Early tipple 'breeds alcoholism'

Parents who introduce their children to alcohol in the hope of encouraging responsible drinking might be doing more harm than good, work suggests.

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found drinking before the age of 15 increased a child's risk of becoming a heavy drinker.

A teenager's fast-developing brain becomes programmed to link alcohol with pleasure, experts believe.

Research shows that by the age of seven most children will have tasted alcohol.

A poll of 11 to 15-year-olds in England in 2007 by the NHS Information Centre found around 640,000 were likely to have drunk alcohol in the past seven days.

Of hospital admissions in 2006/7 specifically due to an alcohol-related diagnosis, almost one in 10 were in under 18 year olds.

The NIAAA study matched information on the teenage drinking habits of more than 22,000 Americans with the development of alcohol-related problems.

Starting young

The men and women were divided into three groups - those who first drank under the age of 15, between 15 and 17, and 18 or older.

People who started drinking before the age 15, and to a lesser extent those who started drinking at ages 15 to 17, were more likely to become dependent on alcohol as adults than people who waited until 18 or older to start drinking.

This link remained even when they took into account factors like duration of alcohol exposure, family history and a wide range of other risk factors.

Research also shows the likelihood of developing alcohol-use disorders in adulthood is about 50% higher for people who start drinking before the age of 15 as for those who abstain until they are 18 or older.

Deborah Dawson, research scientist at the NIAAA, said: "We can see for the first time the association between an early 'age of first drink' and an increased risk of alcohol use disorders that persists into adulthood."

Howard Moss, the institute's director for clinical research, said: "Early alcohol consumption, as a misguided choice, is driving the relationship between early drinking and the risk for development of later alcohol problems.

"The data support the notion of delaying the onset of drinking behaviour as late as possible."

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "Parents are certainly the best placed group to encourage responsible drinking attitudes among young people, but this study, like others should give them pause about precisely when it's right to start giving alcohol regularly to their children.

"Younger adolescents whose physical and mental development is ongoing ought not to be drinking regularly as successive pieces of work has shown a close connection between that and damage to key systems."

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of University College London's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience said young brains were very malleable and changed fast in response to new influences.

Early alcohol exposure could be acting as an environmental trigger for adolescents with an underlying disposition to alcohol problems, she said.

"Although a lot might depend on the amounts drunk as well as the exposure itself," she added.

A spokeswoman from the social care organisation Turning Point said: "At the moment there is simply not enough help for children and families affected by alcohol misuse.

"Without important interventions at vital stages of these young lives, they are much more likely to go on to have alcohol problems themselves."

The NIAAA study will be published in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

BBC News

Booze is linked to half of city's violent crimes

Just under half of all violent offences in the city are committed under the influence of alcohol.

The true scale of the problems caused by alcohol abuse in the city has been revealed as a new strategy is launched to tackle its problems.

Leicester is significantly worse than the national average for drink- related crimes, violence and sexual offences.

More than four per cent of all road accidents in Leicestershire and Rutland are linked to booze.

In about a third of fatal fires, the victim had been drinking.

The problems also have a massive impact on health services in the city.

Under the title One Leicester – Tackling Alcohol Harm, a plan has been created by the Safer Leicester Partnership, which includes councils, police, fire, probation and health services.

It is the first time a major coordinated strategy has been drawn up.

Rod Moore, deputy director of public health at NHS Leicester City, said: "The strategy shows the city faces some significant problems.

"There is above-average mortality and very high rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions.

"But there are now very definite plans to improve access to treatment, capacity and prevention activities."

The city has significantly worse rates than the national average for deaths from and alcohol, chronic liver disease, as well as alcohol-related hospital admissions.

The city has about 33,000 hazardous drinkers – classed as women drinking between 14 and 35 units and men between 21 and 50 units per week.

There are about 11,000 harmful drinkers, men and women who drink more than 50 or 35 units each week.

In 2005 to 06, the costs of hospital stays attributable to alcohol in Leicester was just under £10 million.

Plans by One Leicester – Tackling Alcohol Harm include ploughing an extra £225,000 into treatment of problem drinkers and another £234,000 over two years into treating offenders who were under the influence of alcohol.

The strategy also includes a programme of educational campaigns.

Young people and parents and others whose drinking is putting children at risk will be targeted.

The hope is to reduce the rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions, which last year increased by 13.9 per cent.

Kate Galoppi, from Leicester City Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: "There is a lot of data here that demonstrates the need for us to have a response to alcohol in the city.

"We've looked at what the current provision is and where the gaps are and what we need to do.

"This is the start of the journey. There has been lots of work with alcohol in the city, but there hasn't been a coordinated effort to pull all that together before.

"We have to deal with the problem of youngsters binge drinking," he said.

"A lot of crime, violence and the break-up of families is associated with drink."

Stuart Fraser, a GP in Highfields, Leicester, said: "I think all GPs are well aware that alcohol is a problem for health. It is often a hidden problem that patients don't recognise.

"You have to get the person to recognise that they have a significant problem and they have to want to do something about it."

This is leicestershire

Mother often drove drunk

Canterbury mother-of-five Terri would drink all night, then, after a short doze, pile her five children in the family car and drive them to school.

Eventually, she allowed her 13-year-old daughter to take the wheel for the school run.

Terri spoke of her own experiences yesterday after reading about a Christchurch mother who was stopped by police and charged with drink-driving on two consecutive mornings last week as she took her children to school.

Terri is urging the woman to get help, as she did after her battle with alcoholism put her children in danger.

The 66-year-old, who did not want to give her full name because she belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), has been sober for five years and five months.

Terri said she was married at 22 and had five children by the time she was 29.

When the children were younger, the family would often spend afternoons at barbecues and backyard cricket matches with friends.

"Then we'd bring the party back home. It never occurred to me that one of us should stay sober for the children," Terri said.

"I was putting my children in danger all the time and not realising the sort of people we were allowing into our house around four vulnerable daughters and our son."

Terri said she was not a morning drinker but would drink through the night, believing two hours of sleep would drain her system of alcohol.

Today, four of Terri's grown-up children are in AA and she said she "walks on eggshells" around her fifth child, who she believes also has addictions.

"I looked at that story (about the Christchurch mother) and thought, `what's the poor woman hiding?' and I prayed for her.

"If you get into the room (of an AA meeting) for long enough and hear the message, then, beyond your wildest dreams, you'll find happiness," Terri said.

"A different world opens up and there is peace in my house today."

Stuff NZ

Binge-drinking woman died of cold in street

A woman was found dead in the street dressed in only a cardigan after a binge drinking session, an inquest heard.
Rosalinde Neville is thought to have stumbled out of her flat in Quinton Gardens, Emsworth, and collapsed on the pavement.

She was discovered at 4am by neighbour Thomas Bowen who had taken his baby out for a walk to get the tot off to sleep.

Miss Neville's body was lying on the pavement with her legs in the road.

Her body had started to develop rigor mortis, suggesting she had been dead for some time, the Portsmouth inquest heard. It is believed she may have died from hypothermia.

The police were called after her body was discovered on June 21 last year but found no suspicious circumstances.

Miss Neville, a marine biology graduate from the University of Portsmouth, had a history of alcohol problems.

A statement from her father, Antony Neville, read out at the inquest, said: 'She died at the age of 46 and she had a serious problem from the age of 36.

'She had always been to the pub, always had done, and I suppose it just increased and got worse as time went by. She was a very intelligent girl, she went to university in Portsmouth and had a degree in marine biology.

'We had been to see her two weeks before (her death) on her birthday and it was a lovely time.

'We had hoped she had got to the stage where she would be able to overcome this.'

A post-mortem was inconclusive.

Coroner David Horsley recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: 'She had been drinking for a number of days and she was not aware of what she was doing. It looks as if she stumbled outside and she has fallen asleep dressed in only a cardigan.

'I think she has succumbed to hypothermia.'

The News

Abstinence Army

In Wardha district, where Mahatma Gandhi ran his famous ashram, liquor is legally banned. Youngsters from Sevagram actively carry out daru bandi programmes in villages around here, trying to get residents to kick the debilitating habit that more often than not destroys the lives of the poor. But, as an inmate of the Sevagram ashram admits, it's an uphill battle.

Travel just a few hours away, however, and you encounter a village that would have made the Mahatma proud. In Bhikeshwar in Chandrapur district, the ban on booze is self-imposed; or perhaps, more correctly, imposed by an army of determined women who live up fully to the dream that Gandhi had of India's female population taking the lead in building an alcohol-free nation.

The women first took up the cudgels against the liquor menace around six years ago. "When we'd stand in the village courtyard and chat in the evenings, we realised that our neighbours would come home drunk, eve-tease our children and even ill-treat their wives," says Devangani Gajbhiye, explaining how the seeds of the movement were first sown. Cringing as she recalls those days, she says they were forced to act when they realised that menfolk in many households were blowing up money meant for the family's grain and kerosene supplies on alcohol.

Hidden behind their colourful sari pallus, the women bared their steely resolve. A group of ten women formed a gat (self-help group), took the help of a local NGO called Association of Women Awareness and Rural Development (AWARD) and brainstormed on how they could fight the alcohol menace. Sunanda Mate, one of those at the forefront of the campaign, says they started out with holding sabhas to spread information on how alcohol was wrecking their lives. "For many of us who were largely confined to the four walls of our homes, even stepping out was a new experience. But as we went along, the support increased and so did our confidence," she says.

