Alcohol Help

New and troubling phenomenon correlates eating disorders and binge drinking.

For the past two summers, Eating Disorder Center of Denver (EDCD) has noticed an increase in eating disorder patients who also have binge drinking problems. Of all the college-aged females enrolled in the treatment program at EDCD, 75 percent meet the criteria for alcohol abuse.

Although co-existing substance abuse is seen in many eating disorder patients, “drunkorexia” most frequently involves college-aged females diagnosed with bulimia and binge drink. Often, these patients starve all day to offset the caloric intake associated with consuming large amounts of alcohol or they binge, on food and/or alcohol, then purge.

“The prevalence of eating disorders and binge drinking on college campuses has continued to become more common,” said Dr. Tamara Pryor, EDCD’s clinical director. “With this increase, we have realized the need to offer a dual focus on substance abuse and eating disorders in the treatment of patients.”

“Drunkorexia” is not an official medical term, but it has recently become a phenomenon in both the eating disorder and addiction fields. EDCD has tailored its treatment program to account for the co-occurrence of eating disorders and binge drinking.

For more information about “drunkorexia” and EDCD’s treatment program, call EDCD at (303) 771-0861.

Eating Disorder Center of Denver

Breathing Space Thailand, an Alcohol addiction rehabilitation center located near Chiang Mai, Thailand, continues to grow and is pleased to announce the arrival of three new staff members.

Breathing Space Thailand would like to take this opportunity to welcome, Naranchaya Sriburapar, Craig Plant, and Sharon Peters to their team.

Naranchaya Sriburapar – Clinical Psychologist, is one of Northern Thailand’s most respected clinical psychologists and addiction specialists. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and a M.S. in Counseling Psychology.

Craig Plant – Addiction Councilor, is an accomplished substance misuse recovery practitioner with a background in drug addiction treatment services and residential settings in the UK.

Sharon Peters – Addictions Therapist, has over 10 years experience working in addiction treatment, both in government and private settings in the UK and at some of the UK’s most well-renowned residential addiction treatment providers.

A lot has been happening lately at this northern Thailand alcohol addiction rehab center and it is all good. But it really comes as no surprise. The company directors really do care about the facilities, staff, care quality and their clients. When a company makes that effort their success is assured.

Breathing Space Thailand

Alcohol Concern and the Alcohol Health Alliance have called for an overhaul of the alcohol duty system to deter heavy drinking and encourage consumers to switch to lower strength beers, ciders and wines.

In a submission to the Treasury and Home Office, who are reviewing alcohol tax and price, the campaign groups argue that the current alcohol duty system does nothing to incentivise consumption of lower strength alcohol products and propose a new approach which would charge higher duty rates, particularly on beers and ciders above 3.7% ABV. In the new model, supported by the Royal College of Physicians and the British Liver Trust, cider would be charged at the same duty rate as beer, it is currently around half the beer rate and afforded greater protection for ‘historical reasons’, argue the campaigners.

The proposed model would not increase any additional duty on ‘lower’ beer and cider products under 3.7% ABV% but would add a 10% increase in duty on beers and ciders between 3.7 and 5.2% ABV. A 2003 study by the Treasury found that a 10% increase in duty would reduce alcohol related mortality by 28% for males and 37% for females. Beers and ciders above 5.2% ABV would be hit by a further 10% rise in duty under the proposed model to deter producers from making high strength drinks that are often sold as loss leaders by the major supermarkets. A 7.5% ABV cider currently retailing for £1.96 would therefore go up to £3.50 if the full duty increase was passed on. Wine would also be ABV linked and be subject to revised tax bands. Spirits and Ready to Drink (RTD) products are already ABV linked and the range of strengths is relatively narrow so an increase of 10% would be suitable. The campaigners argue to ensure duty rates are passed onto consumers a ban on selling alcohol below a minimum price is also needed

Alcohol Concern Chief Executive Don Shenker said "The current alcohol duty regime actually encourages irresponsible drinking, with strong ciders being taxed at a quarter of the equivalent rate for beer. Higher and more consistent alcohol taxes for stronger products would deter producers and consumers who would switch to lower strength beers, ciders and wines. The additional revenue raised is urgently needed to support dependent drinkers who are now growing in number. However, to ensure the full duty rate is reflected in the price, retailers would have to abide by a minimum price too."

