Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

One in four young drinkers consume dangerous quantities of alcohol every week, but the number of underage drinkers is falling, a poll shows.

A survey of 13,000 young people by the Trading Standards Institute found the number of teenagers who drink weekly fell from 50% in 2005 to 38% this year.

But of these, a quarter are drinking more than 20 units a week - equivalent to about 10 pints of beer.

One in 20 of these drinkers also drink alone, the research found.

The most popular drinks remained vodka-based alcopops, but cider is also making a comeback - increasing significantly in popularity since 2005.

Trading Standards North West, which carried out the poll, said it intended to write to the firms behind these drinks to "seek clarification of the plans for action to reduce their appeal to young people".

The majority of young people said they obtained their alcohol from relatives and friends over the age of 18.

Regrettable sex

Guidelines suggest men should drink no more than 21 units per week and women no more than 14.

While a quarter of drinkers claimed to regularly binge drink, this number was down slightly from the previous survey.

A higher proportion of males claimed they never drink or never binge drink than females.

Other findings included one in six regretting having sex after drinking.

Dr Ruth Hussey, regional director of Public Health, said: "The amount of alcohol consumed by some teenagers is of great concern.

"Not only does it pose a significant threat to their health, it puts them at greater risk of violence and unplanned pregnancy."

David Poley, head of drinks producers group the Portman Group, said: "There are strict rules to prevent drinks companies targeting under-18s through their marketing.

"The Advertising Standards Authority controls advertising and the Portman Group regulates all other forms of drinks producer marketing. There are independent complaints systems which Trading Standards should use if they have specific concerns about any brand."

• Drinking just four pints of beer a week could raise the risk of a person needing hospital treatment during their lifetime, according to research from the universities of Glasgow and Bristol.

The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health study found men who drank between eight and 14 units of alcohol a week - equivalent to four pints, eight shots of spirits or eight small glasses of wine - were more likely to be admitted to hospital than those who drank fewer units or none at all.

The group was also likely to be kept in hospital for longer than people who drank less or abstained.

BBC News

Action on Addiction uncovers high levels of parental substance misuse

Up to one-third of children in the UK live with at least one parent who binge-drinks, according to a study by charity Action on Addiction published today.

One million children live with an adult who has used illicit drugs within the past year, while 4% live in households where parents have both drink and mental health problems.

The study, revealing the highest known estimates of parental substance misuse in the UK, also shows that 3% of children in England alone live with a problem drinker who uses drugs.
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Researchers compiled the figures based on secondary analysis of 5 household surveys.

Nick Barton, chief executive of Action on Addiction, said: "This new piece of research shows that more children are at risk than we had previously though and that potential harm is not limited to new users."

Action on Addiction is providing a service aimed at supporting families experiencing the effects of parental substance misuse. Professionals will run assessments and reviews for up to eight families at any one time to help reduce the impact of abuse.

The latest findings follow a Home-Office funded study earlier this year that found newly-qualified social workers felt inadequately prepared to work with people with substance misuse problems.

Community Care

W's story

W had his first drink at 16 following a difficult childhood, during which he endured isolation, bullying and abuse.

After a suicide attempt at the age of 14 he started playing truant and hanging around with "bad kids".

He said: "Both my parents are teachers, so playing truant gave me status – people accepted me."

W left school at 16 and got into agricultural work. He spent his first wage packet on getting drunk with his workmates.

He said: "We got some cans of lager and cider and went to the park. I drank to 'blackout' – the stage where you're still functioning, but can't remember anything.

"It was my first drink and I drank like an alcoholic."

He continued: "For the next 26 years I absolutely loved my alcohol. Suddenly I had courage and a personality that people liked.

"All my worries disappeared and I felt happy."

W says he couldn't wait for the next chance to get drunk – it was all he could think about. It became an "absolute obsession" for him, with his mind and body craving alcohol.

He drank to blackout for many years and depression continued to be a major problem. About 10 years ago, W suffered a serious breakdown, but his response was not what you might expect.

He said: "I was elated! I didn't have to go to work and I could get drunk mid-week. I celebrated by going on a bender which lasted about 10 days.

