Alcohol Help

The more alcohol an individual drinks, the smaller his or her total brain volume, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Brain volume decreases with age at an estimated rate of 1.9 percent per decade, accompanied by an increase in white matter lesions, according to background information in the article. Lower brain volumes and larger white matter lesions also occur with the progression of dementia and problems with thinking, learning and memory. Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease; because the brain receives blood from this system, researchers have hypothesized that small amounts of alcohol may also attenuate age-related declines in brain volume.

Carol Ann Paul, M.S., of Wellesley College, Mass., and colleagues studied 1,839 adults (average age 60) who were part of the Framingham Offspring Study, which began in 1971 and includes children of the original Framingham Heart Study participants and their spouses. Between 1999 and 2001, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a health examination. They reported the number of alcoholic drinks they consumed per week, along with their age, sex, education, height, body mass index and Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (which calculates stroke risk based on age, sex, blood pressure and other factors).

"Most participants reported low alcohol consumption, and men were more likely than women to be moderate or heavy drinkers," the authors write. "There was a significant negative linear relationship between alcohol consumption and total cerebral brain volume."

Although men were more likely to drink alcohol, the association between drinking and brain volume was stronger in women, they note. This could be due to biological factors, including women’s smaller size and greater susceptibility to alcohol’s effects.

"The public health effect of this study gives a clear message about the possible dangers of drinking alcohol," the authors write. "Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these results as well as to determine whether there are any functional consequences associated with increasing alcohol consumption. This study suggests that, unlike the associations with cardiovascular disease, alcohol consumption does not have any protective effect on brain volume."

Journal of the American Medical Association

Portland Coastguard were involved in two separate recovery incidents last night where drinking alcohol could have ended in fatality statistics.

At 11.00 pm. a call to the Operations Room at Weymouth alerted the emergency service to a man who had been recovered from the water in Studland Bay, to a rigid inflatable boat (Rib) by a member of the public before being taken to a nearby moored yacht.

It appeared the man who had been drinking had gone into the water from his own, by now, upturned dinghy, and had been in the water nearly an hour. The man had been returning to his own yacht which was moored in the area.

The skipper of the second yacht had heard the cry for help from the water, and launched his own Rib. The rescue operation was hampered by the thick fog in the area which reduced visibility significantly.

The man, suffering from hypothermia was recovered from the yacht where he had been wrapped in blankets in an effort to warm him up, and taken by Poole lifeboat to Poole to be met by the Poole Coastguard Rescue Team and an ambulance. The incident was considered closed at around 2.00 a.m.

However, at 2.30 a.m. an emergency call was received alerting the Coastguard to a 20 year old very drunk man who had gone into the water at Poole Quay outside a local pub and that someone was trying to rescue him. Within a very few minutes whilst rescue units were being called it became clear the man had been recovered to the quay side - and by lifeboat crewman who were waiting for the Poole lifeboat to return from the earlier incident!

An ambulance was called and the man was taken to hospital to warm up and dry out.

Allan Blake, Duty Watch Manager at Portland Coastguard said

"Clearly in the later incident, if RNLI lifeboat crewmen had not been waiting for their colleagues then there is no doubt that this man would have just become a fatality statistic.

"Drinking and seawater just don’t mix and the coldwater shock to the system can also bring on hypothermia very quickly. I hope that the man, when he finally sobers up, will have the courage to thank those lifeboat officers who saved his life.

"As we saw earlier, alcohol can affect balance and capability, and the leisure fisherman who ended up in the water in Studland Bay will have had the shock of his life to have spent nearly up to an hour wondering if anyone was going to hear his calls. Fortunately they were and we’d like to thank the yacht owner for alerting us and coming to his assistance."

Maritime And Coastguard Agency

Strong public policy measures on alcohol would be more effective than clinical treatments, say experts

Three of Britain’s leading experts in alcohol policy and treatments say that strong public policy measures on price and availability of alcohol would be far more successful than clinical treatments or current Government initiatives in reducing alcohol-related harm. In the same way that doctors use evidence-based medicine to treat individual patients, the Government should use the overwhelming evidence we already have to implement stronger public policy measures on alcohol instead of persisting with measures that have little or no evidence of success.

Writing in the October edition of the BMJ Journal Gut, Dr Nick Sheron, Dr Noel Olsen and Professor Ian Gilmore say that despite advances in endoscopy, liver transplantation and critical care, survival figures for liver disease have not improved greatly over the last 30 years and remain at around 50% overall. Because liver disease is a ‘silent killer’ with most people only experiencing symptoms once the disease is very advanced, doctors are faced with managing terminal cases, so it is no surprise death rates are high.

