Study shows teen drinking rates getting worse

By admin | July 2, 2008

If you have children between the ages of 12 and 20, you might want talk to them about the dangers of underage drinking. A new study released from the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says more kids are drinking at a younger age because their parents aren’t educating them enough about the consequences.

The report surveyed thousands of students between the ages of 12 and 20. A staggering 40-percent said they’ve received free alcohol from either their parents or adults over the age of 21. Researchers are hoping parents will spend more time educating their kids, instead of giving them alcohol.

“I think it’s absolutely true,” says Sally Stearns, whose daughter just graduated from Corcoran High School. “It’s too easy, with jobs and all the other stresses you have, to just let the school districts DARE program handle it. And since they have DARE in school, we [assume we] don’t have to talk to them about it because they’re being talked to about it. The only people they listen to are us.”

Sally continues to discuss the issue with her daughter.

”My daughter and I have talked about it continuously since she was five years old,” Stearns said.

”I believe some students care, depending on their life stories and if they’ve seen people drinking in their lives or not. But I believe there are also plenty of students who don’t care,” said Samantha Elias, Stearns’ daughter.

Another study from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services says two-thirds of seventh to 12th graders have tried alcohol at least once in their lives.

AP: Study: Many teens get alcohol from adults

Many of the nation’s estimated 10.8 million underage drinkers are turning to their parents or other adults for free alcohol.

A government survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 said slightly more than half had engaged in underage drinking.

Asked about the source of alcohol, 40 percent they got it from an adult for free over the past month, the survey said. Of those, about one in four said they got it from an unrelated adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from another adult family member.

Roughly 4 percent reported taking the alcohol from their own home.

“In far too many instances parents directly enable their children’s underage drinking - in essence encouraging them to risk their health and well-being,” said acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson. “Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem - but it is a critical part.”

The nationwide study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, being released Thursday, tracks the social contexts involved in underage drinking, a problem leading to thousands of alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries each year.

About one out of five of those aged 12 to 20 - or roughly 7.2 million people - said they had taken part in binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past month, the survey said. Rates were significantly higher if they lived with a parent who engaged in binge drinking.

The study, which uses data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, is based on a scientific random sample of 158,000 people aged 12 to 20 in the United States. Among the other findings:

-Over half of current underage alcohol users were at someone else’s home when they had their last drink, while 30.3 percent were in their own home. About 9.4 percent were at a restaurant, bar or club.

-About 3.5 million teens aged 12 to 20 each year meet the diagnostic criteria for having an alcohol use disorder, such as dependence or abuse.

-Among younger teens, slightly more girls reported drinking than boys did. In the middle teens, they drank at roughly the same rate. Among 18 to 20-year-olds, boys outpaced the girls.

-Rates of underage drinking and binge drinking were slightly higher at the opposite ends of the economic spectrum.

-Rates of current and binge alcohol use among 12 to 20 year olds were higher in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South or West.

-Rates of alcohol use disorder among those aged 12 to 20 was higher for American Indians or Alaska Natives (14.9 percent) than for whites (10.9 percent), blacks (4.6 percent), Hispanics (8.7 percent) and Asians (4.9 percent).

“This report provides unprecedented insight into the social context of this public health problem and shows that it cuts across many different parts of our community,” said Terry Cline, administrator of SAMHSA. “Its findings strongly indicate that parents and other adults can play an important role in helping influence - for better or for worse - young people’s behavior with regard to underage drinking.”
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source: News Channel 9 WSYR

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Broad Differences In Alcohol, Tobacco And Illegal Drug Use Across Countries

By admin | July 1, 2008

A survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) research consortium found that the United States had among the highest lifetime rates of tobacco and alcohol use and led in the proportion of participants reporting cannabis (marijuana) or cocaine use at least once during their lifetime. The study, led by Dr. Louisa Degenhardt of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and colleagues, looked at patterns in the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and cocaine in 17 countries representing all six WHO regions (the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania). The study, funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is published in the July 1, 2008 issue of the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

“These findings add to our understanding of substance abuse world-wide, and suggest that drug use is still a major problem in this country, pointing to the need for more effective prevention interventions,” said Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, NIH director.