"But when I tried to go back to weekend drinking, the week was so hard."

W says that during this time he did not realise that alcohol was the problem. He just saw it as a way to "escape the turmoil" in his mind and body.

He said: "If I was hankering for a drink I could derive no pleasure from anything – even my kids.

"I love them to pieces, but my thoughts would be elsewhere. If we were having a day out I would be thinking 'let the day be over so I can have a drink'."

W realised he had a problem when he went to Manchester to help out a friend, but struggled to stay sober for the week.

He had also started to become ill, suffering with kidney problems.

He said: "I went to a counsellor and was told I wasn't an alcoholic – but I hadn't told them how much I drank.

"I thought an alcoholic was a man on a park bench asking for change. I realise now that's where I was heading."

W also started to worry about what he had done and how he had acted when he was drunk, as he couldn't remember anything.

He recalls the last time he drank to blackout and the feelings of guilt and shame which ensued.

W said: "I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. At that moment I said to myself 'I'm an alcoholic'."

Two days later he went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, not knowing what to expect.

He said: "All I knew about it was what I'd seen in films. I didn't want to be there, but I was desperate."

W was worried that it would be a religious programme, as people sometimes used to word "God" during the meeting.

But he realised that it was used in a spiritual sense to talk about a higher being, and that the programme is not attached to any particular religion.

W said: "The welcome I got was very special. People came up and spoke to me and there was an immense warmth within the group.

"Everyone was treated as equal, which was a big surprise for me."

He went on to live from meeting to meeting, the first week being an "absolute nightmare", but W's feeling of pride at the end of that week was immense.

As days became weeks, and weeks became months, W's life began to turn a corner.

He said: "Little miracles started happening. I would go out for a walk and really enjoy it. I would start to enjoy things that have nothing to do with alcohol.

"There was a magic in my life, a feeling of calm. I've stopped dreaming because my life has become a dream."

W, now 42, says the support he has received from AA has saved his life. Things have turned around so much that his partner recently asked him to marry her.

W, who has not had a drink for over six months, said: "I've given up one thing and in return I've got a life, and it just keeps getting better and better.

"If reading this brings just one person into the fellowship, and they get one tenth of what I've had, they're in for the ride of their life.

"I'm proof that fairytales can come true."

T's story....

To an outsider, T seemed to have the perfect life. He had a wife and children, was running his own business and had a lovely home and two cars.

But still, his drinking problem continued to escalate.

He said: "I couldn't handle the VAT returns, solicitors fees ... I was in a mess. I had to sell the cars as I'd got into serious trouble with the building society."

When he was 32, T's wife left him, taking his sons with her. They had tried counselling, during which it was suggested to T that he may have a drinking problem.

He said: "That made me start thinking about it. I went to the doctor for a well man test and I was told that my liver was showing early signs of deterioration.

"But I just carried on drinking."

Finding it hard to stay in what used to be the family home, T went to work in Southern Ireland in a bid to start afresh.

But he says he came back in a worse state than ever.

Arriving at Leeds Train Station, T had no idea where to go. It was 5am and seeing a bus destined for Scarborough, he decided to get on.

T stayed in a B&B and got a job as an electrician, but colleagues started to notice he smelt of drink every morning.

He got sacked from a couple of jobs and ended up in and out of Scarborough Hospital, sometimes for up to six weeks at a time.

Everything came to a head when T was supposed to be meeting his three sons in Whitby for a Father's Day meal.

That day, T had been drinking from 6am. He went to the Lord Rosebery at opening time and stayed there all day, before getting on a bus to Whitby at 3pm.

He carried on drinking until he met his children at 8pm.

T said: "I remember I just berated my youngest son. I can still see the tears rolling down his face.

"My middle son, who was 21 at the time, said 'Dad, just get back to Scarborough'. I just gave him a tirade of abuse."

When T woke up the next morning, he realised something had to change.

He said: "I realised I couldn't do it anymore. Despite the houses I'd lost, the jobs I'd lost and the lies I'd told, this was what had brought it home.

"I went to the doctor and said 'I think I've got a problem'."