As the campaign gained momentum, the women took their cause to the streets. The three local liquor shops were the main targets. "We wouldn't allow women vendors to sell alcohol at the chowk. The minute they set up shop, a group of us would march to the police station and demand that the police take action," recalls Mate. If a man returned home drunk, the group of women would go warn him off drinking ever again.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the largely unlettered group. Hatred and abuses flowed their way, so much so that that one of the members, Anita Kasare, lost her husband who was stabbed to death in a fit of rage by an alcohol vendor. "Even we withdrew our support after this incident, as we saw how dangerous the struggle against alcohol was becoming, but the women soldiered on," says Gunvant Vaidya of AWARD.

However, their resilience bore fruit. Slowly the shops folded up, the policemen became more vigilant and the menfolk were forced to give up their habit. Today, 40 more women have joined the campaign, and there's one proud achievement they all like to relate. "Nobody dares sell or drink alcohol in the village. Some villagers still go to neighbouring villages to get their quota, but can't bring it back into our village," they chorus. Buoyed by their success, neighbouring areas have taken a cue from the courageous women, and nearly 36 villages in the block have gone liquor-free.

As the sweet taste of victory sank in, the women formed a brigade of their own, taking on new challenges and crossing new milestones. With the backing of more voluntary organisations such as UNICEF, more self-help groups mushroomed and women began tucking away household savings, formed monitoring committees to keep a watch on the anganwadi workers and schoolteachers and even began addressing the village panchayats on safe drinking water and maternal care. Today, 80 per cent of deliveries take place in the hospital and every household has a toilet of its own. The self-help groups dole out money at lower interest rates than the local moneylender.

Seated on a mat in the village school, the group relates another favourite anecdote. They recall how trucks would veer off the highway, take a shortcut and pass through their narrow village road in the middle of the night, making it unsafe for young girls. In a bold move, the women held a rasta roko one night, lay down in the middle of the road, hopped onto the stalled trucks and forced them to drive to the police station. Ever since, the truckers have been sticking to the highway.

So, do the men feel left out? Nanaji Mate, the sarpanch, laughs. "The village has undergone a tremendous makeover thanks to the womenfolk," he says. "And we're proud of it."

Times of India

Drugs, alcohol worsening problems for Seminoles

The average age at death among Seminole Indians in Florida has dropped by 12 years in the past decade, according to a newspaper analysis, to below age 50.

Figures obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel show 11 of the tribe's 17 recorded deaths in 2008 have been related to drugs or alcohol. Further, the average age of a Seminole at death has dropped from nearly 60 in 1997 to 48 in 2007.

That's well below the average age statewide of 73 years old.

"I call it the 'Rez disease,'" said Jarrid Smith, a 23-year-old former Florida Atlantic football player.

Smith said at least seven of his friends and former classmates are dead, in jail or in rehabilitation facilities.

"These things have been going on for too long. Progress is slow. I am afraid of losing more people," Smith said, acknowledging he might upset tribal leaders by publicly commenting about the issue.

Tribal leaders declined comment for the story published Sunday, citing privacy concerns, spokesman Gary Bitner said.

Some suggested the tribe's staggering wealth, earned from its gaming operations, have left young members without life balance. The tribe provides each member a free education, guaranteed job and an income of roughly $120,000 a year.

Zena Simmons, a 24-year-old Seminole and Florida Atlantic student, said she sees a correlation between the money and excess. So does her sister, 29-year-old Thomasine Jumper, who is now jailed for drug and traffic offenses in Collier County.

"You use that money, so you don't have to work," Jumper said. "Maybe the lifestyle on the rez is too easy. I have not taken advantage of the opportunities, but they are there."

There is almost an expectation, Simmons said, that loved ones will die soon. She has lost an uncle and brother to alcohol-related crashes, and at least two friends to suicide and drugs.

"You grow numb to it, so when someone dies you already accept it," she said.

Fort Mill Times

Children allowed to drink at home more likely to develop alcohol problems

Parents who give their children alcohol at home believing that it will teach them to drink responsibly could be doing more harm than good, new research suggests.

A study in the United States found a link between the age at which young people have their first drink and alcohol dependence in later life.

Children under the age of 15 were at greater risk of developing a taste for alcohol after being exposed to drink than older teenagers, the study found.

The results challenge the belief that giving youngsters small amounts of wine at home will enable them to grow up with a more mature attitude to drink.

Social factors such as poverty and abuse may explain why many young people turn to drink early and develop a dependency in later life.

But the study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) suggested that exposure to alcohol itself, whatever the reason, could lay the foundations for a drink problem.

Scientists suggested that giving children alcohol during early adolescence, when the brain is more malleable as it is developing fast, could act as a "trigger" for those with a predisposition to addiction.

"We can see for the first time the association between an early age of first drink and an increased risk of alcohol use disorders that persists into adulthood," said Dr Deborah Dawson, a researcher at the NIAAA.

The study examined the age at which 22,000 young people first tasted alcohol.

They were divided into three groups: those who had their first drink under the age of 15, those who did so between 15 and 17 and those who waited until they were 18 or over.

Those in the first category showed a greater disposition to alcohol related problems in later life.

Dr Edel McAndrew, a clinical psychologist who practises in Manchester and Ireland, said: "Some parents try to introduce alcohol under their supervision but it is 50:50 whether that young person will develop a slow-to-moderate drinking habit which is socially acceptable or go on to develop more serious problems."

She cited on example of a girl she had dealt with who had have her stomach pumped at 15 after drinking from the age of three, because her mother thought it wise to introduce her to drink at home.

Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said the explanation may be the brains of people in their early teens are more susceptible to be influenced by factors such as what they eat, drink or smoke.

"Research has shown time and time again that the brain develops really dramatically in early adolescence, it is very malleable and very changeable," she said.

Early exposure to alcohol could be acting as an "environmental trigger" for adolescents with an underlying disposition to alcohol problems, she added.

In a similar way, recent research has shown that young people who smoke large amounts of cannabis at that age were more likely to develop schizophrenia - suggesting that the drug is a trigger for the condition.

But she added: "The research on how alcohol affects the teenager's brain during development has not been done and there are a lot of unanswered questions."

The Telegraph

Booze plan support; WRAD urges action

A Youth survey calling for more police on streets to curb alcohol-fuelled crime has won support from a south-west health professional.

More than 2000 young people took part in an online Liberal and National Coalition survey about binge-drinking.

It revealed youths wanted more police on the beat and alcohol-free events for under 18s to drive down alcohol-related violence.

They also wanted free water in pubs and more drug and alcohol counsellors available in community health services.

Western Region Alcohol and Drug (WRAD) centre director Geoff Soma said the survey mirrored local concerns, including the need to better enforce existing licensing laws and stop minors and those already affected by alcohol from entering venues.

"It is important that all people, not just teenagers, realise the implications of excessive alcohol consumption," Mr Soma said.

"We don't suggest people should stop drinking or stop having a good time but we do need to get the message across that abuse of alcohol leads to many health and social issues."

Shadow drug abuse minister Mary Wooldridge criticised the State Government's Victoria Alcohol Action Plan (VAAP) which she said did little to combat alcohol abuse.

"The consistent message has been that more needs to be done to reduce the level of binge-drinking among young people," she said.

"The survey results show that young people believe the laws which currently exist should be enforced and we need more police to send a clear message that drunken behaviour on our streets is unacceptable."

The online survey began in July.

A spokesman for Mental Health and Community Services Minister Lisa Neville defended the Government's alcohol plan.

"The VAAP was the product of consultation with health experts, police and industry and tackles the damage being caused by alcohol in our society in a variety of ways," he said.

'These include establishing a $17.6 million liquor licensing compliance directorate to strengthen our enforcement of existing laws that ban licensed venues from serving alcohol to people under 18.

"Victoria Police has also established Operation Razon which involves a taskforce of additional police to target high-risk licensed venues."

Warrnambool Standard

Warning over early exposure to alcohol

Giving children alcohol at an early age increases their risk of becoming drink-dependent at a later stage in life, according to new research.
The claim challenges the long-held notion that introducing children to alcohol in small measures over time may prevent teenage binge drinking.

The new study, by the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), suggests that parents may have got it wrong. It found that if young people have their first taste of alcohol before the age of 15, it sharply raises their risk of becoming alcohol dependent later in life.

Deborah Lawson, a research scientist at the NIAAA, said: "We can see for the first time the association between an early 'age of first drink' and an increased risk of alcohol disorders that persist into adulthood."

The study involved data gathered from more than 22,000 young Americans over three years, which matched the age when a first alcoholic drink was taken with first incidence of alcohol abuse or dependence.

The NIAAA's associate director, Howard Moss, said the study showed that it was important to delay the onset of drinking behaviour for as long as possible.

The findings have emerged amid concern over the level of binge drinking among teenagers in Britain. In Scotland, a recent survey of 13-year-olds found 20% had had a drink in the previous week. Among 15-year-olds, 40% of boys and 46% of girls said they had had an alcoholic drink in the past week.

Until now, it has been argued that exposing young teenagers to alcohol by giving them watered-down drinks is the best way them to educate them to consume alcohol responsibly.

But the NIAAA study suggests early exposure to alcohol even in small quantities is a risk in itself. It means that giving children alcohol to prevent problems may have the opposite effect.

