Sober N Clean

Adults who supply booze to other people's children without parental consent will soon be liable for a hefty fine.

Police Minister Jim Cox yesterday announced the crackdown to prevent the "horrific, unpleasant and sad" effects of underage binge drinking at private parties.

The law changes were prompted, in part, by the case of Penguin boy Taylor Forward who was supplied with vodka and fell into a campfire at a friend's party in 2005.

"Too often we hear and see the effects of young people being supplied with alcohol and left unsupervised," Mr Cox said.

"Not only can this result in direct harm from excessive alcohol consumption, it also means young people are at risk of forming binge-drinking behaviours and not learning responsible drinking."

The change means the adult supervisor at the party would take full legal responsibility for the actions of underage drinkers at the event.

That could create a scenario where invitations to underage parties could go out with parental consent forms granting children permission to drink.

"I think if invitations went out and parents were prepared to take responsibility for other under 18s, and a permission slip was put in there, that would be a great idea."

Mr Cox rejected suggestions the laws would have the effect of normalising underage drinking, but would allow parents to introduce their children to alcohol in a controlled way.

Assistant Commissioner Phil Wilkinson was confident the new legislation could be policed.

"As it stands at the moment, on private premises it is legal for underage people to drink, so this extends it and gives parents an additional level of control over what their children do," Assistant Commissioner Wilkinson said.

Taylor Forward's mother Vicki welcomed the move, which follows a 3 1/2-year fight for legislative change.

"This is not to stop everyone drinking when they are under 18 but it is about having more control and accountability to protect kids," Mrs Forward said.

State Schools Parents and Friends Associations president Jenny Branch said underage parties were still a big problem.

In 2007 the National Drug Strategy household survey found 22 per cent of teenagers over the age of 14 drank alcohol on a weekly basis.

"I have heard of cases where kids go out every weekend -- parents feel like they are losing kids to places they don't want them to be and a life they don't want their children to be in," Ms Branch said.

"Hopefully these new laws will give children and parents the opportunity to negotiate what is responsible and what is not."

Australian Hotels Association state manager Steve Old lauded the proposed crackdown.
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source: The Mercury

Teenagers die from alcohol related illness or injury more than anything else.

With that in mind the Sydney Western Area Health Service is desperatley pleading with parents to educate their teens about the risks of excessive drinking.

Sydney West Area Health Service Drug and Alcohol Network Acting Nurse Manager Cathleen Addison-Wilson said it was estimated more than 40 per cent of 16-17 year olds occasionally binge drink.

Furthermore, up to 22 per cent of boys and 18 per cent of girls aged between 12-16 years old reported drinking on a weekly basis. .

"Alcohol impacts upon an individual’s capacity to make rational choices and evidence is clear this is even more so for adolescents, placing them at further risk of harm and injury from misadventure," said Ms Addison-Wilson.

"Over recent years, we’ve seen an increase in `alcohol-pops’ – pre-mixed alcohol and soft drinks. When young people consume these drinks, which are in effect a stimulant and depressant mix, they are more likely to black out and take part in anti-social behaviour."

Ms Addison-Wilson said parents should know where their teenage children were when they out for the evening and who they were with.

"Most alcohol related issues occur when young people are returning home," she said.

Ms Addison-Wilson suggests parents make a 'contract' with their adolescent to pick them up, regardless of their level of intoxication.

"This has been shown to reduce the chance of injury, assault and anti-social behaviour," she said.

Ms Addison-Wilson said it was vital for parents to communicate with their teenager as they became more exposed to alcohol – through their mates, peers and the media.

"The attitudes and actions of teenagers are often heavily influenced by what they see and hear at home. If you choose to discuss your own alcohol use with your teenager, it is important not to glorify your own behaviour," she said.

"Be careful not to sound hypocritical. If you drink, try to avoid getting drunk in front of them."
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source: Street Corner

Nearly half of young adults may suffer from a mental disorder such as alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, and nearly one in five suffer from a serious personality disorder.

But according to new research published yesterday, fewer than a quarter of those young adults who do have mental concerns seek treatment for them.

And to check on whether such mental health concerns
might be triggered by attending college or not, the researchers compared those attending and not attending college and found similar rates of psychiatric illnesses among the two groups. This suggests that the transition from adolescence to adulthood can trigger the onset of a mental health problem regardless of setting.

The researchers analyzed data from over 5,000 young adults aged 19 to 25 years old from the
National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Carlos Blanco, M.D., Ph.D., of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, and his colleagues analyzed the data to compare the mental health of those enrolled in college at least part-time with those not attending college during the previous year.

The researchers interviewed and assessed for psychiatric disorders those attending (2,188) or not attending (2,904) college during the previous year.

A total of 45.8 percent of college students and 47.7 percent of young adults not in college met the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder.

The most common disorders in college students
were alcohol use disorders (20.4 percent) and personality disorders (17.7 percent), whereas those not in college most frequently met criteria for personality disorders (21.6 percent) and nicotine dependence (20.7 percent).

College students were less likely to have a diagnosis of drug use disorder, nicotine dependence or bipolar disorder and were less likely to have used tobacco. However, their risk of alcohol use disorders was significantly greater.

Treatment rates were low for all psychiatric disorders. College students were significantly less likely to receive treatment for alcohol or drug use disorders than those not in college.

“In view of the high prevalence and low rate of treatment of alcohol use disorders in college students, greater efforts to implement screening and intervention programs on college and university campuses are warranted,” the authors write. “The centralized delivery of campus student health services might offer an advantageous structure for carrying out such screening and interventions.”

Overall, the authors note, the rate of psychiatric disorders is high among young adults, who are at a vulnerable stage of development.

“The vast majority of disorders in this population can be effectively treated with evidence-based psychosocial and pharmacological approaches,” they conclude.

“Early treatment could reduce the persistence of these disorders and their associated functional impairment, loss of productivity and increased health care costs. As these young people represent our nation’s future, urgent action is needed to increase detection and treatment of psychiatric disorders among college students and their non–college-attending peers.”
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source: Psychcentral.com

When you think of Thanksgiving, turkey, football games and getting together with family usually comes to mind. But what also happens at Thanksgiving is an excess of youth drinking.

Officer Phil Powers, Hopkinton's school resource officer, said that in his 21 years on the police force he has found that the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving is the busiest drinking night of the year for youth. It's busier than New Years Eve or graduation. And the problem is both with underage drinkers, many home from college for the first time, and with young legal drinkers in their twenties who are getting together with old high school friends and end up drinking to excess. Unfortunately, in too many cases these young people also get in a car and drive.

As parents, we all want to keep our kids safe. So what can you do?

# For kids under 21, have a conversation with them about your expectations about drinking; be clear that the law is no drinking until 21 and that you expect that they will follow it. This is critically important for kids who are coming home from college where there may be a different level of tolerance for underage drinking. Know where they are going and be there to check in with them when they get home. And never provide alcohol to anyone under 21; it's against the law.

# For kids over 21, talk to them about responsible drinking and the dangers of drinking till you are intoxicated when poor decisions are made about everything from driving to sexual activity. Reinforce the importance of identifying a designated driver before anyone starts drinking. Be sure they understand that it is illegal to buy liquor for anyone under 21 and that they can be criminally and civilly prosecuted if a problem occurs.