T went for counselling at the Cambridge Centre in Scarborough and his counsellor recommended going to an AA meeting.

T said: "I told her I wasn't an alcoholic, and she said just try it.

"I had thought that when my money ran out I'd stop drinking, but it got to the point where I was stealing cans and bottles of vodka in Tesco."

After walking past Westborough Church a number of times and thinking about going in to a meeting, T finally decided to take the plunge.

He said: "It's the best thing I've ever done. That was on July 14, 2008, and I haven't had a drink since."

T says without AA and the support of his GP, Scarborough Hospital and the Cambridge Centre, he would probably not be alive today.

He said: "I can't express my gratitude enough. I never thought I'd be able to stop drinking for 10 months.

"I needed alcohol to get through my life in certain situations. Some people go for a run or have a game of squash – but I drank to overcome my emotions and things that were going wrong.

"I've had some lovely jobs but I've never really felt part of anything before. AA is so friendly – it's just a wonderful fellowship and if reading this encourages just one person to seek help, I would be happy."

Scarborough Evening News

Alcohol may have caused the death of twice as many Scots as previously thought, an NHS study has found.

Researchers used a new method of calculating alcohol-related deaths which is said to more accurately reflect the damage done by drinking.

They estimated that 2,882 deaths - one in every 20 - could be attributed to alcohol in 2003.

More than a quarter of deaths in men aged between 35-44 were caused by alcohol, the study found.

The deaths of a fifth of women in the same age group were also attributable to alcohol.

The NHS Scotland research team used data compiled during the Scottish Health Survey of 2003 for their analysis.

They identified 53 different causes of death, ranging from stomach cancer and strokes to assaults and road deaths, in which alcohol played a part.

Jack Law, the chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said: "It is particularly concerning to note that over 1000 Scots under the age of 55 died because of alcohol.

"The evidence shows that the most effective way to reduce consumption, and consequently harm, is to increase the price of alcohol.

"Introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol would increase the price of the cheapest, most harmful drinks which appeal to heavier drinkers e.g. strong white ciders and cheap spirits.

"Minimum pricing would save lives as well as saving the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds in NHS, crime and employment costs."

Similar studies have already been carried out in countries including England, the US, Canada and Australia, but the method has never been used before in Scotland.

Previously, official figures only counted the more obvious "wholly-attributable" categories of death, such as alcoholic liver disease.

The study estimated that one in ten men and one in 20 women were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions, which the researchers said placed a "considerable burden" on the health service.

Deaths caused by alcohol were proportionately higher in younger people, who tended to die from acute consequences such as injury, whereas older people were more likely to die from illness or disease.

Men were more likely than women overall to die an alcohol attributable death, while cancer accounted for just over a fifth of all alcohol attributable deaths.

However, the report also estimated that low levels of alcohol consumption actually protected nearly 1,500 people from deaths caused by conditions such as coronary heart disease.

Chronic conditions

But it warned that drinking even small amounts still increases the risk of contracting cancer and other chronic conditions.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the figures showed that alcohol was killing one Scot every three hours on average, and proved alcohol abuse was the biggest public health challenge the country faced.

She added: "This research shows that alcohol misuse is taking an even higher toll on Scotland's health than previously thought.

"To have one in 20 Scots dying from alcohol-related causes is a truly shocking statistic. Drinking alcohol is part of Scottish culture, but it's clear that many people are drinking too much and damaging their health in the process.

"The Scottish Government has made crystal clear our determination to get to grips with it."

Kate Macaulay, of nursing union RCN Scotland, said the statistics highlighted the need to take "urgent action" to reduce rates of alcohol consumption in Scotland.

"We welcome the measures that the Scottish Government is proposing to reduce excessive consumption if they result in lower levels of alcohol misuse and better public health," she added.

"All of the practical measures that are being put forward by the Scottish Government must be matched by educational and health promotional work from the earliest ages right through to older adults if we are genuinely going to tackle this growing health time bomb."

BBC News

Finding could spawn novel ways to treat alcoholism, epilepsy

A team of researchers, with Nepali-born Prafulla Aryal as key member, of the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California, has located the alcohol-binding site in the brain that could pave the way to a whole new approach to treating alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse-related brain diseases, and epilepsy.