One theory is that teenagers' brains are developing so fast that exposure to intoxicants can create a link between alcohol consumption and pleasure.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at University College London, said: "The young brain is very malleable and changes fast in response to new influences."

Scotland On Sunday

City's '100,000 problem drinkers'

More than 100,000 people are drinking alcohol at dangerous levels in a South Yorkshire city, a conference called to deal with the problem has heard.

Health officials have revealed that 20% of Sheffield's population are drinking so heavily that the effects are putting strain on the emergency services.

One city councillor told the gathering that he watched his 32-year-old daughter drink herself to death.

Now a £100,000 scheme has been launched to tackle the alcohol-fuelled culture.

A vivid picture of the city's relationship with excessive drinking was painted at the conference in the city hall.

Over the past 12 months there were 6,500 alcohol-related admission to hospitals across the city, health service figures showed.

Health chiefs, senior police officers, MPs and members of the licensed trade attended the meeting to try to find a way of dealing with the consequences of alcohol abuse in the city.

And as the Liberal Democrat leader and city MP Nick Clegg called for a minimum price to be set for alcohol, one councillor revealed he watched his daughter die from alcohol-related liver disease.

Councillor Clive Skelton joined the summit to discuss the city-wide social and legal fallout from abusive drinking.

Mr Skelton's daughter, Donna, died in July.

He said that at 17-years-old she was a fresh faced youngster, but aged 32, and after 13 years of drinking she was hugely bloated.

"She was drinking five litres of sherry a day, she had passed out outside an off licence and was taken to the Northern General Hospital and she died just under three days later.

"The death certificate said alcoholic liver disease, but I think everything had just shut down.

"She was in extreme pain because everything had swollen so much internally that all her organs were being crushed.

"It's an awful way to die.

"I think people generally think of an alcoholic as the bumbling idiot in the streets, throwing up somewhere or somebody who gets thrown out of a nightclub, someone who's had three or four too many and causes a fight.

"Alcoholism is a sickness, an illness, and the more we can do to highlight that the better it will be, I think."

BBC News

Young man begins new life with AA

Waking up in a drunk tank has a tendency to become a sobering experience for many. Unfortunately, the experience seldom lasts beyond the next drink.

But 25-year-old Craig proved to be the exception. Waking up in the Delta County Jail 15 months ago led him to take the first step on a path that has kept him sober ever since.

A charming, soft-spoken young man with an engaging smile, Craig said, like many alcoholics, he began drinking while still in high school

"I started drinking when I was about 16," he said. "I honestly thought that's what people did. When I was drinking, I always had lots of friends. We all drank together."

Beer, hard liquorit really didn't matter. Whatever was available was Craig's booze of choice.

Alcohol first got Craig into trouble when he was still in high school and a "minor in possession" charge got him suspended from school sports. But the MIP charge wasn't much of a deterrent.

It was while Craig was in college that his drinking really became problematic, and a second MIP cost the youthful offender his driver's license. But no big deal. He considered the punishment was just another "bump in the road." Little did he realize that the road he was traveling was already leading him to a life as a problem drinker and still more scrapes with the law.

"I thought everyone drank like me," he explained. "I would drink three or four times a week, and whenever I went out at night, going out meant getting drunk. That's just the thing you did."

With the exception of a girlfriend, Craig said no one ever expressed concern about his drinking becoming problematic.

"She told me she thought I might be drinking a little too much, but I never took her seriously," he said. "I thought I was just as normal as anyone else. That's how sick I was."

Along with alcohol, Craig said his college years also provided him with the opportunity to experiment with drugs.

"My drug use was strictly experimental," he said. "I was ready to try just about anything. It's funny now that I look back on it, but when I was in college, I took alcohol classes and drug classes that should have told me I had a problem."

Craig said his drinking didn't prevent him from graduating from college with honors and finding a job in his chosen profession.

But Craig's blase attitude didn't last long. He was soon laid off from his job, and with no driver's license, he had little opportunity to look for another one. Unfortunately, he had no difficulty finding his next drink.

"After my second DUI (driving under the influence) I woke up in jail," he said. "When I woke up, I wondered Where am I and why am I in jail?" The experience, he said, left him feeling ashamed.

As part of his sentencing, Craig said he went through outpatient treatment and attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as part of the program.

"I had gone through it before, but this time was more positive. I knew I had to stop drinking," he said. "Previously I had done just enough to get by. I thought the treatment was just part of the punishment, and now I realize that it's the solution."

Although Craig is one of a handful of 20-something people in AA meetings at the Delta Alano Club in Gladstone, Craig said he wasn't deterred by the fact that the majority of those in the program are 40 years of age and older.

"My first impression was that I thought it would be more serious than it was," he said. "Here they were laughing and having a good time and that took me by surprise. It took me a while to be able to come and have a good time myself."

Craig is proud of the fact that he has not relapsed since he began attending AA meetings 15 months ago.

"I honestly don't want to drink, and I still get sick to my stomach when I think about having a drink," he said.

Although Craig said he has not felt the need to have a "sponsor" help him, he readily acknowledges he needs the support gained by attending AA meetings on a regular basis.

"It's not like I'm doing it on my own by not having a sponsor. Half the people in AA have one and half don't. There's no evidence to show those who do have a sponsor have more sobriety than those who don't. But what I do know is that I still have to go to meetings."

Craig said he is not surprised that he has lost many of his former drinking buddies on his road to sobriety.

"I learned that most of the friends I had were not my friends once I became sober," he said. "A lot of them realize they have a problem, and I think they're ashamed of their drinking and would like to be sober as well, but they're not ready to admit it."

Still with no driver's license and no new job in sight, many would expect that Craig would have every reason to relapse into his former drinking habits.

"Sometimes it comes into my mind, but it's only for a second," he said. "Sometimes when I hear of a new drink, I find myself wondering what it tastes like. Let's face it - drinking was my only hobby. But I've learned that I need to make plans. I don't knew where I see myself next week or even tomorrow, but I have all the tools I need to keep from drinking today. I hope to get my driver's license restored soon and then we'll see what happens."

Although Craig has advanced to the 12th step on AA's road to recovery, he has yet to fulfill its mantra entirely.

"The 12th step has to do with 'carrying the message.' Although I can readily share my story within the group, I haven't yet carried it out to others," he explained. "I tell myself that anyone I would want to tell probably wouldn't want to listen. The truth is that I don't have the courage to even tell them. I'm not prepared to do that yet. Maybe someday I will."

Daily Press

Alcohol-related hospital visits rocket, with ladettes the worst

Drunken female party animals are inundating NSW hospital emergency departments in record numbers.

NSW Health has released new figures which show an overall 59 per cent increase in alcohol-related emergency department cases from 2000 to 2007.

The biggest increase in hospital visits was among so-called ladettes - the 18- to 24-year-old group of females with a thirst for grog to match their male rivals - whose numbers increased by 200 per cent.

The numbers were drawn from a sample of NSW hospital emergency departments with the number of females increasing from 412 to 1233 patients a year.

Alcohol-related illnesses and injuries are taking a huge toll on the NSW health system.

Yesterday NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca said he was so concerned about the level of these hospitalisations - particularly among young people - he would use the health ministers' round-table meeting in November to call for a ban on alcohol advertising.

Mr Della Bosca said the time had come to address the issue, with more than 40,000 drinkers being admitted to NSW hospitals each year.

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with cirrhosis of the liver, mental illness, several types of cancer, pancreatitis, fetal growth retardation, aggressive behaviour, family disruption and accidents.

He said all options should be considered, including warning labels on alcohol, no alcohol ads to be screened on television before 9pm or a complete advertising ban.

A ban on alcohol advertising would have huge social ramifications and change the landscape of Australian sport which is heavily dependent on the grog industry's financial support.

"Binge drinking is caused by a number of factors but advertising does not help," Mr Della Bosca said. "The power of persuasion of alcohol advertising is the most sophisticated and seductive I have seen. As a student of the art of persuasion for electioneering, the alcohol industry is almost unbeatable."

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon yesterday said the alcohol-related hospitalisation figures were a cause for concern. She did not rule out toughening advertising laws, saying: "We need to have a comprehensive response to tackle binge drinking in Australia."

A $1.5 million trial of specialist nurses in six hospital emergency departments to deal with drunk or drugged patients is being rolled out by the Rees Government. The nurses will work at the Campbelltown, Liverpool, Royal Prince Alfred, Concord and John Hunter hospitals and The Children's Hospital at Westmead to deal with emergency department patients suffering behavioural disturbances due to drug or alcohol use.

"The hospitals have been chosen because they have access to psychiatric emergency care centres and in-patient detoxification units," Mr Della Bosca said. "This will alleviate the pressure on emergency department staff who experience an increase in alcohol and drug-affected patients.

"At the request of Council of Australian Governments, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy also has agreed to progress the Federal Government's $53.5 million National Binge Drinking Strategy, including community level initiatives.

"This national approach aims to reduce the incidence of alcohol-related violence and the impact of alcohol abuse on individuals, the community and the health system.

"There was also agreement to assess late-night lockouts for licensed premises based on analysis across the nation of existing and trial lockouts to recommend a preferred framework."

Mr Della Bosca's comments came as police investigated a brawl near a Parramatta hotel yesterday.

An 18-year-old man was struck in the head with a beer bottle during the incident, about 12.40am in Horwood Place. He underwent surgery at Westmead Hospital.

Social commentator Neer Korn said trying to change young Australians' love of binge drinking would require more than changing taxes for alco-pops.

