. This does the students who drink responsibly or those who abstain from drinking a huge disservice.

Alcohol-free activities and venues need to be created to appeal to a variety of students, drinkers and non-drinkers alike. Nights on the Heights is a good start but it often fails to effectively draw attendance. The inclusion of a student union in the Master Plan is crucial in creating a centralized location for students to socialize in the absence of alcohol. The administration should strongly consider the value of a student union as a recreational facility and install things like pool tables and arcade games to enhance it in that capacity.

Individually, students are fed up with drunken behavior, but it will take changing the group mentality to alleviate this problem. "Men and women for others" needs to start on this campus as we consider the effects of alcohol on our collective identity.

The Heights

Easington is the first place in the UK to launch the programme which takes the best parts of research and treatment from clinics, including the famous Priory.

Those who fail to take part will be put back before the courts. The project is unique because non-offenders will also be offered the extra support if they refer themselves.

Figures show that of the 500 offenders being handled by the probation service in Easington, 174 have shown alcohol misuse is related to their actions.

Alcohol is believed to cause more crime than drugs in the region and if successful, the Alcohol Rolling Programme could be set up across the rest of County Durham.

Carina Carey, director of offender management for the County Durham Probation Service, said: "It is not a detox, but it is treatment on a regular basis."

"Generally in the North East there are concerns about levels of alcohol misuse related to crime.

"Sadly it goes across backgrounds, and all ages and all genders.

"This is about making sure people are aware they can get help."

The scheme is also being run by the North East Council of Addictions and County Durham Drug and Alcohol Action Team, which is already helping 109 East Durham people for alcohol dependency or misuse.

Easington was chosen for the pilot because it already has a structure in place needed to run it.

For offenders, the programme will be part of Alcohol Treatment Requirements made as a condition of a community order or suspended sentence.

However, it will be issued regardless of whether their dependency on alcohol caused or contributed to the convicted offence and comes after the success of a similar scheme for those who use illegal substances.

Non-offenders who refer themselves will be sent to the experts by their doctor or self-referred, with each of the two groups meeting separately at community venues during a 16-week period.

So far it is dealing with 17 offenders and 11 non-offenders.

A series of 10 questions have been put together to help probation officers and health workers establish what level of dependency a person has, with the survey available online so those who think they may
need help can assess themselves.

A researcher has been commissioned to record its progress, with the information to help set up other programmes if it is successful.

Mandy English, alcohol commissioner for County Durham DAAT, said: "As we know the problem is costing the NHS a lot of money.

"For every pound spent on alcohol prevention, it saves the NHS £5.
"This is about addressing the whole alcohol agenda.

"It is a pioneering service which could be rolled out across the county and it's taking a holistic approach to alcohol in terms of how drinking is affecting the person and their whole family."

The DAAT has set aside £104,000 to spend on prevention and treatment relating to drink in the next financial year.

Findings from the project so far are being announced at a conference being held in Murton today.

Sunderland Echo