“A survey of lifetime use does not provide the entire picture; however, because it does not reflect current use or trends over time,” said Dr. Volkow, sounding a note of caution. “For example, although lifetime use of tobacco was reported by this study to be 74 percent in the U.S., current use has been documented at approximately 30 percent. Moreover, NIDA’s Monitoring the Future survey has been consistently reporting a decrease in the past year use of illicit drugs over the past decade, so this survey may reflect a longer history of drug use in certain countries relative to others, but not necessarily current trends.”

Among the significant findings of this study were:

- Across countries and across the drug types in this survey, drug use is becoming more common over time.

- Males were more likely than females to have used all drug types in all countries and all age groups.

- Younger adults were more likely than older adults to have used these substances.

- Those with higher incomes were more likely to have used legal and illegal drugs.

- Alcohol had been used by the vast majority of survey participants in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand, compared to smaller proportions in the Middle East, Africa and China.

- Alcohol use by age 15 was far more common in European countries than in the Middle East or Africa.

- Lifetime tobacco use was most common in the United States (74 percent), Lebanon (67 percent) Mexico and the Ukraine (60 and 61 percent), followed by the Netherlands (58 percent.)

“In addition to the factors measured in this study, the role of culture, drug availability and knowledge about drug use are likely to be important in the types and patterns of drug use throughout the world,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, NIDA director. “Even within the United States, rates and patterns of substance use differ based on geographical location and ethnicity, among other factors.”

The authors point out that the survey is limited to those countries that had the resources and willingness to participate, and that efforts were made to account for possible cultural differences in participants’ willingness to answer truthfully, which could impact measures of actual drug use. For more information about the survey, Toward a Global View of Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis and Cocaine Use: Findings from the WHO Mental Health Surveys go to http://www.plosmedicine.org.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at http://www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation’s Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.

source: National Institutes of Health

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Sobering facts about teen drinking

By admin | June 30, 2008

Knowledge dispels ignorance. And when it comes to underage drinking and other drug use, we as a society are astonishingly and shamefully ignorant. Efforts by the media and public officials to enlighten residents are critical to breaking this woeful lack of awareness. The sky is falling on our teens and young adults, and there is plenty of responsibility to go around: from permissive parents who think it’s better to have their teens drink at home than risk drunk driving to colleges and universities turning a blind eye to ever-increasing binge drinking on campuses and at local bars.

If Americans knew that 13,000 tweens and teens take their first drink of alcohol every day, could we any longer be blind to the epidemic in our midst? If more teens were aware that regular marijuana use at age 15 or younger makes one susceptible to a range of mental-health issues, from major depression to schizophrenia, would pot be the substance of choice for many teens? If parents and grandparents, whose medicine cabinets are chockful of narcotic pain medicine and other addictive prescription medications (such as sleep aids), understood how teens steal these meds to get high and sell them to peers, would the felony thefts continue?

Don’t be fooled. There is no silver bullet for the addiction issues we face. It will take education and nationwide zero-tolerance laws with automatic license revocation for teens who drive after drinking or using drugs. Let’s advocate a police presence, armed with Breathalyzers, outside bars at closing time, and a government crackdown on beer and liquor advertising that targets children and minimizes the deleterious effects of these legal anesthetics.

Let’s see through the smokescreen of the alcohol-industry lobby. Advertising that purports support for “responsible drinking” and designated drivers is a farce. The pandering of the industry reached new heights more than 20 years ago, when research provided a sudden boon of increased consumption. After the numbers showed that teens traveling with a designated driver drank up to five times more alcohol, beer companies suddenly became outspoken proponents of designated drivers.

There is more to consider: According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, alcohol misuse cost America $220 billion in 2005, more than the cost of cancer ($196 billion) and the tab for obesity ($133 billion).

The center’s research also indicates that teens who drank regularly at 15 and younger were four times more likely to become alcohol-dependent than those who waited until 21 to drink. Most worrisome is that 26 percent of underage drinkers are abusing or dependent on alcohol, a figure three times that of the adult population.

The alcohol industry also does not want us to know that 13,000 to 17,000 persons are killed on our highways and back roads each year at the hands of drunken and drugged drivers just out to “have a good time.”

With the summer season upon us, let’s all redouble our efforts to address the scourge that alcohol and other substance abuse represents. School may be out, but we have much more to learn.

Thomas M. Greaney is a drug and alcohol counselor. He wrote this for The Providence Journal.
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source: Free Lance-Star

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Binge drinking best tackled through personal networks

By admin | June 26, 2008

Addressing personal friendship networks is the best way to tackle the spread of binge drinking in the UK, the Advertising Association has found.

