Blog Entries tagged 'alcoholism'

Too Few Parents Talking to Teens About Drugs

aotate1@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A recent survey by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy found that the majority of parents have difficulty engaging in meaningful conversations about drug use with their teens."'This poll reinforces a disconcerting trend we're seeing with parents today. Too many parents are avoiding tough conversations - or tough stances - because they're afraid of jeopardizing their relationship with their teens,' said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Pol [...]

One Isn't Enough for Teen Drinkers

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The Baltimore Sun reported on a new study in Pediatrics that shows teenagers who drink often do so solely to get drunk. Of the 15,000 teens surveyed, 64% admitted to regular binging.
"Those rates are 'unacceptably high,' said Susan Foster, director of policy at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. 'We're seeing an increase in rates of drinking to get drunk, and we're seeing that most who drink in college began drinking in hig [...]

OxyContin Addiction: Teens More Susceptible Than Adults

aotate1@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Studies performed on animals indicate that adolescents are more likely than adults to become addicted to oxycodone (OxyContin), a powerful prescription painkiller related to opioids like heroin and morphine.

Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York allowed adolescent and adult mice to take as much oxycodone as they wanted. The younger mice were more sensitive to the drug and took less. If the drug was introduced to them again as adults, they were more sensitive and reactive t [...]

Officials Attempt to Outlaw an Herbal High

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Salvia is an herb that can produce short, intense, hallucinogenic trips when it's smoked. For years, the substance went relatively unnoticed by law enforcement personnel - but it has recently garnered the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as several local governments that are trying to ban it. "A dozen states have outlawed or begun regulating salvia since 2005, including Delaware, whose law was pushed by a mother who believes salvia contributed to her son's suic [...]

Teens Give Advice

aotate1@gmail.com — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Talk about teen substance abuse typically centers on extreme behavior - getting drunk at parties, habitual drug use, and so on. But even occasional use can create a dangerous habit. "Most teenagers will tell you gulping down an occasional glass of beer along with a cigarette at a bar is fun, not substance abuse. That's where they are wrong. One glass of beer may not be addictive, but can lead to a chain of behavior that can leave you a physical and mental wreck. It can become a habit.&q [...]

New Tool May Help You Spot Drug Abuse

aotate1@gmail.com — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) of New York has created tool it hopes will help parents spot drug abuse problems in the home. "The state Office... created the tool to help New Yorkers track prescription and over-the-counter medicines in their home. It's intended to be filled out weekly." The PDF tool is downloadable off the OASAS website and is a grid-like worksheet that can be used to track: a medication's dose amount, when the prescription [...]

Young People Who Drink Malt Liquor More Likely to Use Marijuana Too

aotate1@gmail.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Professor Lorraine Collins of the University of Buffalo/New York has determined that young adults who are heavy drinkers of malt liquor are at greater risk to use marijuana and develop substance abuse problems.

She and her colleagues surveyed 639 adults under 25 years who regularly drank 40 or more ounces of malt liquor every week. The participants were heavy drinkers who averaged 30 alcoholic drinks a week, about half of which was malt liquor. Most had started drinking between 13 and [...]

Higher Allowance May Add to Risk of Drinking

aotate1@gmail.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A study of 10,000 15- and 16-year-olds found that teens that get larger allowances are more likely to drink. The conclusion drawn by the British researchers who conducted the study is that the higher allowances enable teens to buy their own alcohol."About one-third of teens in the survey said they bought their own alcohol, and they were six times more likely than their peers to drink in public places, three times more likely to drink frequently and twice as likely to binge on a regular basi [...]

Alcoholism is a major social, economic and public health problem.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcoholism does not just affect the alcoholic it affects everyone the individual is connected to. Alcoholism is a major social, economic and public health problem. A high percentage of suicides involve the use of alcohol in combination with other substances. Alcohol is involved in more than half of all accidental deaths and almost half of all traffic deaths. Other deaths are related to the long-team medical complications associated with alcoholism, all of there are very e [...]

Why can't you just use a little willpower?

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

"Why can't you just use a little willpower to stop drinking?" This question is often asked by individuals that have no understanding of alcohol and how it affects someone. Alcoholism has little to do with what kind of alcohol one drinks, or how long one has been drinking, or even how much alcohol has been consumed. It does have a great deal to do with a person's uncontrollable need for alcohol. The alcoholic is often in the grip of a powerful craving for [...]