Aryal was born in Jayabageshwari, Kathmandu in 1981 and did his schooling until the fifth grade at Siddhartha Banasthali School. He migrated to the United States in 1991 and is now a US citizen. After receiving undergraduate education from the University of Colorado-Boulder, he joined the PhD program at the University of California-San Diego in 2003. Now a permanent resident of Denver, Colorado, Aryal´s role was instrumental to the finding.

After zeroing in on a potential alcohol-binding site in the brain, Aryal systematically introduced amino acid substitutions to the site to deny alcohol molecules access to the site. After he introduced the substitution, alcohol no longer had its effect, thus confirming that it was indeed the alcohol-binding site in the brain.

The binding-site is not only responsible for the brain´s response to alcohol, but also to epileptic seizures.

The finding by Aryal and his team, published by the Science Daily on Tuesday, is the closest that scientists have reached in understanding how alcohol affects the brain.

With the finding, “it may be possible to develop a drug that antagonizes the actions of alcohol for the treatment of alcohol dependence,” said the Institute in a statement.

Alternatively, if scientists could find a novel drug that fits the alcohol-binding site, this would dampen overall neuronal excitability in the brain and perhaps provide a new tool for treating epilepsy too, the team´s leader Dr Paul A Slesinger, associate professor in the Peptide Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, said in the statement.

In an e-mail to myrepublica.com, Aryal said he had been working on the study at Dr Slesinger´s lab at the Salk Institute for the past four years, as part of his thesis work in the field of neuroscience.

“This work shows, for the first time, a direct binding site for alcohol in a protein involved in alcohol´s action in the brain. This is a very novel and significant finding in the field of alcohol research and neuroscience,” Aryal wrote to myrepublica.com in an e-mail.

He further wrote that the finding was significant in that it sheds light on how exactly alcohol acts on the brain to alter its function. “I think, it is a great advancement in our knowledge about alcohol and for scientists that originated from Nepal,” Aryal wrote.

Other members of the research team are Dr Senyon Choe, a professor in the Structural Biology Laboratory, and Dr Hay Dvir, a postdoctoral researcher in Choe´s lab.

This work was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and on General Medical Sciences, the HN & Frances Berger Foundation and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The Salk Institute, a not-for-profit organization, was founded by Dr Jonas Salk, who discovered the Polio vaccine and chose to distribute it throughout the world, without proprietary concern, to eradicate the disease.

My Republica

What is it about this type of drink that causes people to become attached to it? What is it about alcohol that is so much more difficult to handle than say tea or milk? Could it possibly be that there is the huge possibility of an addiction coming to the surface; an addiction that even those who are faced with the problem can't identify? So if one knows that one could possibly be at risk for dealing with such an addiction, why put one's self into the position of having to deal with an uphill battle against the odds and alcohol? This question is even more apparent when it involves two people in a relationship. When the dangerous consumption of alcohol (and by this I mean the too frequent consumption to where it seems you have to have it just to make it through the day) in the middle of a relationship, things can become pretty rocky. I have personally known and watched many couples battle over the issue of one in the relationship being an alcoholic. So what do you do? If you're the one in the relationship loving the alcoholic but not the alcohol, then its hard to say. After all, we always hear that the proper way to love someone is by accepting them as they are no matter what, but what happens when this ideal, unconditional type of love becomes too difficult to do?

Of all the things that can end a relationship (such as money issues, infidelity, abuse, etc), why does alcohol seem to be one of the leading factors these days. Yes, the U.S. is in a state of economic recession. Yes, people are losing their jobs. Yes, times are really tough right now. So why make things more difficult to deal with by turning to a bottle that costs way too much to be buying in the first place, and unless one is consistently consuming it and nothing else, only leads to a hangover in the morning. This is not what the world means by "going green."