In their article ‘An evidence-based alcohol policy’, the doctors contrast the limited capability of existing medical treatments and current Government initiatives with the likely success of stronger public policy measures. Strategies to reduce the overall alcohol intake of the population and target heavy drinkers would be more likely to be successful by preventing alcohol-related harm before it happens than trying to treat it when it is too late. Furthermore these policies would also reduce alcohol related deaths in young people. The article quotes an EU Commission study that shows that 25% of young male deaths and 10% of female deaths in Europe are alcohol related.

The authors review the overwhelming evidence from the WHO, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the EU, all of whom conclude that the most effective means of reducing consumption and alcohol-related harm is to tackle price. They also show that increases in liver deaths since 1980 are very tightly correlated with changes in the affordability of alcohol over the same time period. Price increases will result in a drop in consumption overall, but provide a "double-whammy" as they impact most on the heavy drinker and the young.

The article states:

‘The WHO conclusion is that increased taxation is the most effective tool, followed by restrictions on promotion and finally, by reducing the availability of alcohol. The alcohol industry and the Government have favoured an emphasis on education- and information-based initiatives. There is no evidence that these approaches reduce alcohol-related harm although an evidence base is emerging in other public health areas, and in the longer term these measures may turn out to be effective. Information, advice and education campaigns may be important in changing attitudes and in preparing public opinion for the introduction of effective measures, but appear ineffective when used alone.’

The authors outline the series of policy measures called for by the UK Alcohol Health Alliance (UK AHA) and call for greater involvement from the hepatology and gastroenterology community to turn the tide of UK liver deaths.

Dr Nick Sheron, Consultant Physician and liver specialist at Southampton General Hospital, a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton, and member of the Executive Group of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said:

"We need to re-establish the delicate balance between the price people pay for alcohol and the harm that it causes - valuable lives are being wasted to preserve our love for cheap booze."

Dr Noel Olsen, Independent Public Health Physician and immediate past Chair of the Alcohol Education and Research Council, said:

"Harmful drinking is a massive public health problem in the UK. The Government recognises that alcohol related harm costs in excess of £20 billion a year. More effective government regulation of alcohol promotion, price and off license sales are needed. The effect of lax regulation of corporate organisations is highly visible in banking, in our obesity related food processing and marketing and in our alcohol marketing. It is time for government to review its contribution to solving the problems."

Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Chair of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, said

"The increasing toll of preventable deaths from liver disease stands out as a stark exception in a country where life expectancy is otherwise increasing. We are committed to working with Government and other UK agencies to tackle this, but urge that the evidence-based levers of price and availability are seized on as soon as possible."

Royal College of Physicians

Touchstones12: Colwyn Bay
This project provides abstinence based support for individuals who have drug and alcohol problems.

About us:

Touchstones12 exists in order to meet the needs of anyone who is suffering from an alcohol and/or drug dependency problem, principally through offering cost-effective services, providing residential rehabilitation, including supported accommodation, and a structured primary and secondary recovery programme

Touchstones12 aims to be as professional as it can in its approach to its work. We seek to provide a secure and positive environment in which a resident may:

* Become aware of and deal with the fundamental issue of alcohol and drug addiction, and the range of problems that derive from and contribute to it, looking at these problems not as negative, destructive destiny, but as areas of growth and development.

* Find a purpose in life that goes beyond crisis and failure, and results in a life of hope, self-discipline, security and personal development.

* Seek as much as possible, healing of broken relationships and painful past experiences, which will result in a fresh beginning and growth for all concerned.

* Discover and affirm the positive values of his/her life and character and to build on them within a new framework.

* Develop this framework through group-work, counselling, training, work, recreation and overall community life provided by the projects.

In our daily work we strive to go further, as we believe that a majority of our clients have entered into our particular programme for these two reasons:

* (A) Stop drinking and/or using drugs

* (B) To concentrate on finding new ways of living.

The project is based on a residential programme. Touchstones12 strongly believe that total abstinence predicts recovery. The main aims of our particular project include the following:

(1) Provide in depth help with the main problems surrounding drug and/or alcohol addiction.

(2) Give individuals’ time and space to explore some of the underlying emotional issues that are associated with chemically dependency.

T12 Client Says: -

“I’ve been to the lowest depths of existence. So much so, I believed it would be better for everybody in my life that I was dead. I tried that, and failed. Then something happened, amidst all this insanity. This organisation saved my life.”

Contact Details:

Touchstones12
Norfolk House
39 Princes Drive
Colwyn Bay
Conwy
LL29 8PF

Telephone: 01492 534090

Employers overlook alcoholism at their peril

Around 75 per cent of alcoholics manage to hold down a job. But employers find alcohol problems in personal lives spill out into professional lives, with potentially disastrous results.

Grant Sharp, operations manager for Linwood Group, says: "It could be very dangerous, if a manual worker, for example, isn’t on the ball." Drunken-ness at work could be putting the worker and his or her colleagues at risk.

Alcoholics often have poor absentee records, deteriorating productivity and demonstrate irrational or erratic behaviour at work.