Professor Ian Gilmore, ex-President of the Royal College of Physicians said "The current alcohol tax system has developed piecemeal and lacks consistency. Alcohol should be taxed on the basis of how much alcohol a product contains, and the government’s plan to ban below cost selling (if cost is based on the sum of duty + VAT) will miss most of the current heavy discounting that is fuelling the damage to the nation’s health. We do not underestimate the difficulty for government in setting a rational framework around the pricing of alcoholic beverages but the approach should include both a review of the tax structure and the ability to determine a minimum unit price."

In a related move, several of the country’s major alcohol treatment organisations have called for a significant rise in alcohol duty to fund treatment for dependent drinkers to stop drinking. Chief executives from Turning Point, Addaction and others, alongside the national campaigning charity Alcohol Concern have written to ‘The Daily Telegraph’ to call for higher taxes to deter drinkers from becoming dependent. They also argue that the growing numbers of dependent drinkers, a 24% rise in the past 5 years, has not been matched by public funding to support them to stop drinking. The alcohol chiefs say that "For the sake of the children, families and communities that suffer from alcohol abuse, the increasing affordability of alcohol must be halted and more funding via taxation should be ring-fenced to support the victims of alcohol abuse"

Monica Wilson, Director of Information and Education at the British Liver Trust, says: ‘We have long called for a minimum price to be introduced to tackle alcohol harm. Even though we are encouraged that there is now the recognition from the government that the price of alcohol directly correlates to consumption, we need to see effective action that reduces the amount that people drink, without unnecessarily targeting the moderate drinker. This potential approach would ensure duty is attributed to ABV for all types of alcoholic drinks so that it is the harmful alcohol (not the drink) which is targeted. With 44 deaths a day attributable to liver disease and these figures increasing year on year, the government simply cannot afford to not take action."

Alcohol Concern

Alcohol rehab offers suitable ways to rescue victims from the constricting coils of addiction. The treatments available in the rehabs focus on the details of the patient and incorporate a holistic approach for an effective and lasting solution. Such centers have a very high success rate and if there are cases of relapses it is only due to certain barriers obstructing the treatment process, most often originating within the patient himself.

Be it an emotional outburst or abrupt pangs of physical or psychological dependence on alcohol, the barriers can range from social to mental to environmental constraints. These obstructions are potent enough and likely to disrupt the complete treatment schedule. None of these barriers is permanent in nature. In other words, each of these can be resolved with a planned approach and consistent social support. Each of the rehab centers is specifically designed with certain specializations to deal with different types of victims and their psychological barriers.

- Alcohol rehab – cure for physical dependence
The foremost barrier to change for alcohol addiction treatment is the extreme physical dependency of the victim on alcohol. Very often, the treatment given for withdrawal is not successful mostly due to the patient’s inability to stay resolute. In such cases, some detox rehab centers play an eminent role by offering effective detox programs which employ general anesthesia to boost withdrawal with least pain.

- 12-Steps Rehab Center- cure for psychological cravings
Psychological or mental cravings are the next most compelling factors which hinder effective treatment in a rehab center. Such cravings are mostly tackled through group therapies, counseling or 12-step rehabs. Substance abusers are motivated to interact with their relatives, family members, and non-enabling friends to get rid of the sudden attack of psychological cravings in a soft manner. Besides, other ways to curb such cravings include physical exercise, drinking or eating a substitute for alcohol, like coffee, tea or chocolates.

In addition to psychological cravings, another potential barrier to success in the de-addiction process is the psychological dependence of victims upon alcohol. This type of dependence takes into account the patient’s belief systems, self esteem, self talk and other concerns that ought to be managed via counseling, 12-step groups or group counseling.

- Limiting interaction with enablers in the social circle
One needs to identify potent enablers or toxic people in ones family relatives or other social circle. After this, he must limit his contact or interaction with such a group in order to acclimatize himself into the rehab environment. Often, this distancing comes gradually; otherwise, the rehab authorities take on the onus of restricting the interaction of the patient with enablers.