I know of a couple, I've actually mentioned them before. Allie and Craig are faced with this problem. Once again they deal with another relationship problem. Now, in their case, Allie's consumption of alcohol might not be as drastic as some others, but she doesn't know when she's had enough. When Allie continually consumes alcohol, she becomes belligerent, mean, and Mrs. Hyde. Craig has tried to talk to Allie about how much she consumes, but she reacts the same way every time: she becomes defensive, proclaiming she doesn't have a problem, and then points the finger at Craig. He begs her to lighten up on the alcohol, but she doesn't. She even takes offense to some of these suggestions. So their relationship continues down the same path it has for the previous couple of years: continual arguing compounded with great make-up sex. Or so I'm told. And believe me when I say that both Craig and Allie are completely open about their sex life and sharing it with others. Hence, why they don't mind me using them as points in articles.

For another example, I'm going to let you into my life for a moment. I like alcohol, probably a little more than it really likes me. I've drank too much before, and M usually gets pretty aggravated with me for doing so. Like Craig told Allie, M tells me that my attitude completely changes. He states that I don't become mean or anything, just loud, hyper, and flirtatious. He then calms me down by saying that I don't flirt with anybody other than him, but it's like I lose all control of what decible level I'm speaking on, and he can't calm me down when it's necessary. When M first told me this, I reacted in much the same way Allie did. Then, during Ladies' Night at the Veranda in June of 2007, I had drank way too much wine, got behind the wheel of a car, and drove home: something I always had sworn I would never do. Thankfully, I made it home fine that night without hurting myself, the car, or more importantly anyone else. The next morning, I was laying in bed when M came into the room and was talking to me about what had happened the night before. As I sat there, tears filled my eyes, and all I could think about was I could have killed somebody. It was right then and there that M told me he needed me to back my drinking off or else something was going to change between us. Drastic? Maybe, but it's exactly what I needed. Unlike Craig and Allie's relationship which seems to thrive on confrontations, mine and M's doesn't, and unfortunately, the alcohol was giving our relationship exactly what it didn't need.

M and I are still together obviously, which means that I have backed off the alcohol to a limit of two on nights we go out to dinner. And with the economy the way it is, for most weeks, that night never comes, but I'm okay with that now. Relationships are hard enough without adding to them. Some may say that alcohol is something so inconsequential that it shouldn't be a problem in a relationship, and if one ends due to that problem then there was obviously something more going on behind the scenes. Now, I'm not saying if your someone has a problem with alcohol that you should leave them (unless the alcohol has caused abuse of any shape or form). What I am saying is that alcohol can alter someone's personality, and like the two examples I have provided for you, that change is not always for the better. So what do you?

Talk to your someone; sit them down and calmly, without getting angry, tell them how it makes you feel. Explain what it's doing to you and to the relationship. If you're comfortable with the alcohol then I suppose you are one step closer to achieving the ability to love unconditionally. If you are not comfortable with it, then be honest about it. Alcohol is one problem in a relationship that is usually compounded by a few others: dishonesty (on both sides) and a lack of ability to talk about the issues each are facing. Sometimes just hearing how someone truly feels about things is enough to make that person want to stop drinking. Remember though, there are situations when the person can't stop drinking on his/her own. Here is where you being strong enough to intervene can really come in to play.

While saying all this, I must add that alcoholics, people who are truly addicted to alcohol and cannot go a day without their beverage of choice, usually cannot do it on their own. If you're their special someone, help them. Get involved in AA, they even have meetings online now. But remember--an alcoholic will not change unless they are willing to understand that there is a problem and that they need help. The change has to start with them, but if someone they love is explaining how much it hurts them, maybe it might be enough to instigate that decision.

The Examiner

The number of elderly people with an alcohol problem in the Netherlands is rising, according to a report released on Monday.

The report was prepared by the Dutch Stichting Informatie Verslavingszorg - a national addiction foundation - and the Trimbos Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction.

The number of people aged 55 and up who were registered at Dutch rehab clinics almost doubled from 3,154 in 1998 to 7,241 in 2008, the report of the Trimbos institute located in Utrecht in the central Netherlands said.

Rob Bovens, coordinator of the Trimbos institute, said the new findings revealed merely the 'tip of the iceberg.'

'We estimate that only 5 per cent of the people with an alcohol problem report themselves to us.'