Mr Korn, director of Heartbeat Trends, said the number of young people visiting hospitals for alcohol-related problems came as no surprise.

"We have been tracking 18- to 24-year-olds for at least a decade, talking with them three to four times a year, and we have increasingly seen them engage with alcohol," Mr Korn said. "They want to have a great life with extreme experiences. They have this philosophy of compensation where they beat up their body to the nth degree on a binge, but then take a vitamin pill, go for a swim or do yoga the next day to make up for the punishment. They view bingeing as being functional. Someone who drinks every day in the morning or lies in the gutter is dysfunctional in their minds."

Canberra Times

Social hangover of our drinking culture

A conference in Sheffield today will look at ways of stamping out alcohol-related problems including illness, crime and anti-social behaviour. Sheena Hastings reports.

Brenda Hemment started drinking socially when she was about 18. She says she didn't really notice how her consumption was steadily increasing. By the time the factory supervisor was 24 years- old, she was drinking every day, putting away two to three bottles of gin.

"I suppose the reason I never noticed was because I was never actually drunk, I was just 'topping up.' I needed it to get through the day. I didn't think I was behaving badly, and for a long time everything seemed normal.

"But then I started to lose friends – people wouldn't come round or go out with me. I began to stay at home to drink and lost my job. Over the years I lost my nice home, my family – including my son, who hated me drinking and went to live with his grandparents. Eventually I went to prison, after burgling to pay for alcohol."

Around a decade of Brenda's life was spent in and out of prison (where she brewed her own hooch) and bail hostels, or living on the street, where she was surrounded by other alcoholics and drug addicts.

On a few occasions booze led to hospital admission, and Brenda twice attempted suicide by mixing tablets with the drink. She came out of prison on her 40th birthday, and after another 12 months' solid consumption she collapsed with severe liver and pancreas problems. She weighed only around three-and-a-half stone.

"I was so out of it. I don't remember the two weeks in hospital really," says Brenda, who is now 54 and has been dry since that two-week stay in hospital, when she was told she had either to stop or choose her own coffin.

Brenda says she still struggles every day with the urge to drink, and has never fathomed why she, from a "normal" family in a village near Doncaster, whose parents rarely touched alcohol, was the one who became an alcoholic.

Having moved to Sheffield, she was helped in her recovery by a Methodist minister and members of his congregation. She still doesn't understand how she didn't die years ago. Brenda stuck to her determination to resist the bottle, but David, her partner of eight years, died last year from an alcohol-related brain haemorrhage, having tried many times to quit drinking.

"I've no idea how I survived everything, and I look back to all the things I lost. There's just me and my dog now. I still go into town and talk to some of the drinkers I used to be on the street with. I don't try to convert them, but sit and listen."

The ones she does try to change by telling her own story are the under-age drinkers she sees hanging around local shops in the Low Edges area of the city.

"When I see the way some of them are knocking it back, part of me wants to hit them, I feel so annoyed. I've told some of them what happened to me, and a few of the young girls seem to have cut back on how much they drink as a result. I look at them and think 'what a waste'."

The health service gave Brenda the care and the wake-up call she needed. But in her view the authorities could do more to help stem the escalating tide of drinking among young people and problem drinkers in general.

"I don't think there's enough support, the way there is with drug addicts. There should be more people going out on to the streets to find them and offer help, and far more fines for shopkeepers who sell drink to under-18s. I see them doing it all the time."

A one-day alcohol "summit" held in Sheffield today will hear the views and ideas of the agencies involved in tackling alcohol-related problems and promoting sensible drinking to minimise the rate of associated illness, crime, violence and anti-social behaviour. They've been co-ordinating efforts in this field and others for a few years, under the banner of the Sheffield First Partnership.

"No-one's making out that Sheffield is any worse than other cities in the North of England when it comes to alcohol-related problems," says Jo Daykin-Goodall, director of the city's Substance Misuse Strategy.
"But we want to do all we can to ensure that adults who choose to drink can do so safely and responsibly.

"A major challenge is that of the dual perception of alcohol: that it is enjoyable but it also has a clear cost to society. We recognise that the drink industry is a major employer and adds to the vibrancy of the city, and we're working with the industry. For instance, we're hoping to implement the national Best Bar None scheme, which gives bar and door staff additional training in dealing with issues around excessive drinking. We're not talking about zero tolerance, though."

While Sheffield may be no worse than some other cities with large student populations and certainly better than some, statistics published last year do make sobering reading.

Of a population of 417,500 in Sheffield, 108,550 were "hazardous or harmful" drinkers (men regularly drinking more than 3-4 units a day and
women drinking more than 2-3). Other figures suggest that almost 21,000 people are alcohol-dependent.

What that misuse adds up to, says Daykin-Goodall, is £11.9m a year in costs to local health services, £15.3m cost to the criminal justice system and the loss of around 250,000 working days in the city each year. Alcohol was linked to 161 sexual assaults a year, and the lives of 7,900 children were affected by having drinking parents.

The many-pronged approach needed – and being adopted in Sheffield – to reduce the prevalence of harmful drinking and help those already damaged by it must also address public perceptions of drinking, says Daykin-Goodall, citing recent research by the University of the West of England, which monitored references to alcohol made across 1,200 hours of radio on six stations from December 2007 to February 2008.

"There were more than 700 references to alcohol, with DJs frequently referring to people being 'out on the lash', 'having the hangover from hell' or suggesting that fun was 'only a bottle away'. Nearly three-quarters of the comments appeared to promote drinking or excessive drinking.

"There's been a societal change, with more people drinking above safe limits year-on-year, but also a change in attitudes, with people now laughing and accepting drunkenness."

Steps already taken in Sheffield include the creation of "safe points" where police and ambulance patrol together, and city ambassadors around the streets on the look-out for trouble.

Funding has also been found to increase the number of treatment places available for community-based treatment for those with alcohol-related illness. The current wait for such help is six months.

Chief Inspector Simon Verrall of South Yorkshire Police says one strategy used when new students suddenly surge back into Sheffield at this time of year is a "Meet and Greet" which involves getting the message across to young people temporarily living the the city that they should be treating it and its residents with respect.

Binge drinking by youngsters in a small area of the city centre can wind up costing valuable NHS as well as police resources, but those who tend to end up in the care of hepatologist Dr Dermot Gleeson are drinkers who have been hitting the bottle for many years.

He sees 40 new cases a year of people in liver failure due to alcohol. Their mean age is 46, but they range from mid-20s to 70s. Typically, they have drunk for decades and have become gravely ill. Often they are swollen around the abdomen, jaundiced, bleeding and in pain.

Of these 40, one in six will die during their first hospital admission (one of the 5,000 deaths a year nationally due to alcohol-related liver failure), and the other five will leave hospital with the potential to recover if they give up drinking.

"The most worrying fact is that the average age of a patient presenting to us is mid-to-late 40s. Twenty years ago it was 60. Various factors influence this, including people beginning to drink at a younger age, the amount of alcohol being drunk, social deprivation and obesity," said Dr Gleeson.

"If I could make one highly focused improvement in how we deal with the problem it would be the provision of more specialist nurses to help people in treatment to minimise or stop drinking. A more general strategy could involve raising the price of alcohol."

Yorkshire Post

Torbay scheme to highlight sexual risks of binge drinking

Torbay police are launching a scheme to highlight the risks women face because of binge drinking.

The SASH (sexual attack and sexual health) project was designed to high-light the risks associated with excessive drinking, specifically the risks for women.

The scheme has been designed in partnership with Torbay council, the Police, taxi companies and local businesses.

These groups all play a vital role in making sure the public stay stafe while enjoying Torbay's night life.

Acting sergeant Dave Pebworth from Torquay police said: “The project has been designed to tackle two specific issues surrounding excessive drinking - that of sexual attacks on drunk or vulnerable females and also that of the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections through unprotected sexual intercourse.”

The campaign will be launched on Saturday, 27 September with the SASH packs handed out from 1.30 am on Sunday, September 28.

The small lightweight packs will be distributed from clubs and pubs within the project area. They will include a pouch for extinguishing cigarettes, condoms, advice leaflets and bottled water amongst other items. The packs also highlight the risk of excessive drinking and risks to sexual health and aim to illustrate the heightened risk of sexual attack when drunk.

Sgt Pebworth said: “All licensed premises within the project area will be briefed on the project and will be encouraged to tackle any behaviour they feel inappropriate within their premises.

“They will be asked to challenge males buying large quantities of alcohol for females or anyone who is suspected of taking advantage of females’ vulnerabilities.

“All taxi drivers will receive a letter stating what we want them to do if they have concerns for females who appear vulnerable through excessive drinking.

“We want drivers to proactively police their cabs and challenge behaviour they think inappropriate within their cars. If in doubt we want drivers to contact police and ask for assistance”.

Mid Devon Star

Just one in five of Saga generation drinks every day

Only one in five older Britons consumes alcohol every day, according to a survey that reveals the generational gap in attitudes to drinking.

The poll of more than 10,000 people aged over 50, carried out by Saga for The Daily Telegraph, found that few feared becoming an alcoholic and a significant proportion never drank alcohol at all.

The majority did not worry about safe drinking levels recommended by the Government, but drank less than the maximum advised level anyway.

Most said they had drunk on average just five glasses of wine, two pints of beer and two glasses of spirits over the past seven days.