It come in the wake of a new ad campaign wave from the Home Office which aims to deal with what is perceived as a growing national menace.

The ads contain shocking imagery, including a girl with vomit in her hair, which has grabbed the attention of the media around the world.

Results of the AA’s research establish that social influence operating through personal friendship networks alone explains the large rise in binge drinking among young people seen recently in the UK.

The pilot study examined whether the rise in binge drinking is a “fashion” phenomenon, which has spread by observing and copying what other people do.

Many previous studies have related movements in alcohol consumption to factors such as disposable income, price and advertising.

None of these, the report claims, have taken into account the possible effect of copying the behaviour of others ie. of fashion, as an important causal factor.

In this new research a standard market research survey was carried out in order to discover both the number of binge drinkers in the 18-24 year old population, where the problem is most acute, and their friendship patterns in terms of drinking behaviour.

The research shows that there are decisive differences in the drinking behaviour of friends of binge drinkers compared to the drinking behaviour of friends of non-binge drinkers.

By far the most dramatic difference is seen in the behaviour of friends. Some 85 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their friends binge drink, compared to just 41 per cent for non-binge drinkers.

Conversely, only 3 per cent of binge drinkers have no or hardly any friends that binge drink, compared to 22 per cent of non-binge drinkers.

The importance of the personal networks also extends to work colleagues. 65 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their work colleagues binge drink, compared to just 34 per cent for non-binge drinkers. Whilst not as big a difference as with networks of friends this is still statistically a highly significant difference.

Advertising Association Chief Executive, Baroness Buscombe said, “This research shows conclusively that the people around us are the key influences in terms of our relationship with alcohol, not alcohol advertising.

“Not only do the findings of this study confirm this to be the case but they also demonstrate that a new approach to tackle binge drinking is required.”

She added, “Alcohol misuse is clearly a hugely important social issue that must be taken seriously. This new and compelling research highlighting the importance of personal friendship networks shows that tackling alcohol misuse is about encouraging behavioral change so people develop a healthy relationship with alcohol.

“Using the advertising industry as a positive and powerful tool to tackle serious societal problems would be a constructive way forward.”
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source: U Talk Marketing

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Binge Drinking Due To ‘Copying’ Behavior

By admin | June 25, 2008

The rise in binge drinking in the young is a “fashion phenomenon” where drinkers are copying their associates’ behaviour, new research has shown.

A study conducted at Durham University’s Institute of Advanced Study and Volterra Consulting UK shows that social networking is a key factor in the spread of the rapid consumption of large amounts of alcohol — binge drinking - which is blamed for serious anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Researchers say the findings have major implications for Government policy makers charged with tackling the problem, which has longer-term and costly health implications for the nation.

The research team, which estimates there are least one million binge drinkers in the 18-24 year old population participating in 1.5 million binge drinking events each week, used complex modelling techniques and interviews with 504 18-24 year olds to draw their conclusions.

Binge drinkers were defined as participants who got drunk on three or more drinks (women) or on four or more drinks (men) at least once a week, or having ten or more drinks but not necessarily getting drunk at least once a week (both men and women). Using this criteria, nearly one-fifth (16.2 per cent) of the young people surveyed were classed as binge drinkers.

Everyone in the survey was asked whether about the drinking behaviour of their friends, family and colleagues. Binge drinkers were more likely to describe their associates, particularly their friends, as fellow binge drinkers.

For example, 85 per cent of the binge drinkers thought that all, almost all or most of their friends are binge drinkers, compared to 41 per cent of non-binge drinkers who described all, almost all or most of their friends as binge drinkers.

Conversely, only three per cent of binge drinkers had no or hardly any friends that binge drank, compared to 22 per cent of non binge drinkers

The second part of the research set out to test whether ‘imitation behaviour’ or copying was sufficient to account for the binge drinking through applying a series of models.

It found that the ’small world’ model, showing the interaction between overlapping friendship groups, best explained the statistics for the first part of the research. This suggests complex social networking and the behaviour exhibited through this is the root cause of binge drinking.

Researchers say these findings pose challenges for policy makers in terms of identifying where and at whom to target their policies - they would need to tap into a series of complex friendship networks for their efforts to have any effect. However, if they could achieve this, triggering a reverse in binge drinking behaviour, the effect would be quite dramatic.