Bovens said the total number of Dutch elderly with an alcohol problem amounts some 150,000 people.

The Trimbos institute, which collects and reports data about alcohol and drug addiction in the Netherlands on an ongoing basis, says alcohol consumption in the Netherlands is increasing among all age groups.

However, the increase of people with an alcohol problem is sharpest among people aged 55 and older. Around 22 per cent of the Dutch alcoholics are aged 55 and up - compared with 14 per cent ten years ago.

The Trimbos report also said the increase of elderly women with an alcohol problem is bigger than that of elderly men.

Monsters and Critics

Binge drinking typically conjures images of college frat boys at wild house parties smashing Lone Star cans on their foreheads.

Texas State student Sarah Brown, however, knows a different reality. She’s seen firsthand that men haven’t cornered the market on binge drinking.

“There’s a lot of guys who want to drink as much as they possibly can, and there’s a lot of girls who want to keep up with those guys,” said the 21-year-old. “I’ve seen people pass out on sidewalks, pass out in dorms, pass out anywhere.”

She’s not the only one seeing the troubling trend. A recent decades-long study finds that binge drinking has decreased significantly or stayed stagnant across a variety of demographics except one: women.

The study, conducted by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, examined nationwide data on more than 500,000 subjects gathered by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 1979 and 2006.

According to the study, the most recent statistics showed that more than half of 21- to 23-year-old males reported that they binge drink, a level that has remained relatively unchanged since 1979. However, in 2006 almost 39 percent of women ages 21 to 23 reported that they binge drink. A percentage increase of 30 percent from 1979.

Binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on a given occasion, declined for young men not in college and rose 20 percent among young women not in school.

Richard Grucza, author of the study, said the overall decline in binge drinking can be attributed to raising the legal drinking age, zero tolerance drunk-driving laws and societal changes.

Scott Walters, associate professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health, said the increase in female alcohol consumption is a consequence of the gender gap closing. “One of the most remarkable changes of the last 50 years is that young women have become more like young men,” Walters said. “Alcohol is one example, but they are engaging in a lot of other riskier behaviors such as drug abuse and smoking.”

David Jernigan, executive director of the center on alcohol marketing and youth, said the rise in female binge drinkers can be attributed to recent advertising campaigns for “alcopops,” which are sweet, fizzy, fruit-flavored drinks.

“Starting in 1999, distilled spirits companies transformed their marketing. They brought out alcopops, a wave of products such as Smirnoff Ice or Bacardi Silver — they could be sold and advertised like beer.”

The associate professor at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore said in 2001 there were less than 2,000 distilled spirit advertisements on television compared to 62,000 in 2007. He said girls were much more likely to be exposed to alcohol advertising than boys.

“Boys see a lot of alcohol advertising cause so much of it is on sports programs,” Jernigan said. “We looked at magazines and the number of alcohol advertisements was stunning. Underage women saw 68 percent more beer ads and 95 percent more alcopops advertising in 2002 compared to what women of legal age were seeing.”

Binge drinking carries serious and often deadly physical ramifications for both genders. But women face some unique disadvantages when it comes to heavy drinking.

Walters said one factor is women on average weigh less than men, so they are going to get drunk more quickly.

“The second factor is this idea of body composition,” Walters said. “Alcohol is a water soluble molecule so it goes anywhere in the body that there’s water. Women have less water in their body so there’s less place for the alcohol to go. It tends to be clustered around the brain and vital organs.”

Britney Box, a 22-year-old University of Houston graduate, said the majority of binge drinking goes on at house parties.

“Girls drink more popularized drinks,” she said. “A guy is going to drink a cranberry vodka or something like that. A girl is going to drink a Sex on the Beach, a Cosmo or an apple martini.”

Box said when men offer girls drinks, it is usually a shot. She speculates men buy hard liquor to help girls have a good time, loosen up, or just get them drunk quicker.

Brown, the Texas State student, said, “When you start out as a freshman and you are going out to house parties, apartment parties, frat parties — I don’t want to say it was peer pressure, but the people who are having such a great time are the ones drinking,” she said.