This comes despite widespread concern at the damage Britons are supposedly causing to their health by social drinking, such as middle-class couples who get through a bottle of wine between them over an evening meal.

Doctors have claimed pensioners are at greater risk than younger drinkers, as they have more time on their hands after retiring and because the body becomes less tolerant of alcohol with age.

But Saga, the group of companies that provides insurance, holidays and financial products to the over-50s, said the new survey showed fears of a generation of "Sage louts" are unfounded.

"Unlike the youth of today, by and large, older people go for quality over quantity - more civilised a Chablis than a loutish lager," said Paul Green, Saga's head of communication.

"We all deserve a bit of fun and the over-50s live life to the full - but they also know how to behave - even when a little tipsy."

He added: "The fact that older people don't know what the 'nanny state' regards as 'safe limits' or what a 'unit of alcohol ' is comes as no surprise to me.

"Whilst alcohol can be a problem for some, in my experience the over-50s are an independently minded bunch - savvy and brimming with a sound experience of life and generally they know when its time to stop and don't need the Government to tell them."

The survey conducted by Populus on behalf of Saga, questioned 11,612 older people on their drinking habits.

A total of 7 per cent said they never drank at all, while many more said they had beer, wine or spirits only occasionally.

The poll showed 12 per cent had not had any alcohol over the past week, and two-thirds had drunk on fewer than five days in the past seven.

Just 8 per cent had drunk alcohol on six of the past seven days, and 19 per cent drank every day.

Over half said they never worried that they or their spouses drank too much, while just 1 per cent admitted they had been regularly drunk, hungover or ill through drinking in the past month.

Don Shenker, chief executive of the charity Alcohol Concern, said "Like those in other age groups many older people enjoy socialising or unwinding over drinks."

But he warned: "The issue at hand is whether in those rare cases where heavy drinking is damaging an older person's quality of life the right kind of support is in place.

"Investigative work by Alcohol Concern suggests that older people are far less likely to either seek or receive help for their drinking."

Telegraph

Underage drinking

Here are some sobering statistics for Madison County parents.

# Madison County is in the top 10 counties in the state for underage DUI risks, says Patsy Hillard of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Central Mississippi.

# While the national average is age 13 for children to start using alcohol and the state average is 12, "kids start drinking at age 11 in Madison and Rankin counties," Hillard said, based on a survey of high school students in the state. Of the 4,509 students in Madison County who participated in the Smart Track survey in 2007, 10.2 percent of local students said they started drinking before age 11 and 17.6 percent started between the ages of 11 and 14.

"Alcohol usage among teenagers is very prevalent in all areas of our community," said the Rev. Bill Barksdale, who chairs the steering committee of the Madison County Drug Court. "In my fifteen years of youth ministry here in the community, I have met only a small percentage of teens who graduate high school without ever participating in alcohol consumption that puts them at-risk legally or jeopardized their future health."

The problem of underage drinking exists in every community, not just Madison County, but it's one that law enforcement officers and drug educators say needs to be addressed.

"Parents think 'It's just drinking, at least they're not on drugs,'" Hillard said.

The Smart Track survey showed statewide that 21 percent of high school students participated in binge drinking (five drinks or more in one sitting) in the past 30 days and 41 percent said they had at least one drink in the previous month, said Caroline Ranck, the underage drinking prevention coordinator for DREAM. "Far more kids drink alcohol than do drugs," she said.

Alcohol carries its own set of problems for underage drinkers. To name a few:

# There's the issue of drinking and driving that can can result in a DUI or an accident with injuries or fatalities.

# Drinking can lead to teenage violence, suicides and risky sexual behaviors.

# New research shows that early heavy alcohol use can have negative effects on brain development.

# National studies show people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop a dependency on alcohol than those who take their first drink at 20 or older.

Alcohol poses a direct risk to teens in other ways, Barksdale said. "Teens have to illegally buy it or obtain it. Second, they have to sneak around and drive somewhere remote to use it. Third, teens are more likely to binge drink because of the undercover atmosphere of obtaining and drinking the alcohol and then teens are challenged to somehow arrive home safely at the end of a long night, afraid to call parents when they are in a situation that is over their heads."

Sheriff Toby Trowbridge said teenage drinking is a growing concern in the county because by starting at a young age "the problem escalates."

"The perception is if mom and dad do it, it can't be all bad," Trowbridge said. "I urge parents with young kids - don't flaunt drinking in front of your kids. Don't walk around with a beer in your hands."

Some parents, however, may be aware of their teens' drinking and even encourage it, experts say.

"There's a problem with some moms and dads condoning it or furnishing it," Trowbridge said. "Parents think if they furnish the alcohol, the kids will stay home and out of trouble but then the party breaks up and everybody goes home."

"Parents will say 'They're going to do it any way. I'd rather have them here than out driving," said Lt. Brad Harbour with the Madison County Sheriff's Office, who visits schools regularly to talk about the dangers of alcohol and drugs. "But, when that child grows up and is alcohol dependent or an alcoholic and runs over and kills someone, the people who got them started at a young age are the ones responsible," Harbour said.

The idea of parents hosting parties and providing beer and liquor for their children and other teenagers is not new, but "I think it's fare more prevalent than we're aware of," Ranck said. "So we as communities have to say this is not OK."

Madison Police Chief Gene Waldrop said his officers have made arrests at home where parties were going on that parents weren't aware of and at some where the parents are at home.

Some parents are unwilling to set a higher standard for their teens than their personal standards, Barksdale said. "They rationalize that if they are going to be drinking anyway, they might as well be in plain sight. These parents do not realize the enormous legal liability they assume by allowing underage drinking on their personal property," he said.

"Rather than make their kids safer by hosting parties, they in fact put more teens at risk. There is no such thing as a 'small' party in Madison. Once word gets out that a parent is allowing teens to drink in their home, hundreds of teens will descend upon the house," Barksdale said.

Madison-Ridgeland Academy is working to keep teenagers from drinking. The school is continuing a program it started at prom last spring by having students use a breathalyzer to gain entry to the homecoming dance next weekend.

"There were absolutely no incidents at prom, and we expect the same results at homecoming," principal Greg Self said.

MRA is also beginning a new program to educate students about the dangers of underage drinking. Beginning in October, all students in grades 9-12 will take part in an online alcohol awareness program, like is being used at the University of Mississippi, Self said.

"We want to give them information to make wise decisions," he said.

Next semester the school will do a follow-up program to determine how effect the online program is. "We want to see how it does affect their ability to make decisions," he said.

"Parents genuinely feel that they are preparing their teens for the reality and pressures of college by allowing them to drink in high school," Barksdale said. "This again is a false premise, because the longer a teen delays experimenting with alcohol, the more maturity they will have gained, which corresponds with physical development of the brain.

"The more maturity, the less likelihood there is of at-risk behavior," he said.

Madison County Herald

Falk announces alcohol initiatives for budget

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk unveiled a number of alcohol initiatives in her proposed budget Wednesday after a task force investigated alcohol abuse in the county for seven months.

In an effort to target alcohol abuse, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced a series of budget initiatives Wednesday aimed at providing increased funding for drunk driving enforcement and rehabilitation programs.

Falk noted the state of Wisconsin holds many unfavorable titles when it comes to alcohol abuse statistics—it is the worst state for binge drinking, underage drinking and drunk driving—problems she plans to curb within Dane County.

“We can make a difference in a problem that is bringing our whole community down,” Falk said. “We can confront the overuse of alcohol in our community starting with prevention when children are young [to] tough enforcement for chronic offenders.”

In February, Falk created a task force to evaluate alcohol abuse within Dane County and make recommendations for strategies to fight the problem. Falk’s proposed initiatives aim to educate children about alcohol abuse at the middle school level, provide repeat offenders and chronic users with treatment opportunities and reduce drunk driving by providing an extra 1,000 hours of patrols on Friday and Saturday nights.

Falk said while she met with representatives from the tavern industry and Susan Crowley, director of UW-Madison’s PACE Project, an initiative aimed at reducing high-risk drinking on campus, the alcohol problem is not exclusive to Madison’s infamous downtown area.

“It’s not just a State Street problem. State Street is a problem [but] it’s not the only problem,” Falk said.

According to Falk, just under 50 percent of sentenced Dane County inmates are incarcerated for alcohol-related offenses ranging from drunk driving to domestic violence, a statistic Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney called an “eye opener” to the county’s alcohol abuse problem.

Dane County Board District 4 Supervisor Brett Hulsey, chairman of the county’s personnel and finance committee, said Falk’s proposals would not only help people suffering from alcohol abuse, but also help reduce jail crowding and ease the burden of taxpayers.

While Falk said her proposals are not a “silver bullet” to solving the problem, she is planning to announce additional alcohol initiatives in October to continue the fight.

Daily Cardinal

Booze haul seized by police

Worried police hit out this week - after seizing a massive booze haul from teen tipplers in Galloway.

Officers confiscated 1185cl of various bottles of alcohol, four cans of cider and 18 cans of lager from young people at various points between Newton Stewart and Creetown at the weekend.

Police believe most of the stash was destined for the Creetown country weekend - but was stopped before it reached there.

A police spokesman said teenagers consuming large amounts of alcohol are a problem at weekends. They will source it any way they can, with some alcohol coming from home and the rest being bought for them by over-18s or parents.

The spokesman said the young people who had alcohol taken from them by the police would now have a letter sent to their parents advising them of the incident.