Lead author, Paul Ormerod, of Durham University’s Institute of Advanced Study and Volterra Consulting UK, said: “Binge drinking has become widespread among young people in Britain. Vomiting, collapsing in the street, shouting and chanting loudly, intimidating passers-by and fighting are now regular night-time features of many British towns and cities.

“A particularly disturbing aspect is the huge rise in drunken and anti-social behaviour amongst young females.

“We show that the rise in binge drinking is a fashion-related phenomenon, with imitative behaviour spreading across social networks, is sufficient to account for observed patterns of binge drinking behaviour.

“This discovery is helpful to policy makers as it suggests, for example, that strategies based on the concept that there is a small number of ‘influentials’ who are important in the spread of anti-social behaviour are not likely to be very successful.”

source: Science Daily

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Underage drinking not a rite of passage

By admin | June 24, 2008

Alcohol is by far the most misused substance in our country. It is abused by adults and misused by youth. Many people think that the legal drinking age of 21 is just an arbitrary age assigned by the government so that there is no harm in consuming alcohol under that age. They could not be more mistaken.

Like all drugs, alcohol enters the body’s bloodstream and is carried to all parts of the body. In a teen’s body, which is not fully developed, the alcohol has altering effects on the body chemistry.

Ethanol, the intoxicating ingredient in alcohol is s chemical depressant. It is water soluble and is quickly carried through every organ of the body. Ethanol sedates the inhibiting and suppressing mechanisms of the brain and central nervous system making the adolescent more vulnerable to the toxic effects of ethanol.

What does all this mean?

Teens are already subject to mood swings due to the complex chemical changes associated with puberty. When alcohol is added on top of those chemicals, the teen is at serious risk for:

• a surge in “sex” hormones making them more likely to engage in risky sexual activity;

• an increase in anxiety and confusion which can be overwhelming for teens already feeling depressed and may lead to suicidal behavior;

• more impulsive and irrational behaviors are promoted which may result in driving under the influence or taking dangerous changes with safety; and

• an increase in aggressive “acting out” tendencies which could lead to fights or other violent confrontations.

Parents who support their child drinking because they are in the home are not doing their child any favors. They are still at risk for the above problems and youth that start drinking under the age of 16 are four times more likely to be adult alcoholics.

Teens are more at risk for binge drinking - consuming large amounts in short times frames (usually on the weekends). The result of the heavy influx of alcohol can speed of the level of toxicity in the body and lead to alcohol poisoning, coma, and death. Binge drinkers are also like to become chronic drinkers - consuming large amounts regularly which will lead to alcohol addiction.

During the summer, youth are typically less supervised because they are out of school. This can result in increased access to alcoholic beverages in the home. Some parents even go so far as to make the products available to their children.

Parents as well as any adult who is contact with youth need to ensure careful storage of alcohol. Keeping it under lock and key is the safest choice. When that is not feasible, adults need to pay attention to how much they have so they can determine if any amount has been used.

Make sure you know where your children are and with whom they are spending time. In addition, get to know the parents of the your child’s friends so you can have some reasonable information about what they may be doing when visiting.

Parents should not be afraid to ask questions about what their child does. The child’s safety and well-being should be the parent’s most important goals. Even though school is out of session, parents should not take a break from this.
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source: The Paper of Montgomery County

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Scotland’s drink problem

By admin | June 23, 2008

DEEP down, we all know Scotland has a drink problem. But what are you prepared to do about it?
This must be the starting point for us all this week as we consider proposals to be brought forward by Kenny MacAskill, our crusading Justice Secretary. MacAskill has taken it upon himself to make Scots wake up to the high price of our drink culture.

He has already taken steps to end “irresponsible promotions” in pubs, such as happy hours, and attracted flak for other ideas he has floated, several of which will be in Tuesday’s consultation document. As we report today, it will consider raising the age limit for buying alcohol in off-sales to 21, and a ban on two-for-ones and other promotions in such shops. It will raise the prospect of minimum prices and restrictions on where alcohol can be sold in supermarkets, while pubs and off-sales may have to help fund policing.

In short, the way we buy and consume alcohol is about to change forever. Just last month, a Scottish Government report estimated the cost of alcohol misuse at £2.25bn, with the NHS alone footing a £400m bill each year. According to Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, this is largely because 28,000 victims of drink-related violence have to be treated in Accident & Emergency units each year. The bottom line is that at least six Scots die every day through causes related to alcohol.