The Spring native said underage girls drink more than their legal counterparts and the effects can be shocking.

“I have seen someone dressed like Jesus standing on the side of the highway waving at cars and people naked riding bikes down the street,” she said.

Brown, a graduate of Klein High School, said alcohol is more accessible for females.

“I normally don’t spend money when I go to the bars. If I want somebody to buy me a drink, it usually happens. Me and my roommates go to the bar and sit and hang out and next thing you know there’s shots in front of us.”

Houston Chronicle

A few sips of wine may be good for your heart, but alcohol-related disease and accidents take a life every 15 seconds according to research from the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Problem is, few people stop at one drink.

Researchers found that disorders linked to drinking wine, beer, whiskey, mixed drinks, etc are among the most disabling diseases in the world. The problems are especially problematic for men although women have been drinking more during the past decade. Unlike other diseases, the risks linked to drinking frequently kill young people.

Alcohol’s destruction is mostly due to injuries in accidents, cancer, heart disease and liver damage. Globally, one in twenty-five deaths is due to alcohol consumption.

Gail Czukar executive vice-president, Policy, Education and Health Promotion for the Canadian Centre says, "There are significant social, health and economic problems caused by alcohol, but research gives us sound, proven interventions that governments and health providers can use to address these problems."

The Examiner

Cheap and illicit alcohol kills more than half Russian men and women in their most productive years and the government must act urgently to reverse the trend, a study to be published in The Lancet at the weekend said.

"Excessive alcohol consumption in Russia, particularly by men, has in several recent years caused more than half of all the deaths at ages of 15-54 years," the Lancet article said. The research conducted in three industrial cities -- Tomsk, Barnaul and Biysk -- said "excess mortality from liver cancer, throat cancer, liver disease, and pancreatic disease is largely or wholly because alcohol caused the disease that caused death".

High mortality from tuberculosis and pneumonia may be partly a result of increased exposure to infection, weak immunity, or decreased likelihood of cure, the research found.

Russia's mortality rate in people aged 15-54 years was more than five times higher for men and three times higher for women than in Western Europe, the study showed.

Alcohol is responsible for about three quarters of the deaths of all Russian men aged 15-54 and about half of all deaths of Russian women of the same age, the data showed.

Russia must stop or tax the illicit alcohol output, the article said, adding this in turn would mean "confrontation with organised criminals and corrupt officials ... All that is needed is the political will to make public health a priority".

David Zaridze, head of the Russian Cancer Research Centre and principle author of the study, told Reuters, "Each year 1.3 million people die from cardio-vascular diseases in Russia."

"Based on our investigation, it is possible to suggest that at least a third of these deaths is linked to alcohol consumption and not to any specific heart pathology," he said.

Alcohol-related deaths also include suicides, murders, drowning and deaths in fires, he said.

A United Nations report said in April that poor diet, leading to heart disease, heavy drinking and the high incidence of violent deaths may cut Russia's present population of some 142 million to around 131 million by 2025.

Cheap Vodka And Political Will

Store shelves across Russia are laden with cheap vodka that costs between 60 roubles ($1.92) and 80 roubles ($2.56) per half litre bottle, while Russia's illicit alcohol production is estimated to account for at least 50 percent of consumption.

Alexander Nemtsov, a department chief at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry, estimated Russia's annual consumption at 15 litres of pure alcohol per capita, including children and elderly people. This compares to just 6 litres in 1864, he said.

He estimated Russia had some 2.5 million registered alcoholics and about the same number of unregistered ones.

"Drunkards, not alcoholics, are the main threat to demography," Nemtsov told Reuters. "Heavy drinkers make up 40 percent of Russian males, but this figure may be bigger." The proportion of male and female drinkers is 4 to 1, he said.

Thirty-thousand people -- twice the number the Soviet Union lost during its 10-year war in Afghanistan -- die from alcohol poisoning in Russia each year.

Psychiatrist Nemtsov said fighting drinking in Russia was an uphill task, because cheap vodka was only part of the problem.

"Poor quality of life, cultural disadvantages, poverty and everyday stress all contribute to the problem," he said.

Reuters