Community Constable Nicola McFadzean added: "We all know that buying alcohol for a minor is an offence and can render you liable to prosecution.

"My worry is that a young person is vulnerable when under the influence and they can find themselves in all sorts of dangerous situations. They can get drunk very quickly on very little. Every year, 1,000 under-16s in Scotland are admitted to hospital with alcohol poisoning.

"Drinks-spiking is another concern. Young people drinking from an already opened bottle which is being passed round concerns me. Anything could have been placed in the drink without the young person knowing."

The PC added: "We also understand that if people come across a group of drunken teenagers it can be intimidating and give the area a bad name.

"For me and my colleagues Creetown Country Weekend it is a great event to police, because it is virtually trouble-free and it is great to watch local people and visitors enjoying the hours of entertainment provided and joining in the party atmosphere. However, outside the main event it is a different story.

"We have discovered scores of young people who descend on the streets of Creetown for a night out. They too have travelled far and wide. The majority are well behaved and do not come to police attention, however a few also spoil it for everyone else with alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.

"I would urge parents of teenagers to make sure you know where your child is and what they are up to. Talk to your children about alcohol and sensible drinking limits. It is important for young people to understand the risks associated with alcohol and to keep safe when they are out and about during the evenings."

Galloway Today

Falk determined to battle state's alcohol problems

William Herbst got out of the Dane County jail on May 15, 2007, after serving 75 days for his third drunken driving offense. He went to a bar, drank more rum than he can remember, and climbed into his pickup. Next thing he knew he slid off the rainy road somewhere near Cottage Grove. Police found him stuck in the mud and put him right back in jail.

That's when Pathfinders, a diversion program that offers 50 inmates a year treatment for alcohol and drug abuse in place of incarceration, took him in. By his third week in a residential treatment center in Madison, Herbst admitted he was an alcoholic, that he suffered from depression, and that he had accomplished none of the things he dreamed about as a kid.

Like most alcoholics, Herbst's road to recovery is not a straight climb. He was arrested for driving drunk a fifth time on March 21, 2008. "I could have killed somebody or myself," said Herbst, 32. Since then, he has stayed away from alcohol, gotten back on medication for depression, and enrolled in classes at MATC. On Oct. 28, he goes back to jail for a year. He is hoping for more treatment instead. This time, he promises, he'll turn his life around.

"I'm under construction," he said. "Pathfinders gave me the tools to save my life, and I finally know how to use them."

Herbst is just one of thousands who struggle with the ups and downs of alcohol abuse in Dane County, but he may soon get some help thanks to a new alcohol initiative to be unveiled this morning by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.

After seven months of research into Wisconsin's struggle with alcohol abuse, Falk sat down with The Capital Times to talk about the first phase of her initiative. Falk has scraped together $200,000 to expand funding in her upcoming 2009 budget for Pathfinders and two other local projects.

Pathfinders has been a favorite of the county executive ever since she launched a pilot version of it in 2003. She is fond of talking about how it makes financial as well as humane sense: Dane County spends $50 million to run its jail, where half the inmates are there for drunken driving. It costs $22,000 a year to keep an inmate locked up, but only $7,000 to treat a person. And it works -- last year only 10 percent of participants ended up with another arrest. Even so, the program has had to turn away dozens a year. Now the county will be adding 14 slots for drunken drivers to the 50 a year it currently serves.

The other two projects that Falk has earmarked for additional funding are not as well known, and would serve a portion of two at-risk populations that Falk says have long been neglected in Dane County: young adolescents and the homeless. Project Hugs is a support, counseling and advocacy group that works with families of high schoolers struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. Now the program will expand into middle schools. The third project will be to train 25 health clinicians around the county to use an innovative alcohol and drug screening intervention approach.

Falk's selection of these three programs for additional funding is just the first phase of her ambitious alcohol initiative, which she plans to make the cornerstone of an expected fourth term in office.

The second phase, which she will unveil in October, will involve the creation of a county-wide coalition of businesses, law enforcement, youth groups, and longtime health care providers and activists. Their goal: nothing less than changing Wisconsin's drinking culture. "We can make a difference," Falk said. "We did it with smoking."

Falk is waiting until after the November elections to announce the third piece of her plan, which will include recommendations to toughen state alcohol laws. At that time, she said, she also will meet with Gov. Jim Doyle to ask for his support. Wisconsin has not raised its alcohol tax in decades and has the worst rates of binge drinking, underage drinking and drunken driving in the country.

"We're the only state in the country where a first time OWI is not subject to a criminal penalty and a five-day jail sentence," she said.

Falk voiced confidence that the Dane County Board will support her recommendations for changes at the county level, but admitted the next two phases of her initiative would "involve some heavy lifting."

Project Hugs is a shoestring operation that wins kudos for providing support to parents of high schoolers struggling with alcohol and substance abuse.

Stacey Slotty, a parent advocate, says that the program currently serves 32 families and that seven more families are on the official wait list. "We are in dire need," she said. "Parents don't have a clue where to turn. I've been to funerals where kids have died because we couldn't get them help."

Under Falk's initiative, the organization will open two new programs in middle schools, one urban and one rural. Falk said she was sobered by research showing that if you can stop children from drinking before they reach age 15, they are four times less likely to have alcohol problems later on in life. Yet in Dane County behavioral surveys have found that nearly a third of seventh- and eighth-graders admit they have already binged -- had five or more drinks at one time. "It's a whole lot less expensive to be intervening when children are 12 than when they are 30 and sitting in jail for their fifth time," Falk said.

The health educator training project in line for some new county money involves the use of an innovative technique called brief motivational interviewing. Surprisingly effective, it uses short screenings and questionnaires in places like emergency rooms, jails, schools and clinics to identify people at risk of alcoholism and other substance abuse.

"Just 15 minutes of a frank conversation can lead to someone making a dramatic decision to quit or cut back," said Dr. Richard Brown, a professor at the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine and Public Health who has been administering a federally funded trial of this approach at 23 clinics around the state. Falk plans to target the homeless, among others. She predicts that the screening will help identify problems with mental illness as well as alcoholism, and enable people to move off the streets.

Falk spoke about the process of putting together the alcohol initiative in two free-wheeling interviews last week. Dane County has dozens of deserving alcohol treatment programs, and choosing which ones would receive scarce extra dollars was a tricky balancing act, she said.

"It was extremely difficult, given the volume of the problem and our tight budget," she explained. But it was important, she added, that she move ahead just the same. "When you have a big problem, sometimes people don't know where to start, and then they don't," she said. "But that's what I love doing. Take a big problem. You just take a big chunk, and then you do the next chunk, and then the next chunk, and that's how you get things done."

Breaking the complex subject of alcohol abuse down into chunks was a job she hired two longtime community activists to do. "There were no magic bullets. It was really complex to pull together all the pieces," said Carol Lobes, former director of the Dane County Department of Human Services, who worked on the project with Judy Adrian, who co-directs the Center for Democracy in Action with her. Together Lobes and Adrian put in more than 20 hours a week over seven months reading and condensing more than 200 scientific reports, interviewing more than 80 experts, attending more than a dozen meetings, focus groups and conferences, and taking their boss on what Falk called "field trips" to the county jail and State Street. Falk, the daughter of an alcoholic, said she was struck by not just the toll in county dollars but in what she calls "human misery" (see Q&A).

Falk ended up with a 40-page report on these efforts. Then, she said, it was up to her to find "leverage points" -- areas where action could make a difference and be cost-effective. "We wanted to get the best bang for our buck," she explained.

The four main areas Falk intends to concentrate on are: improved alcohol and mental health treatment through brief motivational interviewing, community partnerships, tougher laws, and a focus on young adolescents and families.

Falk's initial move to add $200,000 to the three local programs would increase the $8 million Dane County already spends on alcohol and drug prevention and treatment by roughly 2.5 percent. "It's a very significant commitment given this incredibly tight budget," Falk said.

Significant, perhaps, but still likely not enough to meet the overwhelming demand.

Don Mason, a recovering alcoholic and a former counselor at Hope Haven, where many Pathfinders clients are treated, says that on some days he gets up to 20 or 30 calls an hour begging for help. "The phone is ringing constantly. I'm hearing crying parents, desperate wives, men tired of being out on the streets because the waiting lists are so long," he said. One client was so desperate, Mason recalled, that he stole a pack of cigarettes so he would be sent to jail. "The sad part of it is, the people who are getting treatment fastest are in the corrections system," he said.

Like Falk, Mason grew up in Milwaukee. In fact, he thinks he may have bought liquor from the Falk family business during a couple of drinking binges years ago. Like Falk, he lost his father to alcoholism. As his dad was dying at age 54 of cirrhosis of the liver, comforted to know his son was on the path to recovery, he asked Mason about Alcoholics Anonymous: "How long have you been in that square-ass program?"

Mason, 50, has now been sober 28 years. "If I can stay sober, anyone can," he said. "There is a lot of hope -- if we can provide treatment."

Capital Times

Pill could fight alcoholism

For alcoholics, experts say the consequences of addiction last long after an evening binge to affect abusers' entire lives, from restless mornings to sleepless nights.

BU School of Medicine is conducting a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a psychiatric medication that could eliminate or significantly reduce heavy drinkers' cravings for alcohol, according to researchers involved with the trial.

"One of the major symptoms of alcoholism is the inability to sleep without a drink, which is a vicious cycle we want to help people overcome," BU study project manager Eric Devine said.