These are just some of the telltale signs of drinking employers should look out for. Individuals may also get angry or tearful at times, have bleary eyes and smell of drink. Some take longer and longer lunch breaks or come in talking of family problems, created by excessive drinking.

Alcoholism is an illness suffered by workers regardless of company position. But managers may find it easier to hide a bottle in the desk than someone on the shop floor.

Whatever the level, the employer needs to confront the employee they believe may have a problem. They can take one of two routes. The punitive approach is to say you suspect the employee of being drunk on the job, and warn the next time she or he will be breathalysed, and instantly dismissed if necessary for gross misconduct.

The second way is more softly softly, but often the more cost-effective one, especially for highly qualified and skilled workers. Here employers offer some support, treat the condition as an illness which requires rehab treatment, and sometimes even foot the bill for that treatment.

Contact Linwood Group for confidential advice about alcoholism in workplace.

Linwood Manor

Families of addicts need help too. But where individuals in drug/alcohol treatment get 24-hour help and support, over a four to six week programme, families are at home, not knowing what to do. But help is at hand for them too, to rebuild their lives.

Simon Hill, enquiries/admissions at Linwood Group, says families affected by drink or drug addiction undergo four stages of recovery.

In the first stage families have become "unwell" too, and have fallen into the same behaviour as the addict. Using excuses and lies to cover up, trying to use manipulation back on the alcoholic. Mr Hill says: "The family isn’t aware of what they’re doing. It becomes the norm."

In the early stages there are feelings of anger, emotional pain, resentment, guilt, shame, blame, helplessness and fatigue to work through. The Linwood programme of family addiction help, enables them eventually to heal.

The second stage of recovery, and families need to engage in the programme, get involved with a group and see how others have experienced similar things. Families understand they are not alone, they are not responsible and this helps deal with the emotional turmoil, the shame and the anger. They learn to think more accurately about their future roles, and gather tools to help them deal with the addict on his or her return.

In stage three, the addict is now home, and working on his/her daily programme. Linwood encourages the family to look at accepting their own misunderstanding of the illness from the past - which enabled the addict to continue drinking - and to move forward. Familes meet a new group of friends, which provides a support network, giving hope and courage to face the future.

The fourth and final stage is about families looking to the longer term, and the long-term recovery for the ex-addict and the family. Both must avoid slipping back into old patterns of thinking and behaviour. And learn how to cope if there is a relapse.

Contact Linwood Group for confidential advice and information on family addiction help.

Linwood Manor

Thurston House, London
Residential Alcohol and Drugs treatment centre for men

About us:

Once you have detoxed from alcohol or drugs Thurston House provides a safe and comfortable haven for you to continue your recovery from addiction and develop your new life.

Thurston House, a residential treatment centre for men, is based in a magnificent Georgian House with a large garden in Clapham in South West London.

There will be up to 22 men staying at any one time. People stay for between 3 and 6 months.

The treatment programme: You will be given your own tailor made treatment plan, based on the 12 step abstinence based model which is likely to consist of many different elements including:

One to one counselling: You will work with one counsellor in a confidential setting to talk through the issues that may have made you vulnerable to addiction.

Group work: You share your experiences of recovery with other people in a similar situation. You are able to develop your communication skills in a safe environment which can then be applied to your everyday relationships at home and at work when you leave Thurston House.

Relapse prevention: We will provide you with guidance on the best ways to ensure that you do not relapse.

Workshops and life skills groups: You will be invited to attend these training sessions which can be anything from our basic life skills coaching to developing more specific work based skills.

We provide advice on housing and other basic welfare issues.

Social activities: You will be invited to attend social activities and events which give you the opportunity to strengthen your relationships with others. Activities include anything from playing football to ice-skating.

Family work: We welcome family support and involvement in the recovery process.

Referral and support: You must be at least two weeks drug and alcohol free, have a desire to remain abstinent in the long term, be male and 18 years or over. Thurston House is ideally suited to individuals that have completed first stage treatment and are ready for second stage treatment. However, all cases will be explored individually. Some understanding of the 12-step abstinence based approach to recovery is helpful so that you know what to expect from the programme. Referrals are accepted from all sources including self-referrals.

Pre-treatment assessment: You are usually expected to attend for an assessment visit. If this is not possible, telephone assessments or prison visits may be carried out by arrangement. Reports from other agencies may be required, for example discharge summaries, social enquiry or psychiatric reports.

What next: Following completion of the programme, aftercare support is offered for one year. Thurston House encourages the use of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and other 12-step fellowships for ongoing support.

Our team: You work with a small team of qualified counsellors and therapists with an expertise in addictions counselling and treatment.

Contact Details:

Thurston House
52 Rectory Grove
Clapham
London
SW4 0EB

Telephone: 020 7622 7833