So, to repeat: Scotland has a drink problem, but what – if anything – do we want to do about it? This newspaper has previously taken MacAskill to task for interfering with the freedom of choice that we still believe should be enjoyed by the vast majority of Scots who drink sensibly and safely. We warned against using bans, blunt weapons which punish the innocent many to tackle the disruptive few. And we remain wary of many of the measures likely to be unveiled formally on Tuesday. We do not think it is the state’s role to interfere with the cost of alcohol, either via promotions or minimum prices. It is easy to trot out figures which show that discounted lager is cheaper than water in supermarkets (more fool those who buy either budget lager or designer H2O, we say). But what is the point, and what gives government ministers the right, to determine whether or not consumers should get three bottles of Rioja for the price of two? When hoodies start clubbing together to swig a bottle of Laphroaig on the streets, there may be a case for interference at that level. Until then, MacAskill should be more forensic in his efforts. Other measures fit the category of “pointless but harmless”, such as ghettoising sales of alcohol in supermarkets. No one will really be troubled by having to go to a specific aisle to buy alcohol. It may even make it easier for shops to police sales. But this is a gimmick – nothing more, nothing less.

And what of perhaps the most adventurous part of the MacAskill plan: raising the off-sales age limit to 21? There is a danger that this will confuse the message for young people, who will still be allowed to drink in pubs at 18. A tiny West Lothian pilot appears to have been a success, and there is more compelling evidence from abroad that it discourages youngsters from boozing on the streets and, as a result, cuts public order offences. But this also is a blunt tool: why should a 20-year-old, who is old enough to vote, have sex and get married, be stopped from buying - and enjoying - a bottle of wine with a meal?

Pubs and off-licences will disagree, but the “polluter pays” idea is a good one. If licensees have to contribute towards the cost of policing the streets on a Friday and Saturday night then they might get better at refusing to serve people who are already intoxicated – as they are already legally required to do. We also believe those who abuse alcohol and then go on to commit crimes should be punished severely through a properly funded and staffed police and criminal justice system. A starting point for any crackdown on alcohol should be the proper implementation of existing laws. While it is a measure for Westminster rather than Holyrood, we are also behind any move to bring UK drink-drive laws into line with lower alcohol levels elsewhere in Europe.

It is time for a different approach to drink. We applaud MacAskill’s bravery in confronting Scots about what is arguably our nation’s biggest social problem. The fact that alcohol is also arguably our biggest social pleasure is why it is so controversial.
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source: http://www.scotsman.com/

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Irish spend three times EU average on alcohol

By admin | June 22, 2008

Irish people spend almost three and a half times more of their income on alcohol than the European average, an EU-wide survey reveals.

A study on household expenditure across the 27 EU member states highlights how Irish consumers are the biggest spenders in Europe on alcohol by a long distance.

It estimates that more than €4 out of every €100 spent in Ireland is on alcohol compared with the EU average of just €1.20.

The survey, by the EU statistical office, Eurostat, shows that the average Irish household spends 4.1% of its budget on alcohol — well ahead of the nation with the next highest expenditure on booze — Romania at just 2.3%.

The figures are based on 2005 spending patterns, the latest year for which comparative statistics are available.

Health Services Executive public health specialist, Dr Joe Barry, expressed surprise that Irish spending on alcoholic drinks as a percentage of total expenditure was not even higher. The figures look at expenditure by household rather than by adults.

“However, the figures are consistent with other findings that alcohol consumption levels in the Republic are about 30% higher than the EU average,” said Dr Barry.

He pointed out that a survey of Irish third-level students a few years ago showed they spent more on alcohol than food. Dr Barry expressed concern that a strategy to reduce Ireland’s drink culture and associated problems was still not being implemented.

However, the findings indicate that overall spending on alcohol in Ireland is falling as expenditure on alcohol represented 5.5% of total household spend in 2001.

They also show that Irish people spend almost 18% of their budget on food, drink and tobacco and 30.6% on housing. Irish consumers also spend less on groceries, clothing and footwear, housing, health and transport than their European counterparts.

The survey provides evidence that Ireland is one of the EU’s richest economies as we spend more of our income on recreation, leisure, and education than most Europeans. We spend 6% of our income on restaurants and 4.4% on health and education.
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source: Irish Examiner

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New hope for heroin users: Naltrexone implants.