# For all kids, let them know that if they encounter a problem and can't get home safely, then you are always willing to come get them. Traffic crashes are the number one killer of teens and over one third of teen traffic deaths are alcohol related. Be a positive role model in your own use of alcohol. Kids listen to what you say but they also are influenced strongly by how you behave.

To help bring awareness to this problem, the beFREE! Project held a Sticker Shock campaign this past Wednesday in two retail stores, Colella's Supermarket and Hopkinton Wine and Spirits. BeFREE! youth with adult chaperones placed stickers on multi-packs of beer, wine coolers, and other alcoholic beverages that appeal to young drinkers. The stickers read "Hey You!! It is illegal to provide alcohol to people under 21!" Preventing underage drinking is everyone's responsibility and we need to work together to reduce underage access to alcohol and to teach young adults over 21 how to drink responsibly, if they choose to drink.

Studies show that talking to your kids about alcohol does make a difference in their behavior. So take a few minutes before this holiday to let your kids know your expectations, even if you have said it before. They need a reminder!
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SOURCE: MetroWest Daily News

Johnson’s study to evaluate effectiveness of anti-nausea medication in reducing alcohol craving, binge-drinking tendencies in 300 young adults ages 18 to 25

University researchers are preparing to launch a study that has the potential to influence the way alcohol dependence in young adults is treated.

Bankole Johnson, chair of the department of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences, will lead a clinical test of the effectiveness of ondansetron, traditionally used as an anti-nausea medication, in treating alcohol abuse in adults ages 18 to 25.

“Ondansetron ... contains a chemical that reduces [the] craving for alcohol and binge drinking,” Johnson said.

The clinical study will involve eight weeks of treatment with the drug, Johnson said, including two sessions of psychosocial intervention and follow-up monitoring. Three hundred people who are currently binge drinking will take part in the study, he said, most likely including a number of University students.

The study — which will take about four years to complete, according to Johnson — is being funded by a $3.2-million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Raye Litten, associate director of the division of treatment and recovery research at NIAAA, said the institute is particularly interested in Johnson’s study because of the young age of the population Johnson will be testing.

Litten said the average age of people who participate in NIAAA clinical trials is about 40, despite the fact that the average age of the onset of alcohol dependence is 20 to 21. According to Litten, high risk drinking behavior — which he defines as drinking more then five drinks in one night for men and drinking more then three drinks for women — can lead to longer term effects in this younger age group including dependency.

“If he finds this [drug] is effective, you could treat people as they develop [dependence] at an earlier age, rather than let it progress,” Litten said, adding that currently, most people take at least eight years to seek treatment for alcohol abuse.

“This could prevent long-term effects much better than letting [abuse] go on for years and years,” he said.

An earlier study conducted by Johnson concluded that ondansetron is not very effective in treating later-onset alcohol abuse, Litten said, but also found the drug is more effective for cases of early onset alcohol abuse, making it an “ideal drug to test on this population.”

The study also will focus on the effect of genetics on treatment response, Johnson said.

“If a person has a certain genetic profile, he or she may respond better to the drug ... and have fewer side effects,” Litten said, expanding upon the genetic aspect of the study. “It would be nice, before you give someone a drug, to know if they have a chance to respond to it.”

If his hypothesis is confirmed, Johnson said doctors could be able to offer medication targeted toward binge-drinking students for the first time.

THE maker of leading alcopop brands such as Vodka Cruiser and Pulse has found a way around the tax on premixed drinks: using alcohol derived from lower-taxed beer to attract younger drinkers back to the sweet stuff.

The arrival of the first Australian "malternative", as they are dubbed overseas, comes as nationwide alcohol consumption figures obtained by the Herald show the tax rise on ready-to-drink beverages in April is having a massive impact on sales and the broader consumption of alcohol.

The number of standard drinks consumed each week has fallen by 3 million since the alcopop tax rise, says a confidential report sent this week to key players in the alcohol industry by the research group Nielsen.

Leading suppliers in the once booming premixed category have been stunned by the collapse in sales since May, a trend confirmed in Nielsen's figures this week, which show there were 7 million fewer premixed standard drinks consumed between May and July compared with the same time last year.

While the figures show spirit and beer consumption is up, they have not offset the overall decline in alcohol consumption led by the stampede away from premixes.

"The total number of packaged liquor standard drinks has declined at a faster rate since the introduction of the [ready-to-drink] tax increase," Nielsen says.

The Federal Opposition has said it will block the tax in the Senate.

While premixed drink sales are down 26.2 per cent, spirits are up by 2.9 million standard drinks a week over the same period and beer is up by 1.1 million standard drinks a week.

But Nielsen's figures show the increase in beer and spirits consumption is still 3 million standard drinks less than the same time last year.

And it is why some in the spirits industry are very worried about disappearing profits.

One of the biggest players, Independent Distillers, told the Herald yesterday that it was about to launch Bolt, a "malternative" in three sweet flavours - raspberry, passionfruit and blueberry - designed to appeal to younger drinkers.

Bolt will be up to $25 a carton cheaper than spirits premixes because it is made with alcohol derived from beer - with all the beer taste characteristics stripped out during production.

A spokesman for Independent Distillers said it was not using a loophole in the new tax regime to launch a cheaper type of premixed beverage, but said it highlighted the problems of taxing spirits at a higher rate than beer.

Packaged beer is taxed at $39.40 a litre of pure alcohol while ready-to-drink beverages carry an impost of $66.70 a litre of pure alcohol.

Critics, however, said the "malternatives" and spirit premixes were developed to exploit the sweeter taste preferences of younger people and needed higher taxes to deal with social issues such as binge drinking.
RISE AND FALL

Since the alcopops tax increase:

- Sales in bottle shops have dropped by 7 million standard drinks a week, or 26.2 per cent

- Spirit sales have risen by 2.9 million standard drinks a week

- Packaged beer sales have risen by 1.1 million standard drinks a week

- Total liquor sales have fallen by 3 million standard drinks a week.
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Source: Nielsen

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/09/15/1221330747912.html

On any given night, a University of Central Florida student can drink without a lot of money, difficulty or limits.

Bars on the outskirts of campus offer “Two-dollar Tuesdays,” “Wasted Wednesdays,” “Bombs Away Fridays” or even specials challenging students to slam down 60 shots of beer in 60 minutes.

“We’re out four times a week, at least,” said Alex Bozinta, 21, who ordered three drinks at a popular bar recently so she wouldn’t have to fight the crowd as often. “We drink and drink. As long as you get drunk, it’s fun.”

As classes and football games began for a new season, UCF and universities throughout Florida have been creating more stringent rules that attempt to curb underage drinking, as well as its dangerous counterpart: binge drinking.
“The problem isn’t when you start drinking, it’s how much you start drinking,” said Tom Hall, UCF’s director of alcohol and other drug-prevention programming. “When you have a culture that supports excessive alcohol use, you have a problem.”

College campuses around the country are challenged as studies and experience show students above and below the legal age guzzling unprecedented amounts of alcohol.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that 1,700 college students between ages 18 and 24 die of alcohol-related causes each year, while about 600,000 suffer from alcohol-related injuries.

Nearly 25 percent of all college students report academic consequences of drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall, the study found.

For UCF’s part, the school banned alcoholic beverages at Knights football games. Anyone caught drinking can be ejected from the stadium, and underage drinkers may be arrested. Tailgate drinking, however, is permitted in parking lots from 7 a.m. until game time.