The study will test Seroquel XR, a drug already on the market as a sleeping aid, to see if the drug helps excessive drinkers overcome alcohol dependence. If it works, Devine said the drug could prevent alcoholics from resorting to more drastic measures to combat their addiction later in life.

"I hope that people who are suffering and need help will see that there are alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous and detoxification," he said.

At first, alcohol's sedative properties help people fall asleep easily and quickly, but habitual drinking eventually leads them to experience sleep disruptions throughout the night, said Joanne Fertig, a project officer at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

BU's study is one of five similar clinical trials around the country sponsored by the NIAAA. The trials are an offshoot of a 2007 University of Pennsylvania study that found Seroquel XR helped some heavy drinkers become completely sober and relieved many participants' sleep problems.

"It was exciting to find a treatment that might work in a hard-to-treat population because people usually give up on [alcohol-dependent] patients," said Helen Pettinati, the principal investigator for the UPenn study.

Researchers said that alcoholics tend not to treat their problem until late in their lives. One BU student named Aaron, who asked that his last name not be used, said he has drunk alcohol and taken Vicodin pills several times to help him sleep.

Still, the College of Arts and Sciences freshman said the benefits of drinking outweigh the risks for him.

"If you can't sleep, you can't function," he said. "Alcohol helped me sleep for the first time in 11 days on one occasion."

Other students wondered about the drug's uses. College of Communication senior Andrew Clapham said he thinks the study is a worthwhile undertaking, but added if the drug proves successful it could lead to unnecessary prescriptions for people who are not heavy drinkers.

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Lisa Ziegelbauer said she has friends who drink in order to sleep so she would support a drug that helps people get over their desire for alcohol.

"Any drug that could get rid of someone's craving for alcohol so that they don't abuse it is a good idea," she said.

Daily Free Press

Aiona Wants to Combat Underage Drinking

Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona says alcohol is the substance most widely abused by Hawaii teens.

That's why tomorrow he's launching a state wide effort to combat the problem.

Knowledge is power and Lt.Governor Aiona wants to use it to stop underage drinking.

"It's informative, it's easy to read and it's a guide that should be looked at daily."

Tomorrow a drinking awareness insert will be found in newspapers across the state informing youngsters and their parents about the negative affects of underage drinking.

And the Lt. governor says this information can't be relayed too soon...

"At the age of five I would start talking to them age appropriately about alcohol. get them to understand the consequences and that's what you want them to understand."

The list of consequences goes on and on from violence and promiscuity to traffic fatalities.

"5,000 young people every year die because of alcohol."

The human brain grows until the age of 23 and consuming alcohol can affect growth and lead to memory loss.

From the Attorney General's Office, Valerie Marion says, "It's a public health issue, its about safety, it's about concern, it's about not impacting other people's lives by either causing any kind of damage or death perhaps."

Under the "use and lose" law minors caught possessing, consuming or purchasing alcohol will have their drivers license suspended for at least six months.

Seven-Eleven Hawaii has been trying to reduce underage drinking since November of last year.

"We changed our policy to ID all, requiring our employees to ID everyone who wanted to purchase alcohol, says Blake Yokotake of 7-11 stores.

But parents educating their children is the greatest weapon of all to win the battle against underage drinking and the Lt. Governor hopes they put the insert's information to good use.

KHON2

New round in alcohol war

Police Minister Bob Cameron said the State Government-supported lockout has been a success, and he agreed with police that binge drinking was the next battle in the war against alcohol-related violence.

“With the lockout, you’ve just got less people on the streets in the middle of the night who are really drunk or on the way to being drunk,’’ he said this week. Mr Cameron said the rate of serious assaults had declined since the introduction of the lockout - proof of its success.

He reiterated comments made by Superintendent Peter Bull to The Advertiser yesterday that binge drinking was the next crisis facing community leaders.

“Binge drinking a huge problem in the western world, and a huge problem in our own society where people’s use of alcohol is excessive.

“At the core of those, we have this society problem of people wanting to drink until they are absolutely blotto and that has significant long-term health consequences for a lot of people down the track,’’ he said.

Mr Cameron, who has been police minister for nearly two years, said the treatment of alcohol abuse was a huge undertaking.

“This is one of the big health challenges of the future, just like diabetes and obesity,’’ he said.

The recent introduction of police powers to ban troublemakers from a designated entertainment precinct within the CBD for 24 hours was a positive approach, Mr Cameron said.

“It’s another iron in the fire from police’s point of view. It’s a way of trying to get someone to go home and sleep it off, before they end up doing something stupid to themselves or others.’’

The Advertiser

Harsh truths about your alcohol intake

This summer has been another wet one. With all the rain it's enough to drive you to drink!

Most of us enjoy a tipple now and again, but do we really know how much is safe and when to stop? Am I better off having an occasional pint or should I cut it out altogether? How do I recognise if I have a drink problem? Who can I contact when I want help with cutting back on my intake?

The Government has released so-called safe limits of alcohol in units per week. The lads get to drink slightly more than the ladies, but these limits can be misleading. Men should drink no more than 21 units or 10 pints in a week and women should drink no more than 14 units or seven large glasses of wine in a week.

However, unlike the French and the Italians, we tend not to have a glass or two in an evening, we gulp it all down on Friday or Saturday in the space of four or five hours, concentrating the insult to the liver into a short space of time.

When the safe limits were worked out they did not take this into account.

In any evening two to three drinks is more than enough and any more is likely to cause you harm.

Abstinence is better than excess but not better than a small amount daily. People who do not drink are slightly worse off in terms of overall health than those who drink one glass of wine or similar a day.

If you drink too much you put yourself at risk of liver cirrhosis (pickled liver), gastritis (stomach ulcer and inflammation), depression, sexual dysfunction, heart disease, high blood pressure, road traffic accidents, certain cancers, and obesity (three pints or glasses of wine is the equivalent of an extra meal a day!). Alcohol in pregnancy can be very harmful to the unborn baby's development.

Anyone who shows signs of withdrawal after a day or two of not drinking is alcohol dependent. The signs of withdrawal include nausea or feeling sick, trembling, sweating, anxiety and a strong desire to have a drink. People whose work is affected by alcohol consumption, who drink by themselves or early in the day, or who try to conceal the amount they drink, are likely to have an alcohol problem.

Like any drug it can take time, effort and support to regain control. For some, this will mean stopping drinking alcohol completely. Few alcoholics can maintain a low intake without relapsing into heavy drinking again.

If you think you need help or know someone who does, your GP can point you in the right direction and may support you with advice and support on how to cut down.

That said, 'everything in moderation', there's nothing like a pint or a glass of wine down by the river on a sunny day; just don't have so much you need to be fished out.

This Is Exeter

Local woman faces down her addiction, turns her life around

I recently conducted an interview with a young woman who had graduated from the 45th Judicial Circuit Family Dependency Treatment Court. I couldn't publish her name because she was (and still is) in Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has a strict privacy policy, so none of the members can have their names published while in the program. For the purpose of this article, her pseudonym is Natasha.

Talking with Natasha, I couldn't get over the fact that she was near my age (possibly even younger). Unlike most of my contemporaries, she has already faced one of the most difficult events that she will ever encounter, dealing with a dangerous addiction, and overcoming it.

Natasha shared with me that before the family dependency treatment her life was very rough and very dark. She drank everyday and drove with her two children in the car.

"I drank until I passed out every evening," she said. She said that one time her neighbors spent all day trying to wake her up because her children were outside playing unsupervised and naked. They brought the kids into her apartment and shook and slapped her in an attempt to rouse her.

"I have no idea what it must have been like for my children. They just found snacks in the closet. I don't know because I wasn't any type of mother to them," said Natasha.

She stated that her relationship with her boyfriend was very unhealthy. She said that they would break-up and get back together, and at one point she filed a restraining order against him, but then got back together with him. At one point, they fought with the neighbors, and the police were called. They arrested her boyfriend because of the restraining order.

"So I drove to the police station. My phone wasn't working. I decided to drive to the police station to find out when he would get out of jail, even though I had been drinking. See I thought that no one could tell that I was trashed, even though I looked horrible and probably smelled," she said.

She remembered that she prayed on the way to the station, even though she stated she did not believe in God at the time. She prayed for His help because she was just so tired of the way her life was. She hated life.

She made it to the police station and found out that her boyfriend would get out the next morning. As she was leaving the station, the officers ran after her.

"They said, 'Ma'am did you drive here.' I said, 'yeah,' and I even had my youngest with me. They wouldn't let me drive back home, they ended up driving me back," she stated.

Once home, they asked her to do a breathlizer test. She refused.

"So they were there for a while, on their cell phones and things, and they ended up taking my youngest son into custody right then. Then they told me that DFS (Division of Family Services) would get in touch with me," she said.

The next day she talked to DFS about family drug court, which she was told she would have to participate in to get her children back. Her older child was not taken into custody, but could not be with her and had to stay with his father.

She was in the program a little over a year, sharing that she did the best she could to do everything that they suggested. She attended AA meetings, NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings and four meetings a month for drug court. Additionally, DFS (and her drug court case worker) did in-home visits. She also attended parenting classes, which was a requirement of family drug court.

Through her hard work and dedication, her children were returned to her in approximately two months, which is quite a feat in that it often takes longer to regain custody of children.