By admin | June 21, 2008

A study at the University of Western Australia has found that heroin addicts with naltrexone implants are far less likely to return to heroin use than those taking oral tablets.

But critics are sceptical about the study and say that naltrexone is still a risky option for drug users trying to kick the habit.

Naltrexone is a drug which blocks the effects of heroin on the brain. It is usually taken as a tablet, but if heroin users stop taking the pill they often fall back into drug use.

That is why scientists have been working on an implant which automatically releases naltrexone into the body.

Gary Hulse from the University Of Western Australia is confident about the naltrexone’s success.

“It means that you’ve got a a one-stop shop. People can come in, they receive their treatment or implant and for five months or six months, they carry that treatment with them,” he said.

The six-month trial involved 69 heroin users. Fifty-four completed the trial. Of the 28 participants who received a naltrexone tablet, 15 returned to regular heroin use. Of the 26 people who received a naltrexone implant, just two returned to heroin use.

Researchers like Mr Hulse say it is a good result for naltrexone implants.

“This is a relatively safe and a treatment which has good clinical outcomes,” he said.

The study is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, but the team at the University of Western Australia are confident the research will be well received.

“I’m not only confident that it’ll be published in a peer review but I would be surprised if this wasn’t accepted by one of the extremely high rating journals,” said Mr Hulse.

But critics like Dr Alex Wodak, from the Alcohol And Drug Services at Vincents Hospital in Sydney, have little time for the new study.

“The paper hasn’t been published yet in a scientific journal and so therefore, it’s the equivalent of hearsay in a court of law. That is, it’s not really evidence,” he said.

Naltrexone is a controversial drug. The implants are yet to be approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and there have been mixed results for heroin users.

Some patients have stopped using heroin after receiving an implant. But others have cut them out of their body or suffered serious side effects.

“The implants, I know for a fact, were at one stage required by the therapeutic goods administration to be stamped, not for use in human subjects, and the authors have conceded that to me in writing,” said Dr Wodak.

But researchers such as Moira Sim from the Naltrexone Trial Independent Monitoring Committee say the implants used in the Perth trial were approved by the TGA.

“The committee reviewed all the processes that the trial went through and we are confident that they followed the correct processes that the data was collected properly, and therefore I’m very confident in the results of the trial,” she said.

The researchers say the next step will be to conduct a trial comparing naltrexone implants with methadone and other drugs used to control heroin addiction.
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source: ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au

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Chronic addiction-based offenders must first be separated from society

By admin | June 20, 2008

It’s hard to say 30 strikes and you’re out with a straight face. It sounds like a silly joke.

But the astounding truth is that the Vancouver Police Department tracks 379 offenders who have an average of 39 convictions each, primarily for theft and other property crime. Six have more than 100 convictions. These are convictions, not charges or run-ins with the police.

Each of those convictions represents a crime and a victim, police and court costs; each incrementally adds to the erosion of our ability to feel safe and secure in our own community.

Each also illustrates what police complain is a catch-and-release court system that provides no deterrence to chronic offenders and little protection to the public.

In a report released this week calling for tougher sentencing, the VPD painted a picture of a typical chronic offender as a crack cocaine addict on a perpetual mission to feed his addiction.

To succeed, he commits a dozen or more break-ins and thefts every day. Occasionally he is arrested.

When he gets hauled into court, the fact that he has been there dozens of times before doesn’t seem to matter. In fact, the police analysis shows that after an offender has been convicted of 30 or more crimes, the average sentence declines to an average of 25 days.

These statistics represent a justice system that is failing on several levels. The sentences represent neither a deterrent to chronic offenders nor an opportunity for rehabilitation.

Most importantly, they fail to protect the public from a clear danger.

Vancouver courts apparently mete out sentences that are on average only a third as long as those imposed by other B.C. cities for similar offenders and less than half the length of the national average outside B.C.

But when the motivation to offend is feeding a drug addiction, it’s unlikely that doubling an average sentence of 25 days will act as a deterrent.

What’s needed is a recognition in law of persistent offenders that will allow judges to sentence them to significantly longer prison terms.

The initial benefit is that for as long as they are incarcerated, the public will be protected from the hundreds of crimes they would have been committing.

For longer sentences to be justified for what on their own are relatively minor crimes, however, they have to be accompanied with genuine opportunities for rehabilitation. That means increasing access to addiction services and treatment for mental illness.