But college leaders agree campuses can’t be the only place students are punished for alcohol abuse. Universities are pushing parents, students, vendors and community groups to help young drinkers understand their limits.

“There are so many sources and so many places where students get ideas about alcohol,” said Chris Franzetti, assistant director of health promotion for Florida State University. “Whether it’s easy access, inconsistent laws and policies or behaviors learned from home, we all have a part in it.”

At the University of Florida in Gainesville, named the nation’s No. 1 party school, the problem might be at its worst.

Trustees there are poised to approve a ban on drinking games, kegs and “beer balls,” which hold the equivalent of 55 beer cans. Other Florida universities have similar policies.

UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said the school had four or five alcohol-related deaths several years ago, which prompted the school to revise the student code with changes that likely will take effect this fall.

“That was a wakeup call that we need to do something,” Sikes said.

One new policy bans activities that encourage alcohol abuse: Drinking games, kegs and the beer balls would be prohibited.

Last week, University of South Florida officials banned daytime drinking at a new on-campus bar and grill. Students and employees were found drinking between classes and during lunch.

In July, more than 100 university presidents — including leaders at Duke, Johns Hopkins and Ohio State — signed a proposal to support lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18.

“A culture of dangerous, clandestine ’binge-drinking’ often conducted off campus has developed,” the open letter said. It asks the national university system to begin a public debate on the drinking age.

“Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students,” the letter also said.

The initiative has caused a roar of controversy from opposing groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which counters that lowering the drinking age won’t solve problems on campuses. Many experts agreed that lowering the legal age won’t fix a college culture that accepts binge drinking as the norm.

The majority of students believe binge drinking is a rite of passage, UCF’s Hall said. But his research at the school found that 20 percent of students aren’t drinking.

Those students, however, believe they’re among an even smaller minority, about 5 percent.

“That’s one of the myths about college drinking,” Hall said. “Nationally, about 23 percent of students are the extreme drinkers, so the notion that ’everyone is doing it’ isn’t accurate. But 23 percent is still too big of a number.”

Students gathered in loose lines outside a bar near UCF, waiting for muscled bouncers to place wristbands on the legal drinkers. For a $10 cover, they would be drinking without limit until midnight.

They headed to the bar where plastic cups were filled with cheap beer and liquor mixed in various concoctions.

Some students played “beer pong” on a side table. Other students moved against one another on a makeshift dance floor.

Richard Devoss, 21, lit a cigarette and leaned back on his barstool while talking with a handful of buddies from the Orlando-based Marine Mechanics Institute.
He sipped vodka mixed with water and lime juice.

“We went out last night, and we came out tonight,” Devoss said. “When I leave, I’ll be stumbling.”

Devoss estimated that by closing time at 2 a.m., he would have 12 drinks. His friends vowed to drink about the same, some as many as 15 in one sitting.

Calvin Serviss, 22, a fifth-year UCF senior, said he wouldn’t be out so often if it weren’t for the specials.

“They make the bars much more popular,” Serviss said as he sipped from a beer. “Obviously, I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t have them. I couldn’t afford it.”

Some believe bars near campus, which offer all-you-can-drink specials every night of the week, are a big part of the problem.

But in many cities, businesses have signed “responsible retailing” pacts designed to curb underage and excessive use by limiting or ending the daily specials.

Orange County is attempting to create a similar agreement using a task force of students, law enforcement and retailers. Teams are focusing on education, health and retailer responsibility.

“We’ve always done this from an enforcement side, but now we need help from community partners,” Hall from UCF said. “The biggest thing is targeting advertisements.”

Carol Burkett, who sits on the task force and directs Orange County’s Coalition for a Drug Free Community, said binge drinking is more accepted and younger students are drinking more.

“In the ’70s, you didn’t have high-risk drink promotions,” she said. “Now, media advertisements tell students that drinking is acceptable, sexy, fun: It looks like the place to be.”

But Mike McCoy, Orange County public safety director and co-chairman of the underage drinking task force, said attitudes about what’s unsafe could change. At one time, for example, many people refused to wear seat belts.

“Back then, we thought we couldn’t do anything, but I think we will pass beyond that,” he said. “You will see the generation saying it’s so senseless, and we can do things about it.”
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source: Pensacola News Journal

Here's a multiple-choice question for parents of tweens and teens.

You're monitoring your child's cellphone and come across a text message encouraging her to try a prescription drug. Could the message be coming from:

A. a drugmaker trolling for a new customer.

B. an adolescent friend urging a raid on your medicine cabinet for a "pharm" party.

C. a trusted physician, offering a reminder to the 25 percent of teenagers who take a daily prescription for conditions ranging from allergies to cancer.

D. any one of the above.

The answer? D. These days, messages aimed at drawing teens' attention to drugs are being televised, e-mailed, texted and even downloaded with music every day.

"These new media choices create a buzz and certainly a perception of a rising trend toward targeting teens," says Jim Joseph, executive vice president of Saatchi & Saatchi Consumer Health+Wellness, a Manhattan advertising agency.

The challenge for teens, and for adults who care for them, is to figure out "how to wade through the clutter of messages they're getting about drugs -- both prescription and nonprescription ones -- in order to make safe and appropriate choices," says Wayne Snodgrass, a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs.

"There's been a demystification of prescription medications for teenagers," says Sharon Levy, director of the adolescent substance abuse program at Children's Hospital Boston. According to a survey published last month by the National Center for Addictions and Substance Abuse, a growing number of teenagers say it's easier to illegally obtain prescription drugs than to buy beer.

Experts blame a cavalier attitude toward drugs for a growing incidence of prescription drug abuse by teens. Every day, 2,500 kids ages 12 to 17 abuse a prescription painkiller for the first time, according to John Walters, head of the White House's Office on National Drug Control Policy; the number of teen patients treated for prescription painkiller abuse grew threefold between 1995 and 2005.

"Teens are abusing prescription drugs because many believe . . . these drugs provide a 'safe' high," Walters says.

At the same time, many teens fail to stick with a prescribed drug regimen for a chronic condition such as asthma, depression or diabetes. "Parents have a crucial role to play in all this," Snodgrass says, "by making it clear that drugs are only safe and effective when they're specifically prescribed, and when taken appropriately."
Drug Ads Just for Teens

When it comes to direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs, permitted by the Food and Drug Administration since 1997, there are no specific rules for marketing to kids and teens, says Robert Temple, director of the Office of Medical Policy at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

"Appropriate situations for drug companies to specifically address teens include those where the teen could benefit from a medication but might not necessarily start the conversation with an adult," says Meredith Ressi, vice president of research at Manhattan Research, a health-care market research firm in New York. She cites drugs for acne or birth control as examples.

Acne, Ressi says, is a very good example because "a parent might not bring up treatment for fear of making their child feel bad but would likely be delighted to have the teen start the conversation and then be able to help."

Tazorac, an acne drug made by Allergan, is the subject of a back-to-school ad campaign featuring situations such as high school graduation and the prom in which teens might feel particularly self-conscious about their acne. Incentives to register on the site and learn more about the drug (teens 13 to 18 need a parent's permission) include a $5 Starbucks card and a chance at winning a Nintendo Wii console, a video camcorder or a laptop computer.

Ads meant to get a teen's attention typically feature cool clothes, hip music and other teen draws. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Yaz, a birth control pill, hired the Veronicas, a group popular with teen girls, to record a song for one of the drug's commercials. The Web site of Galderma, the maker of Differin, another acne drug, offers teens a quiz called "The Truth About Zits."