Drinking affects more than just the alcoholic.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

There are many people involved in the life of the alcoholic. So often the alcoholic has the selfish attitude of "my drinking only affects me", but nothing could be further from the truth. Family, friends, employer, coworkers, neighbors and the community are all affected by alcoholism not just the alcoholic. They end up spending time covering up for them, punishing them, taking responsibility for them, trying to "fix" them. The alcohol really needs to t [...]

Be willing to reach out for help.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The slide into alcohol abuse and alcoholism can take many forms and be gradual and subtle. Many use it to escape their daily problems, frustrations and feelings of inferiority. Some alcohol abusers have physical and emotional problems when they start drinking. It sometimes takes years for drinkers to develop into a more noticeable phase of alcoholism. Some people the alcohol pattern develops within weeks of their first use. Some alcoholics drink daily, others in epi [...]

Alcohol affects individuals differently.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

More money is spent every year promoting the use of alcohol than any other product. Through the use of elaborate and creative marketing, the most basic fact about alcohol is overlooked "alcohol is a drug". It is the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world. Alcohol interacts with the body's systems in predictable ways to lead to physiological addiction. Alcohol affects individuals differently. Your age, weight, gender, time o [...]

Risk factors that we do have control over but often don't realize it.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Here are some of some of the risk factors for alcohol abuse that people can change but often times do not recognize. Take your environment, if you live where people drink a lot and heavy drinking is accepted as part of life, or where alcohol is easy to get you are more likely to drink. Use of other substances, if you abuse other substances, such as tobacco, illegal drugs or prescription drugs you are more likely to abuse alcohol. Friends, the people that you hang around with ma [...]

Breaking the addiction is difficult.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol addiction can pose a serious threat to a person's life. To break the addiction is difficult for a number of reasons: the psychological desire for the effects brought on by the drugs; the brain's adaptations to the chemical changes brought on by the drug; and a slew of habits and environmental triggers that support the addiction. Just like any serious health concern, an addiction to alcohol will require long-term professional help to break the cycle. The [...]

The startling facts.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

It is estimated that 40% of the population will have an addiction problem some time in their life. More than 7% of the population 18 years and older have problems with drinking and can be considered alcoholics. These alcoholics will significantly impact an average of 4-5 other lives they come into contact with. It doesn't have to be like this, there is hope for the alcoholic to overcome their addiction with treatment, you don't have to suffer from alcoh [...]

Alcohol addiction and our youth.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

In the past 10 days nearly 11 million youths, ages 12 to 20 have consumed alcohol. As age increases so does alcohol consumption from 2 persent at age 12 to 27 persent at age 16 and 57 persent at age 20. With this alcohol consumption increase so does the possibility of becoming an alcoholic increase. Be proactive in protecting your loved one from becoming an alcoholic. No child should have to suffer from alcohol addiction, and there is hope with drug rehab and the t [...]

Drinking tears you up.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcoholism is caused by prolonged, heavy use of alcohol which leads to addiction. When someone with prolonged, heavy use tries to quit drinking they are faced with withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, severe anxiety, hallucinations and convulsions. The alcoholic usually also has poor nutrition because no thought is give to eating food just drinking more alcohol. The poor nutrition along with consuming large quantities of alcohol can lead to permanent damage to t [...]

Don't become a statistic.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

More and more people in the United States are drinking and having related problems to their drinking. Statistics show that within the United States about 15 percent of the people have a problem with alcohol. About 3 to 5 percent of females and 5 to 10 percent of males could be called alcoholics. Binge drinking is the most severe behavior when it comes to drinking which leads to mental or physical problems. Some people can control their drinking and others will loos [...]

Trying to escape emotional pain with alcohol.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

People will often drink alcohol to block out emotional pain. They turn to it when relationships go bad or friends let them down. It is often used to offset the boredom of daily routines. But with continuous use a dependency will set in and before someone knows it they are addicted. When trying to quit depression, anxiety, and stress set in and an individual will drink to relieve these symptoms. There is help to get out of the viscous cycle of addiction for [...]