Where chronic offenders respond positively to such treatment, they should earn the right to early release. We recognize that such treatment often fails. In that case, longer sentences will at least keep chronic offenders separated from potential victims.

Jail is not a perfect solution, but after a dozen or more convictions, perfection is less important than protection.
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source: © The Vancouver Sun 2008

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Alcohol abuse can damage the brain by decreasing insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors

By admin | June 19, 2008

Too much alcohol can cause permanent brain damage, such as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is largely related to thiamine deficiency. Previous animal studies have shown that alcohol can also cause brain injury and degeneration by inhibiting insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF). A new study using postmortem human brain tissue has found that chronic alcohol abuse can decrease levels of genes needed for brain cells to respond to insulin/IGF, leading to neurodegeneration similar to that caused by Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

“Insulin is one of the most important hormones in the body,” said Suzanne de la Monte, professor of pathology/ neuropathology and clinical neuroscience at Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. “It has many functions, including regulation of metabolism. Cells throughout the body depend upon insulin just to stay alive and carry out ‘ordinary daily functions.’ The best known diseases associated with abnormalities in insulin’s availability or actions are Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.” De la Monte is also the study’s corresponding author.

During the past several years, she added, there has been growing interest in insulin’s effects on brain function. Scientists now believe that deficiencies in insulin, and the loss of brain cells’ ability to respond to insulin, are critical factors leading to neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s dementia. Alcohol may exacerbate the problem.

“Alcohol is a toxin that clearly can injure or kill brain cells,” de la Monte said. “Fortunately, alcohol has to pass through the gastrointestinal tract and liver where enzymes detoxify alcohol, and consequently reduce the levels that reach the brain. However, in either high concentrations, or at lower levels over a longer period of time, alcohol will dissolve some of the lipid in the cell’s membrane.”

This is where insulin and IGF receptors normally sit, in the cell’s membrane, waiting to initiate a signal that tells the cells to make more energy. Earlier animal and tissue research showed that alcohol-related damage causes insulin and IGF receptors to become less accommodating, and the signals needed for cells to increase energy production and stay alive instead become weak and ineffective.

For this study, researchers examined brain tissue from six male chronic alcoholics with a mean age of 57.7 years, and six male “controls” without alcoholism with a mean age of 57.5 years, provided through the New South Wales Tissue Resource Centre at The University of Sydney. Two brain regions were selected for study – the cerebellar cortex in the anterior superior cerebellar vermis region, and the anterior cingulate gyrus in the frontal lobe – as they represent major targets of alcohol’s neurotoxicity.

“Our study of human alcoholic brains is really the first of its kind, where we were able to study the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on brain degeneration,” said de la Monte. “The subjects had all signed up to donate their brains, and they were included only if alcohol was the only drug used in life.”

The results showed that in chronic alcoholics’ brains, there was significant insulin and IGF resistance in those regions known to be highly sensitive to alcohol’s toxic effects.

“Insulin and IGF resistance in the cerebellum and frontal lobe was associated with loss of neurons and their connections, and decreased levels of neurotransmitters needed for learning, memory, and motor function,” said de la Monte. “The damage that we saw in the cerebellum would account for the poor balance, and increased rates of falling and trauma we see in alcoholics. The insulin and IGF resistance in alcoholics’ frontal lobes would account for their associated problems in memory.”

De la Monte added that the insulin resistance their study found was quite similar to what happens in Type 2 diabetes, which means that alcoholic brain disease may be treatable in part by use of drugs that make brain cells more responsive to insulin and IGF.

“Public-health warnings about problems associated with alcohol abuse are fairly prevalent today, but the major emphasis seems to be on the short-term effects related to impairments that cause accidents and promote violence,” said de la Monte. “Most people also seem to know that alcohol abuse damages the liver. What I believe is not well known to the public is that, over the long haul, heavy drinking will permanently damage the brain and cause dementia. Some of the dementia is certainly related to a lack of thiamine, also known as Vitamin B1, however, in the majority of cases, thiamine deficiency is not the principal problem. Our study indicates that chronic alcohol abuse causes a Type 2 diabetes effect in certain brain regions.”

De la Monte recommended that readers who are concerned about family or friends having problems with memory or behavior, and are concerned about dementia, to consider prior drinking habits and report this to a professional if warranted. “All dementias are not caused by Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.
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source: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

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