"When marketing directly to teens, you need to be able to speak to and otherwise engage them very differently from adults," says Elizabeth Izard Apelles, CEO of digital marketing agency Greater Than One, whose clients include Novartis, which makes ADHD drug Focalin XR. "Otherwise, they won't pay a lick of attention."

Other advertising execs agree.

"We use a combination of media, trying to reach" teens, says Kathy Magnuson, executive vice president of Brand Pharm, whose clients include Galderma. In June, Galderma launched a Differin ad on ABC Family and MTV and has also bought space for the ad at movie theaters and on the Internet.

Drugmaker Sanofi Aventis used a low-tech but novel approach to reach teen girls. The company placed a full-page ad (plus another page of FDA-required consumer information) for acne drug Benzaclin in the fall catalogue of Delia's, a teen-girl clothing chain.
Msg frm yr drg cmpny

Merck is moving beyond TV ads for Gardasil, which protects against human papillomavirus infection and is recommended for adolescent girls. Because the vaccine is given in three doses, each months apart, Merck is sending out reminders by mail, e-mail and text message -- "REMIND" to "GARSL" -- telling those who got the first shot to come back for shots two and three.

Kathy Woodward, a pediatrician at the adolescent health clinic at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, worries that ads aimed at adolescents often create an inappropriate sense of fun, fostering the idea that there's a pill for every ill. Woodward believes taking drugs might seem hip, for example, when Antonio Banderas, whose voice is well known from the "Shrek" movies, narrates TV commercials for the allergy drug Nasonex.

Woodward says she has been overwhelmed by the number of teenage boys who come in asking for a prescription for Lamisil, an antifungal drug. TV ads that stopped airing about a year ago said dark-colored toenails might be a fungal infection that the drug can clear up.

"It's only an infection 10 percent of the time," says Woodward, "and leaving the nail as it is poses no health risk." What's more, because of a slight risk of liver damage, Woodward notes, anybody who takes the drug needs monitoring.

"When teenage boys make [a drug they've seen advertised] the focus of their yearly office visit," she explains, "it takes away time I need to talk about crucial health issues including safe driving, alcohol and prescription drug abuse."
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source: The Washington Post

News reports state that about a third of learners in the Western Cape alone are binge drinkers with some as young as 10 classified as heavy drinkers.

The death of 11-year-old Roseline Majola in March this year highlighted the alarming rise of alcohol abuse in children and teens. Majola was stoned to death by her friends who were allegedly drunk at the time.

Her friends aged nine to 15 were charged with murder and four were convicted in May and will be sentenced in June.

The most recent statistics available in South Africa is a survey conducted in 2002. Nearly half of all South African learners had used alcohol according to the South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey.

Alcohol usage amongst boys was found to be 56.1% and amongst girls an alarming 43.5%. A further 31.8% said they had used alcohol within the past month and 23% said they had engaged in binge drinking in the month before the survey.

More shocking is that 15.8% boys and 9% girls had their first drink before the age of 13 years.

Izabelle Little, author and co-ordinator of Life Talk, an online forum for teens and parents, says we are facing an alcohol abuse crisis.

"Binge drinking is a huge issue. Every day I get hundreds of e-mails telling heartbreaking stories. Alcohol abuse is leading to tragedies that are avoidable", says Little.

Worldwide problem

Alcohol abuse in children and teens is a worldwide problem.

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, 90% of all underage drinking is in the form of binge drinking.

A National Health Service (NHS) report released in the UK earlier this year showed that hospital admissions linked to alcohol have increased by 50% since 1995 and prescriptions for treating alcohol addiction jumped to 20% in the past four years.

An Australian study released in February this year found that ten percent of 12-17 year olds engage in binge drinking in any given week. In 16 – 17-year- olds one in five binge drink on a weekly basis.

In March this year the Australian government embarked on a 53 million dollar campaign against binge drinking.

What is binge drinking?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting or on one occasion.

Doctor Fourie, regional director of SANCA explains further, "Binge drinking is a pattern of using alcohol in which people intoxicate themselves during weekends or on special occasions."

Why do teens binge drink?

Little says, "We have a culture of drinking in South Africa and teens are a product of the society in which they live."

According to Little teens drink for a number of reasons: alcohol is freely available at parties and clubs; peer pressure – it appears to be the cool thing to do; alcohol advertising is targeted at teens; many teens are bored and alcohol provides a diversion; and some drink to escape from a broken home, poverty or abuse.

The dangers of binge drinking

"Alcohol lowers inhibitions and teens end up doing things they wouldn't normally do. Teens engage in sexual activities, increasing their chances of becoming infected with sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV. Alcohol abuse increases the chances of getting mugged or sexually abused. The abuse of alcohol can also be a gateway to other drug abuse. It can leave life-long scars", says Little.

Dr Fourie explains that binge drinking is extremely unhealthy. "If your blood alcohol level is too high, it affects the brain and could lead to a coma. It also slows down your heartbeat and could be fatal if your blood alcohol level is too high."

Fourie says what makes it even more dangerous for teens are that they tend to drink mixtures of ciders, beers, spirits and wine.

"It is a high-risk drinking pattern that can lead to serious addiction and result in social problems and high-risk behaviour such as engaging in unsafe sex and drunken driving. People can't act and think rationally when they are intoxicated," says Fourie.

The silent scourge

"Parents don't know what's happening. They drop their teens at parties and even night clubs where there is no adult supervision and alcohol is free and flowing. They believe that it won't happen to their child and only find out when they are contacted by a school counsellor, or if something tragic happens," says Little.

Fourie stresses that parents should be cautious about the freedom they give their children.

Little says that society had failed teens by not giving a strong message about the dangers binge drinking holds.

"Teens don't realise how dangerous drinking is. They have the – it-won't-happen-to-me attitude. Children start drinking as young as the age of 10 and by the time they are 14, they are alcoholics.

They think they can cope with their drinking habits, but most of them are in denial of how serious it is," according to Little.

She emphasises that it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. "The government is aware of the problem and some initiatives have been set in place; however more can be done. Alcohol abuse and underage drinking are only the symptoms of underlying issues. We should start addressing the causes. Parents, schools and communities all have a role to play."

Know the signs

Little advises to look out for the following signs:

* Personality and behavioural changes

* The smell of alcohol

* Signs of a hangover: headaches, red eyes, shivers, throwing up

* Excessive and sudden use of mouthwash and breath mints

* Alcohol is disappearing from your liquor cabinet

* Your liquor has been watered down

* Wild parties, late nights and sleepovers

* The hiding of bottles in bedroom cupboards

"If you suspect your teen has a drinking problem, get help. Seek professional help. Don't try to handle it yourself," says Little.
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source: Health 24, http://www.health24.com/

Summer passes all too quickly, and before you know, it will be time for this area's young people to head off to college. Along with all the ''stuff'' they take, we'd like them to take a clear appreciation of the deadly risks of binge drinking.

The Associated Press recently reported on a study it did, showing that 157 college age people drank fatal doses of alcohol between 1999 and 2005, with the annual number of deaths trending upward.

The biggest risk falls on freshmen students out in the world on their own for the first time and eager for new experiences. Out of 18 freshman drinking deaths, 11 occurred in the first semester, an AP analysis of news stories showed.

