Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Teen binge drinking project

A Project to curb underage binge drinking across the nation will be trialled in Tasmania.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the Government had signed a $700,000 funding agreement with the State Government to operate a pilot program in southern Tasmania teaching teenagers about the risks of drinking.

“The pilot is part of an innovative national framework for early intervention and diversion of drinkers, aged under 18 years, who come to the attention of police for liquor-related offences,” Ms Roxon said.

“It offers young people the opportunity to better comprehend the risks they are taking.”

The money is part of $19 million allocated nationally for the Early Intervention Pilot Program and will go to the Tasmania Police Southern District Command area.

Outreach centres will be employed to conduct alcohol education sessions for teenagers and programs will be developed to provide ongoing treatment for young problem drinkers.

Ms Roxon said the program aimed to counter early drinking cultures and would back up the Government’s $20 million advertising campaign urging young people to recognise the consequences of binge drinking and take responsibility for themselves.

She said the Federal Government would work with Tasmanian authorities to ensure statistics were collected properly and the information would be used in future policy.

The head of Tasmania’s Alcohol and Drug Service, Adrian Reynolds, said earlier this year that binge drinking by teenagers and young adults could lead to brain damage.

Dr Reynolds said drinking by young people was often associated with serious accidents and injury, violence, self-harm and even suicide. Young drinkers were also more likely to take up other drugs.

source: The Mercury

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Help Make It A Safe Summer: Don't Serve Alcohol To Teens

A national campaign to reduce underage drinking is helping the nation understand that serving alcohol to teens is unsafe, illegal and irresponsible. “We Don’t Serve Teens” focuses on the “social sources”–parents of other teens, older siblings and friends–from whom most teens who drink get their alcohol. To teens, the word “summer” means freedom. School is….

Alcohol is a choice, not a disease.

I started drinking in Denver, Colorado back in the fifties when the drinking age for 3.2 beer was eighteen and there were quite a few 3.2 Bars in Denver. I loved the bar atmosphere where one could let go of their inhibitions and watch others do the same. My particular interest at that time were….

Coping with Depression in Drug Treatment

When you go into drug treatment there’s always a chance that you will suffer bouts of depression along the way. Depression is a serious condition and coping with depression on top of all the other thoughts and conditions that you are dealing with in drug treatment can be difficult. But, who said the road to….

Campaign tackles binge drinking

A new campaign has been launched in New South Wales aimed at curbing binge drinking. The $1 million anti-binge drinking campaign “What Are You Doing To Yourself?” targets the 16-20 year old age group and aims to stop young people from engaging in risky behaviour which is fuelled by alcohol. The campaign includes advertisements to….

WOMEN ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Educate a woman in your life by sharing some of these statistics and have a conversation about alcohol. Alcohol is associated more closely with crimes of sexual violence than any other drug; it is implicated in as many as 73% of all rapes and 70% of all incidents of domestic violence. It is linked to….