"The way I saw things was so twisted. You know, I thought these people kidnapped my kids, what's wrong with the government? I didn't trust them," she stated. She explained that even though she was suspicious of drug court, she had no other choice but to go. She described her time without her children, "as extremely devastating."

After awhile in the program, she realized that the government and individuals involved in the program were on her side and they wanted the best for her. Looking back, she stated that DFS stepped in and took care of her kids when she could not.

She admitted to her own mistakes during that time and did not try to rationalize her actions. She took responsibility, speaking honestly and directly, being much more adult and mature than many older individuals that I know.

Even though she has completed family drug court, she still regularly attends AA meetings and is active in the Drug Court Alumni organization. Drug Court Alumni is composed of those who have graduated the program and those in the latter phases of it. The Drug Court Alumni group offers support and keeps the participants united in their efforts to maintain a sober lifestyle. They also like to give back to the community through various fundraisers, for example they have donated funds to the American Red Cross to benefit flood victims."I am really grateful for them (those involved in drug court) because they showed me a new way of life and they showed me how to live clean and sober. They really helped me out a lot," said Natasha. She went on to say she could never make up for what drug court has given her back- her life.

Lincoln County Journal

New York city to host world service meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous

Delegates representing Alcoholics Anonymous(AA) the world over will gather for the Fellowship’s 20th World Service Meeting (WSM) at the Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York. The event will take place 26-30 October and is being hosted by the general service board of the United States and Canada.

Since its beginnings in 1969 the WSM has served as a forum for the worldwide sharing of experience and ideas on ways to carry the AA message of recovery from alcoholism. The event alternates biennially between New York City and other locations around the globe, and has convened in such diverse cities as Auckland, New Zealand; Cartagena, Colombia; and Helsinki, Finland.

The WSM’s success in bringing together AA worldwide service centres for biennial meetings during the past two decades reflects a final vision of AA cofounder Bill W., who believed there could be “one world of AA” to assure that help will always be available for sick alcoholics wherever they are or whatever language they speak.

A 1950 visit to AA groups in Britain and Europe convinced him that AA could cross all of the barriers that had “divided and shattered the world of our time”.

The first WSM gathering was in New York in 1969, slightly more than a year before Bill W.’s death.

Much discussion at the 2008 WSM will centre on the theme “Service – Gratitude in Action”, underscoring the spirit of an AA tradition’s suggestion that individuals speak as A.A. members only if their full names or faces are not revealed at the public level.

Today AA has a presence in more than 180 countries, with an estimated total of 113,168 groups and more than two million members worldwide.

Independent Online

Battle of the bottle

Bendigo’S nightclub lockout has driven down assaults in the CBD by almost 10 per cent as it approaches its first anniversary.

Now building on its success, the next war waged by Bendigo police will be a battle against the bottle.

“The message is clear,’’ Superintendent Peter Bull said yesterday, flagging binge drinking as the next target..

“You are going to have a pretty ordinary life and a lack of quality of life, if you engage in binge drinking at an early age, because it is going to destroy your brain in one form or another.’’

Findings show 30 per cent of young men and 25 per cent of women under 25 engage in binge drinking.

“I think that’s the issue that just doesn’t seem to have hit home yet,’’ Superintendent Bull said.

Problems caused by alcohol were five to 10 times more prevalent than those due to using illicit drugs, he said, and police were more likely to spend time dealing with alcohol issues rather than illegal drugs.

With this weekend marking the one-year anniversary of the lockout’s introduction in Bendigo, Superintendent Bull sat down with The Advertiser to reflect on its benefits, failures, and what is next on the radar.

“We said right from the start, it’s not about pleasing everybody,’’ he said.

“It’s trying to come up with a reasonable position that provides some balance between what revellers want, what the businesses want, what the public and the people who live in the city want.’’

The lockout, introduced during last year’s AFL Grand Final weekend, generated fierce debate.

Holders of 3am licenses were concerned the curfew would limit early-morning patronage.

Superintendent Bull said the effectiveness of the lockout in regional areas was highlighted by the “debacle’’ of the recent Melbourne trial lockout.

“It’s far more likely to work in rural centres,’’ he said.

“It has been a very well worthwhile exercise, and we are far from being concerned about the failure of the Melbourne exercise.’’

The Advertiser

Online tools help track alcohol use

The growing trend of online health assessment has come to UNM.

Students can now log on to Web sites such as PingMyHealth.org and the Electronic Checkup To Go, or E-CHUG.

"The E-CHUG is an excellent online alcohol assessment tool that had its beginnings here at COSAP," said Jill Anne Yeagley, Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention program manager.

Yeagley said the PingMyHealth assessment measures alcohol consumption and evaluates other health factors for students. PingMyHealth is free for students, and users have the chance to win an iPod or $150.

Yeagley said the E-CHUG is aimed at changing students' drinking habits and is based on motivational advancement therapy.

The E-CHUG also shows students how much they are spending on alcohol over time. It asks students how much they spend on alcohol per week and then asks what their monthly spending limit is.

"The purpose of E-CHUG is to give feedback in a nonjudgmental fashion that is very specific to that person's drinking habits and history," Yeagley said.

The E-CHUG started out as a pencil-and-paper assessment, said John Steiner, a health educator at COSAP.

"A graduate student that used to work at COSAP took the assessment to San Diego State University, and they decided to make it an online tool," he said.

Steiner said several hundred schools now pay a fee to SDSU to provide the E-CHUG on their Web sites. COSAP does not have to pay to use the program because the original assessment was designed at UNM, he said.

"We hope that students who become aware of their drinking habits and how they affect their life as a student will make positive changes," Yeagley said.

The results of the E-CHUG study showed that females stayed at baseline levels of alcohol consumption, while males who participated reported lower drinking levels over time, she said.

"The average level went down from 14.23 drinks per week to 5.9 drinks per week over the course of the study," Yeagley said.

She said females only reported having three drinks per week, and because of this low baseline, the results did not show a significant change in the drinking habits of females.

Sophomore Peggy Sue Azua said she took both online evaluations and found the UNM-sponsored one less helpful.

"I think the PingMyHealth assessment was more accurate and positive than the E-CHUG," she said.

The feedback from PingMyHealth was more constructive, Azua said. She took the E-CHUG last year and this year, and the feedback was the same both times.

Yeagley said E-CHUG is less expansive but provides a more in-depth analysis than PingMyHealth.

"Alcohol is the most widely used and abused, and that is why the E-CHUG mainly targets drinking," Yeagley said. "I think, with an instrument like the E-CHUG, if you try and get into several different drugs or items you really dilute it."

New Mexico Daily Lobo

Preventing underage boozing one high schooler at a time

In January, 26 people, mostly students from Middlebury High School, were charged with various crimes stemming from a New Year's Eve bash that spiraled out of control when a 22-year-old friend brought alcohol to the party. Police said the large crowd caused more than $10,000 in damage to the Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, a historical residence once occupied by poet Robert Frost.

And in June, 62 New Jersey teens were cited by the Vermont State Police for underage possession of alcohol after authorities broke up a post-prom bash in three rental homes in Dover.

But an even larger group of alcohol prevention leaders and law enforcement professionals, about 65, representing each county in Vermont, say the time has come to be proactive and prevent substance abuse among minors before more headlines are made.

The mission, and the gravity of the problem, was clearly defined by members of the Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program, the state Department of Liquor Control, and other community organizations from across the Green Mountain State at the annual "Together We Can Reduce Underage Drinking" conference held Friday at the Holiday Inn in Rutland Town.

Underage drinking among high school students — why and how — was the focus, and the problems associated with it were identified. The brainstorming session resulted in yearly goals for conference participants to achieve, from partnering with police to provide counseling for students caught drinking to starting community groups to spread the word about the dangers associated with underage alcohol consumption, including suicide, drunk driving, pregnancy and rape.

For some, the publicized incidents are only a few examples of the growing problem among minors across the state, one that has implications not only for the young teens engaging in alcohol-related activities, but for entire communities, according to Kerri MacLaury, a Vermont Americorp volunteer and advisor to a group called SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions.

"When communities aren't supportive of youth making healthy choices, they will start to self-destruct," said MacLaury, a former student from Manchester. "They (young people) are all leaving now. They're saying they're going to take off."

MacLaury said her opinion of how lacking community support factors into underage drinking is based on fact statistics released by the state Department of Health reported that less than half of all students who took part in a Youth Risk Behavior Survey last year, about 8,453, said they felt valued by their community.

And nearly 40 percent of all students said they drink, according to the survey.

"We see what's going on and we're working toward solutions," said Christie Henry, a senior member of Essex High School's Youth Advisory Council.

Henry said while some of her classmates are saying, "Oh, my God, everyone else is doing it, I can't be against it," she chose otherwise — to figure out why some of her classmates went from getting straight As to nearly dropping out.

But students weren't the only concerned Vermonters who expressed concern about their peers' behavior.

Nicholas Zeoli, an 85-year-old Hubbardton resident and leader of FAN, Fair Haven Area Neighborhoods, was worried too.

Zeoli said he's heard that about 50 percent of the student body in a Vermont high school has consumed some form of alcohol or drug. A former athletic director and teacher for more than 50 years, Zeoli said he knows students' problems with alcohol and has a solution to fix it. He said he wants a substance-abuse course given to all Vermont high-school students once a week as part of their normal curriculum.

Zeoli believes that if alcohol abuse among minors isn't thwarted from the beginning, "it will cost