College students don't drink much more than other adults, but they tend to pack all their drinking into a shorter time span, with weekends and the after-final exam days in December prime examples. Binge drinking is more prevalent among college students than others in the 18 to 22 age range.

A young person's 21st birthday has proven to be a highly risky time for drinking. One birthday practice is to drink 21 shots for a 21st birthday, which proved fatal for 11 young adults, including eight college students, the AP noted.

Some colleges have taken steps to promote awareness of the dangers associated with heavy drinking, and that is commendable. More intensive efforts would likely be useful. The toll of alcohol deaths studied by the AP even included one young woman who had been involved in high school alcohol-awareness programs.

The more reminders to be responsible about drinking, the more likely a young person will absorb the advice and make it part of their own behavior, even when the drinks are flowing freely around them

source: Morning Journal

ALBANY — Members of a new panel tackling how to handle the growing underage-drinking problem said today that one priority should be making sure parents understand the risks of letting their children consume alcohol, particularly in the home.

Alcohol is the No. 1 drug of choice for youth in America, and more than 75 percent of high-school students have had alcohol by the time they graduate, according to officials with the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. More than half of 12th graders and a fifth of eighth graders have been drunk at least once. About 823,000 New Yorkers under 21 drink each year.

"We know that 50 percent of the kids in grades 7 through 12 had a drink last month. For some of them -- their one and only drink. For others, the start of their drinking, the start of their drugging, the start of the addiction," said Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, commissioner of alcoholism and substance abuse services.

Underage drinking costs more than $3 billion a year in New York -- in youth injuries, deaths, crashes, fetal-alcohol syndrome, fights, poisonings, property crime, rapes and other areas, she said.

One of the 21-member panel's charges will be to look at social-host legislation that was proposed by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Carpenter-Palumbo said. The bill would prohibit anyone 18 or older who owns, rents or controls a private residence from allowing underage drinking on their property. The penalties would be $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second, and $1,000 and/or up to a year in prison the third time. The legislation, which passed in the Senate but died in the Assembly this year, would not affect local social-host laws, which have been considered around the state.

A study by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration concluded that more than 40 percent of the country's estimated 10.8 million current underage drinkers (youth between 12 and 20 who drank in the past month) were provided free alcohol by adults 21 or older. The report also found that one in 16 underage drinkers (650,000) was given alcohol by a parent in the past month.

New York should pass a social-host law not only because of the number of underage youth who consume alcohol in their homes, but also the aftermath of their drinking, said Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, who is sponsoring legislation on the issue. Ortiz said he has heard the argument that parents should be able to allow drinking in their own homes, but the stakes are too high not to strengthen penalties for doing that.

"I respect parents who say that but I think parents have to also understand that we have a job to do and if they don't know how to take the responsibility, government will," he said.

Council member Frank V. Ciaccia, assistant county manager and the Stop-DWI coordinator in Genesee County, said it's important to focus on parents because they have such influence over the behavior of their children.

Genesee County has an underage-drinking tip line to notify police about parties that are underway or being planned. Members of the panel discussed whether there should be just one hotline statewide, since many communities don't have their own, but Ciaccia said local hotlines should continue. People feel more comfortable talking to a law-enforcement official familiar with the address.

The State Police have a hotline to report illegal purchase or consumption of alcohol by underage drinkers. The number is 866-UNDER21, and calls are referred to law-enforcement agencies around the state.

Stefan Kalogridis, president of the Eastern New York Liquor Stores Association, said his group supports the state's efforts to curb children's access to alcohol. The state's liquor retailers are often faced with people using or trying to use fake IDs and buyers who purchase alcohol and give it to minors.

The association is hoping to launch a program this fall that would provide owners of liquor stores with discounts on scanners. Many are small mom-and-pop businesses that may not have the ability to buy the equipment at full price, Kalogridis said.
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source: http://www.pressconnects.com/

WASHINGTON -- Tobacco companies have manipulated menthol levels to attract young cigarette smokers and keep older ones, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported Wednesday.

Their finding, with which industry spokesmen disagree, is based on a review of more than 500 internal tobacco-industry documents dated from 1985 through 2007.

The documents showed, according to the researchers, that tobacco companies studied how controlling levels of menthol could increase brand sales.

They concluded that new and young smokers liked mild menthol that masked the harshness of tobacco smoke. Veteran smokers, the companies are said to have concluded, favored stronger doses of menthol for its cooling effects on their throats.

The findings come as Congress weighs whether to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, including additives, at the national level. The bill would let the FDA ban all cigarette flavorings except menthol. If FDA tests of menthol showed that it added to the health risks of smoking, the agency could ban menthol, too.

No conclusive evidence shows menthol cigarettes to be more harmful than conventional ones, said Terry Pechacek, associate director of the Office of Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 44% of smokers aged 12 to 17 reported smoking menthol cigarettes. Among smokers older than 35, 31% smoked them.

According to the Harvard study's lab tests of menthol concentrations in cigarettes since 2000, menthol went down in brands that young people preferred, such as Newport, Salem Black Label and Kool Milds. It went up in brands such as Marlboro Menthol, which were aimed at older smokers.

The report says that in 2000, Philip Morris launched Marlboro Milds with a lower concentration of menthol to attract young smokers. That same year, according to the report, Philip Morris increased the menthol in Marlboro Menthol to attract older smokers.

Behind the moves, the researchers assert, was an effort to woo new smokers. Their report cites, among others, a 1987 R.J. Reynolds document that suggests menthol can make it easier to get started. "Initial negatives can be alleviated with a low level of menthol," it says.

According to the researchers' report, a rapid introduction of milder menthol brands in the past decade violates a provision in the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 between tobacco companies and state governments that prohibits them from directly or indirectly targeting youths.

"They are going after the most vulnerable population," said Gregory Connolly, a coauthor of the report and director of Harvard's Tobacco Control Research Program.

Michael Robinson, a spokesman for Lorillard Tobacco Co., called the report "a politically motivated lobbying tool."

"Lorillard does not control levels of menthol to promote smoking among adolescents and young adults," he said in a statement. "Lorillard does not engineer any of its cigarettes to promote smoking initiation or nicotine addiction."
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source: Detroit Free Press

On the morning after the house party on Johnson Street, Jenna Foellmi and several other twentysomethings lay sprawled on the beds and couches. When a friend reached out to wake her, Foellmi was cold to the touch.

The friend's screams woke up the others still asleep in the house.

Foellmi, a 20-year-old biochemistry major at Winona State University, died of alcohol poisoning on Dec. 14, one day after she had finished her last exam of the semester. According to police reports, she had three beers during the day, then played beer pong — a drinking game — in the evening, and downed some vodka, too.

Foellmi's death was tragic, but typical in many ways.

An Associated Press analysis of federal records found that 157 college-age people, 18 to 23, drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. The number of alcohol-poisoning deaths per year rose from 18 in 1999 to 35 in 2005.

Over the seven-year span, 83 of the college-age victims were, like Foellmi, under the drinking age of 21.

"There have always been problems with young people and alcohol, but it just seems like they are a little more intense now than they used to be," said Connie Gores, vice president for student life at Winona State. "The goal of a lot of them is just to get smashed."

A separate AP analysis of hundreds of news articles about alcohol-poisoning deaths in the past decade found that victims drank themselves well past the point of oblivion — with an average blood-alcohol level of 0.40 percent, or five times the legal limit for driving. In nearly every case, friends knew the victim was drunk and put him or her to bed to "sleep it off."

"Her friends were with her. It's not like they just left her alone," said Jenna's mother, Kate Foellmi. "She went to bed and she was snoring. She just didn't wake up."

Schools and communities have responded in a variety of ways, including programs to teach incoming freshmen the dangers of extreme drinking; designating professors to help students avoid overdoing it; and passing laws to discourage binge drinking.

Charges were filed in about 40 percent of the cases in which outcomes of criminal investigations were known — most often against fraternity members or others who obtained alcohol for someone underage. There were a few hazing charges. In most cases, plea bargains were reached and the penalties included fines, probation or community service. Jail time was rare.

The federal data showed deaths spiking on weekends — when young people are more likely to go out with the goal of getting drunk — and in December, when college students wrap up finals. Most of the dead were young men.

College students on average drink only a little more than adults in a typical week or month, said Scott Walters, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas. But college students "tend to save the drinks up and drink them all at once."

The federal figures do not indicate whether a victim was a student or not. But the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that adults ages 18 to 22 in college full-time are more likely to binge-drink than those not in school.

AP's analysis of news articles found freshmen at greatest risk, with 11 of 18 freshmen deaths occurring during the first semester.

Walters said one reason is that freshmen are on their own for the first time and trying new things. Also, there is a mentality that "if you're under 21 and someone's got alcohol, you've got to drink it, because you never know when somebody's going to have it again."

One practice — drinking 21 shots on a 21st birthday — has proven especially lethal. Of the college-age deaths that made news, 11 people, including eight college students, died while celebrating their 21st birthdays.

"The 21st birthday we knew was coming. We didn't know about the 21-shot thing," said Cindy McCue, who lost her son Bradley, a junior at Michigan State University, in 1998 after he downed 24 drinks in less than two hours.

The McCue family started a nonprofit organization nearly 10 years ago called Be Responsible About Drinking, or B.R.A.D., to teach young people about the dangers. The foundation created birthday cards reminding those turning 21 to celebrate responsibly.

Some universities are trying to send the same message with Web sites and programs that feature slogans such as "Remember Last Night."

San Diego State has a Web site that lets students punch in information about their drinking habits and learn about the risks. Winona State is starting an online course to teach incoming freshmen the dangers of excessive drinking.

Forty professors at Fresno State in California have taken a pledge to learn about the effects of alcohol misuse and advise students. The professors' names are on posters around campus. Other universities have banned or restricted alcohol advertising and sponsorships in athletics.

Minnesota passed a law that blocks people turning 21 from being served alcohol until 8 a.m. on the day of their birthday — a measure aimed at stopping customers who turn legal at midnight from drinking as much as they can before closing time. Other states have similar laws.

In the case of Bradley McCue, who went out at midnight when he turned 21, the bartender kept serving him, even though he was obviously intoxicated, his mother said. The bar owner was charged with supplying alcohol to an intoxicated person and other counts. The owner agreed to pay $50,000 in fines and costs, close for 30 days, and retrain employees.

Jenna Foellmi worked to put herself through school, made the dean's list one semester and was a high school member of Students Against Destructive Decisions, according to her mother.

"She was the one we never had to worry about," Kate Foellmi said. "I remember calling her up and saying, `I am just so proud of you. I'm so glad you have your head screwed on straight.'"

On the morning of Dec. 13, the young woman finished a physics final and called her mom, screaming: "I passed!" She told her mother she was going to go have a beer.

"I said, `You deserve one,'" Kate Foellmi recalled.

Exactly how much Jenna drank that night isn't clear. The coroner did not release her blood-alcohol level, saying only that it was "not compatible with life."
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source: Associated Press

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) supports previous reports that adolescents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for smoking and substance abuse. Researchers say the study is a reminder that teens with bipolar disorder should be screened for drug and alcohol use and abuse.

“This work confirms that bipolar disorder (BPD) in adolescents is a huge risk factor for smoking and substance abuse, as big a risk factor as is juvenile delinquency,” says Timothy Wilens, MD, director of Substance Abuse Services in MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology, who led the study. “It indicates both that young people with BPD need to carefully be screened for smoking and for substance use and abuse and that adolescents known to abuse drugs and alcohol – especially those who binge use – should also be assessed for BPD.”

It has been estimated that up to 20 percent of children and adolescents treated for psychiatric problems have bipolar disorder, and there is evidence that pediatric and adolescent BPD may have features, such as particularly frequent and dramatic mood swings, not found in the adult form of the disorder. While elevated levels of smoking and substance abuse previously have been reported in young and adult BPD patients, it has not been clear how the use and abuse of substances relates to the presence of BPD or whether any increased risk could be attributed to co-existing conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder or anxiety disorders.

The current study, which appeared in the June issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, analyzes extensive data – including family histories, information from primary care physicians, and a detailed psychiatric interview – gathered at the outset of a continuing investigation following a group of young BPD patients into adulthood. In addition to 105 participants with diagnosed BPD, who enrolled at an average age of 14, the study includes 98 control participants of the same age, carefully screened to rule out mood disorders.

Incidence of each measure – alcohol abuse or dependence, drug abuse or dependence, and smoking – was significantly higher in participants with BPD than in the control group. Overall, rates of substance use/abuse were 34 percent in the bipolar group and 4 percent in controls.

The data also indicated that bipolar youth whose symptoms began in adolescence were more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than were those whose symptoms began in childhood. “It could be that the onset of mood dysregulation in adolescence puts kids at even higher risk for poor judgement and self-medication of their symptoms,” Wilens says.
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source: Coalitions Online

The Ottawa area will be getting two residential drug treatment centres for youth between the ages of 13 and 17, says the chief executive of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network.

The long-awaited plan, which will goes before the health network board for approval on May 28, calls for a 15-bed residential facility for English-speaking youth on the west side and a separate five-bed facility for francophone youth on the east side.

The program already has strong support from the province, the city and police Chief Vern White, Dr. Robert Cushman said in an interview yesterday. "It's gonna happen."

As it stands, there are no residential treatment facilities in the region for youth under the age of 16. Some addicted young people are sent to Thunder Bay and even farther away for treatment.

Community leaders have been pushing for a youth residential facility for about 20 years and a handful of plans have never come to fruition. In June 2006, for example, then-mayor Bob Chiarelli said he would ask fellow councillors for support to buy the former Rideau Correctional Centre near Burritts Rapids and convert it into a treatment centre. The proposal never coalesced.

The treatment centre, as outlined yesterday, is scaled down from earlier plans, which called for as many as 48 beds. The most recent report, delivered only last month, considered a 28-bed model.

Dr. Cushman said the new model is even smaller because the centre can't sacrifice quality. Research shows that the best residential programs result in a success rate of up to 80 per cent. This is what the Champlain region should aim for, he said.

That means the program must invest in the best interventions and staff and have supports in the community for youth when they return home from the residential program.

"You don't just want to parachute these kids back into the community," said Dr. Cushman. "It's better to start with a few beds and do it right and build it over time."

Although there has been no cost suggested for buying or renovating facilities to house the centres, the cost of running the residential program is estimated at more than $2 million a year, which would come from health network's budget for addictions and mental health.

The health network is considering a Carp Road facility as the west-side location. The building is currently used by the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group as the Meadow Creek adult addiction centre, but the program is scheduled to be moved into Ottawa this summer, said Dr. Cushman.

The youth program is to accept about 80 teens a year, each for a stay of about 90 days. Dr. Cushman estimates that triple that number of addicted teens would benefit from a residential program.

Pauline Sawyer, executive director at the Alwood Treatment Centre, said the residential facility with 14 beds for 16- to 22-year-olds near Carleton Place has a waiting list that is three to six months long.

"There's a huge need for beds for those 16 and under," she said. "We've been waiting for this for 15 or 20 years."

Mike Beauchesne, executive director of the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre on Bronson Avenue, said there may be considerable pent-up demand for the program because nothing like it has been available before.

He has sent teens as far away as Manitoba for treatment, which he admits is not an optimum solution because they are so far from their families. "We're seeing kids come through the door who commence use at 12 or 13 years of age."

While the number of beds in this proposal is smaller than the original plan, the important thing is that the centres are being established, he said.

"I can't say at this point that it is a fait accompli," said Mr. Beauchesne. "It looks good. I'm not ready to pop the champagne yet."

Dr. Cushman says youth addiction has been the "orphan" of health care. Although he can't explain why little has been done about establishing a residential program for drug-addicted youth, despite decades of effort, he says he should be held responsible for his term as head of the health network.

"What we're doing is building a foundation. We want to build from there."
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source: © The Ottawa Citizen 2008

The Alaska Beverage Council is concerned about teens ordering alcohol online. There are thousands of Web sites, many based in other countries, that allow the online order of any beverage alcohol. Clicking a box that claims you are 21 and a credit card are all that it takes.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made matters worse with its ruling in Rowe v. The New Hampshire Motor Transport Association, which allows for the free flow of tobacco via private shippers such as Federal Express or DHL.

Essentially, the tobacco decision creates the opportunity for minors -- our children -- to go online, order anything -- alcohol, tobacco -- and have it delivered without requiring the delivery person to check IDs when the package is delivered. It's a serious concern that Alaska Beverage Council shares with parents, families, communities and lawmakers across Alaska.

As research proves, teens often don't get their liquor from licensed establishments. Sixty-five percent of minors get their alcohol from parents' liquor cabinets or the family fridge. Another sizable percentage asks older shoppers to go into the liquor store for them. In fact, illegal purchases from retailers only represent 7 percent of the problem thanks to the diligence of our members.

We believe the Supreme Court ruling is not only a step backward but opens the door to future complications. By ruling that the responsibility to verify age cannot be placed on the shipper, how can we ensure the person ordering alcohol online is of legal age?

The responsibility is now on the state Legislature, the Alcohol Beverage Control Board and the industry to figure out how to prevent teens from ordering online. Industry members see state control of alcohol shipments as a key component in preventing alcohol abuse among minors.

The Supreme Court's decision was a wake-up call for us all. As the industry and government work to find a solution to the legal and technical issues, we ask parents, teachers and guardians of Alaska teens to keep an even closer eye out for teens buying alcohol online.

source: Anchorage Daily News

Alcohol abuse and underage drinking continue to plague Oregon, and the health and social consequences are serious, sometimes fatal, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Division.

Drinking starts young in this state. Thirty-one percent of Oregon's eighth graders and half the 11th graders reported regular alcohol use last year, approximately 38,000 youngsters have a serious alcohol problem, and it's the leading cause of death among youth here. That's why Gov. Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month in Oregon.

As noted in the proclamation, alcohol contributes to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, traumatic injuries, poor school performance, and health and safety problems. Research shows that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more likely they are to become alcoholic. And alcohol, not methamphetamine or marijuana, is the most frequently used drug among Oregon high school students.

Alcohol causes big problems for adults too, according to DHS statistics. In Oregon, approximately 66 percent of men and 50 percent of women drink. Nearly six percent of older adults and 20 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds abuse or are dependent on alcohol and need treatment. Each year there are more than 1,000 alcohol-related deaths in Oregon. About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve alcohol.

"Alcohol Awareness Month is a great opportunity to get people involved in solving some of the problems associated with drinking," said Rick Cady, prevention manager of DHS' Addictions and Mental Health Division. "April is just a starting point. Underage drinking and alcohol abuse have such life-shattering consequences that we must be vigilant about it year around."

Cady recently joined DHS in the newly created position and is nationally recognized for his leadership and consultation work in the field of alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

Cady said DHS works with the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Oregon Partnership, and other groups and community providers to broaden its alcohol prevention outreach mission.

One new partner in the fight against underage drinking is the Statewide Leadership Team for Alcohol-Free Kids, chaired by Oregon Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham).

The Governor called for creation of the team to develop a wide-ranging set of youth alcohol prevention strategies, recommendations, and a five-year action plan for consideration by the 2009 Legislature. Areas of focus are:

• Strengthening community mobilization and leadership;
• Implementing research-based school and family prevention curricula;
• Enhancing support for enforcement and adjudication efforts;
• Creating targeted and consistent statewide public education efforts; and
• Improving data collection to monitor programs and inform policy decisions.

Underage drinking must be addressed on "multiple fronts with multiple strategies," with collaboration among state and local agencies, community partners, researchers, health care entities, business leaders and elected officials. And all segments of the public must be willing to adopt recommendations for change to occur, said the Governor in calling for the Alcohol-Free Kids team.

"I'm excited about the work of this leadership team, because we're looking at solving underage drinking problems in a multi-disciplinary way," said Monnes Anderson. "If changes in laws are needed, then we'll propose legislation. We can work with police and courts on enforcement and judicial issues, or if a treatment option is needed, then we'll go for that. We're bringing a lot of different partners to the table."

Cady said it will take the support of all Oregonians to cut the underage drinking rate, especially the support of parents, who are the critical "ounce of prevention."

"Parents play a stronger role than they might think in influencing their kids not to drink," said Cady. "Parents must talk about the issue, set some boundaries and get kids thinking about alcohol's consequences. And all of us, really, should be concerned about those consequences."

source: Bend Weekly News

College is a time of great pride and happiness for most kids and parents. Parents are excited that their children have gotten into a university and the teens are excited to embark on their first adventure away from the nest. College gives teens the freedom they have been craving and gives parents that sense of self satisfaction that they raised a child on the path to success. The four glorious years of college are supposed to mold our children to become the future of our country. But not one cocktail at a time!

Nationally, college has come to symbolize frat parties and underage drinking. After many recent deaths from alcohol poisoning at several universities, Minnesota is the first state to ban limitless drinking at college bars. The state may be the pioneer we need to prevent our children from drinking themselves into destruction.

Move over “land of 10,000 lakes,” because Minnesota’s new nickname is going to be a lot dryer than that! A new law, which went into effect January 1 of this year, has effectively eliminated all “bottomless drinking” specials at bars, as well as all drinking specials after 11 p.m. That means that no longer can bars offer $20 all you can drink for the entire night, encouraging kids to drink. After the deaths of three college students linked to alcohol in the past four months, Minnesota has put its collective foot down. Minnesota Congressman Lanning said, “All kinds of bad things happen to students as a result of binge drinking.” Duh!

Bar owners disagree with this policy — not a shock-tail considering the business they have to lose. They responded by saying the ban is actually a bad thing. “You’re just going to be pushing them to the house parties, the “keggers,” to a totally unsupervised area,” stated a Minnesota bar owner. While they do have a point, this mother of two still thinks their financial interests may outweigh their true concern for our childrens’ safety.

But don’t worry folks, bar owners have found ways around the bottomless drinking ban. Bars now simply offer $1 beers or $2 mixed drinks before 11 p.m. — effectively allowing students on a short budget to still drink like fish. Many are even worried that these restrictions may even encourage MORE drinking, in part because students are going to want to drink as much as they can before the deals end. So, is there a solution to our children’s binge drinking problem? It doesn’t look like frat parties will be serving Shirley Temples anytime soon.

You may be surprised to hear about a new study showed that Minnesota is home to more binge drinkers than almost anywhere in the nation, other states are not far behind. Nationally, a Harvard School of Public Health study found that 44 percent of collegians binge drink. The study also found that college may be the catalyst in these children’s chain reaction into drinking so heavily. The college graduation age, 21, has even been found to be the peak age for binge drinking across the country. To show how startling the college binge drinking epidemic is, would you be surprised to learn that 12,000,000 undergraduates drink four billion cans of beer every year? I sure was!

The long term risks of alcohol include everything from liver damage, to pancreatitis, to certain cancers, and even literal shrinkage of the brain. Not to mention the short term effects, alcohol poisoning and immediate death! Three Minnesota college students found out the hard way. In a $115 billion industry in the United States alone, it’s not unusual for us parents to feel like its David vs. Goliath. Don’t panic though, because we can help!

Although parents cannot physically be there every time our child is offered a drink, we can help to shape their decision making process. Parents are responsible for their children’s upbringing up until they are 18, or go to college. The pressures to binge drinking can be avoided somewhat if we educate our children. Actively educating our children on the detrimental effects of alcohol could lead to a healthier, and hopefully dryer, solution.

And alcohol should not be some secret, mysterious thing that adults get to do! Something we don’t talk about. Parents, your teens (even the honor students) have probably at least had an opportunity to try alcohol. Teaching kids about sex educates them about the consequences — alcohol-Ed if you will — should eliminate the mystery of drinking, and teach them the consequences of that choice.

Explaining to our children the dangers of alcohol in an accurate, caring, and unbiased way, could alleviate at least some of our worries. So, when talking to your kids be honest, be informative, and be straightforward. After all, binge drinking and college are not a good mix.

source: FOX News

From staff reports
Posted on April 3, 2008

Alcohol ads will now be featured in UVA’s Cavalier Daily and Va. Tech’s Collegiate Times after a judge ruled that it was hindering ad sales and that the ads did not persuade students to drink illegally.

The American Civil Liberties Union represented the two papers in the case against the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

ABC regulations stated that a college newspaper is not permitted to advertise beer, wine or mixed beverages except in reference to a dining establishment. However, it was seen in court as a violation of the First Amendment.

The Amendment states that the government cannot solve a problem by restricting free speech unless it can prove that the restriction can or has solved the problem.

The restriction has been in other related alcohol sayings.

ABC banned the running of the ads so that students would not be influenced to drink based on the promotional ads supporting alcohol consumption. However, part of ACLU’s argument was that half of the students reading the newspapers were of age.

The papers will begin publishing those ads once the schools receive an injunction.

source: http://www.thebreeze.org

Increases in young women's drinking during the transition from high school through the first year of college can have dangerous physical, sexual and psychological implications, according to a report out of the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.

The good news is that during the first year of college, when many young women increase their drinking, the majority (78 percent) of the 870 incoming freshmen women who participated in the study did not experience any victimization. The bad news, however, is that among the 22 percent of women who were victimized, 13 percent experienced severe physical victimization and 38 percent experienced severe sexual victimization.

The research results were published in the January 2008 issue of the prestigious Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

"This is the first study that we know of that has compared risk for physical and sexual assault among college women based on changes in drinking during this transition period," said Kathleen A. Parks, Ph.D., principal investigator on the study. "Clearly, abstaining from drinking is a protective measure. However, young college women should be aware that becoming a new drinker or increasing one's drinking during this transition increases the likelihood of victimization."

The study showed that among women who drank alcohol during the first year of college, rates of physical and sexual victimization were substantially higher compared to women who did not drink. In addition, the odds of first-year college sexual victimization significantly increased with each pre-college psychological symptom (i.e., anxiety, depression) and each pre-college sexual partner a woman reported.

Interestingly, researchers found that the changes in drinking patterns during the high-school-to-college transition influenced risk for physical and sexual victimization in different ways.

About one fourth (27 percent) of the women reported that they abstained from drinking in the year prior to entering college. During the first year of college, only 12 percent continued to be abstainers. Among these abstainers, less than two percent reported physical victimization and seven percent reported sexual victimization.

Compare this with drinkers, seven percent of whom reported physical victimization and 19 percent, sexual victimization.

Being a new drinker during the first year of college (15 percent of the women) increased the likelihood of physical, but not sexual, victimization. The researchers speculated that new drinkers' social and physical inexperience or lack of tolerance for alcohol and its effects may increase women's impairment when drinking and subsequently, their vulnerability to potential perpetrators or dangerous situations. Perhaps, the physically disinhibiting effects of alcohol for new drinkers may cause them to be more reactive, possibly verbally aggressive, or more likely to call attention to themselves, thereby putting themselves at risk for physical aggression in social drinking situations.

Continuing drinkers were defined as those who drank the year prior to college and during the first year of college. Of these women, more than half (57 percent) increased their drinking during the first year at college. They drank considerably more than new drinkers on multiple measures of alcohol consumption, including heavy episodic drinking -- four or more drinks per occasion -- and were at greater risk for sexual victimization.

Of the continuing drinkers, 26 percent reported decreasing their drinking and 16 percent reported not changing their level of weekly drinking.

These findings suggest that a later onset of drinking may be protective against patterns of heavy episodic drinking and some of the associated negative consequences.

"Young women who had a history of physical victimization and greater psychological symptoms, and who began drinking during the first year at college had an increased likelihood of experiencing physical victimization," explained Parks. "Women who had a greater number of psychological symptoms, more sexual partners and increased their weekly drinking had an increased likelihood of experiencing sexual victimization during the first year of college."

Parks is a senior research scientist at RIA and a behavioral psychologist with extensive experience studying women's substance use, misuse, and victimization. The other research team members included Ann M. Romosz, project director, Clara M. Bradizza, Ph.D., senior research scientist at RIA and research assistant professor of psychiatry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Ya-Ping Hsieh, Ph.D., data manager and analyst for the study.

Incidents of sexual victimization were predicted by different factors than incidents of physical victimization. According to Parks, "The significant predictors of sexual victimization were psychological symptoms during the first year at college, number of consensual sexual partners and increased drinking. Women who have more consensual sexual partners are more likely to encounter a sexually aggressive individual and are more likely to experience sexual victimization. At the same time, women who increased their drinking are more likely to be behaviorally and cognitively impaired and less likely to recognize, avoid or defend against sexual aggression. "

Women who increased their drinking experienced nearly five negative alcohol-related problems during the first year at college. Those problems included a variety of consequences such as inability to do homework or study for a test, passing out or fainting suddenly, engaging in consensual sexual activity that was regretted afterward, physical assault, sexual assault, theft or robbery.

Parks encourages development of prevention programs that emphasize the risks of drinking and heavy drinking in social situations for women. Women with a history of drinking before entering college are at greatest risk for escalating their drinking and experiencing more negative consequences and sexual assault.

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The study was funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a national leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

Source: Kathleen Weaver
University at Buffalo