12-step treatments are specifically designed to encourage a gradual de-linking from all lethal ties. At the same time, such programs also foster a consistent interaction with the healthy family group and relatives, so as to bridge the social gap between the victim and environment.

- Education and Goal Setting
Studies prove that patients with motivation and set goals for recovery as well as abstinence have a far higher rate of sobriety than those who lack determined goals. Goal setting by counselors is crucial to encourage some patients for a quick recovery. Lack of education is an equally dangerous barrier. For example, victims should be made aware that relapse is a phase of recovery and not to be construed as failure of the treatment process. By making them understand this essential truth, one can help them get back on track.

Transformations

The Taupo Off Licence Liquor Accord (TOLLA) is to begin the ‘Think Drink’ campaign that has been used in other centres in New Zealand.

This promotion is aimed at creating awareness about the dangerous consequences of supplying alcohol to young people.

The Think Drink campaign was developed last year in Counties Manukau between Police and Council, and has since been adopted in many centres around the country.

The campaign involves playing a DVD at the point of sale in off-licenses. The DVD shows brief stories or enactments about the potential dangers of supplying alcohol to young people, who then go on to drink unsupervised.

The supply of alcohol to underage people is a common problem around the country. The alcohol is often bought by a sibling, friend, or relative who is old enough, and then passed on to younger people.

This campaign shows that there are potentially horrendous consequences when alcohol is on-supplied.

TOLLA have purchased two TV/DVD screens which will be placed in participating off-licenses, and rotated through retailers within Taupo. These screens were purchased with the assistance of ALAC and the Taupo Safer Community Trust.

It is an offence against The Sale of Liquor Act to purchase alcohol and then supply it to a person under 18 years old, unless it is supplied by a parent or legal guardian. Any person convicted of this offence is liable to a $2000 fine.

Regardless of the requirements of statute, every person who purchases alcohol has a social responsibility to ensure that the alcohol is not passed on to an under-aged person who may put themselves or others at risk by consuming it irresponsibly.

Taupo Police

“We think this policy is the best way to put our best foot forward to the Miami community, to the Oxford community and to the whole nation really.”

With those words earlier this week, Drew Sturtevant, president of the Interfraternity Council at Miami University, announced new rules for Greek fraternities and sororities in Oxford that are intended to prevent the kind of outrageous, destructive student behavior that brought national attention and shame to Miami earlier this year.

This spring, two sororities were suspended after their spring formals turned into uncontrolled affairs that included excessive drinking, costly vandalism and property damage, indecent public acts, and vomiting and urinating on facilities at Lake Lyndsay Lodge in Butler County and at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. Another Greek organization was placed on probation for harassing a bus driver during an out-of-town event.

Miami President David Hodge called the behavior “disruptive, disrespectful and destructive,” and said he was “appalled and embarrassed.” The acts “are contrary to the values of Miami University, and contradictory to what is expected of responsible members of society,” he said last May. Those were his strong public remarks; his private comments to colleagues were likely even more intense and colorful.

This week’s announcement of new rules, agreed upon by 97 percent of Greek organization presidents on Aug. 22, were a response to the university’s pledge to take action after the disgraceful events came to light and drew close scrutiny to Oxford’s obvious student drinking problem.

Among the new rules:

• Groups must hire two security guards for the first 200 people attending an off-campus event and one guard for each additional 100 people.

• Each event will have student “sober monitors.”

• Sororities and fraternities must also have an even number of events without alcohol as social events with alcohol.

These appear to be a good starting point for ensuring that events like those at Lake Lyndsay and the Cincinnati museum do not get of control again, but the strongest measure — adding security guards — seems to be an acknowledgment that bad behavior is to be expected. Security guards might have been able to prevent some property damage and to summon police to last spring’s events, but what happens until police arrive? No one wants to see headlines about drunken Miami students being tased or security guards being assaulted.

As we’ve noted here before, Miami and other universities around the nation must continue efforts to combat the scourge of dangerous binge drinking on and off campuses. About two of every five college students of all ages — more than 40 percent — have reported engaging in binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The problem is epidemic.

Moreover, it’s ignominious that college students — young adults who are supposed to be our best and brightest — have to be treated as children and handed a set of rules to control how they behave in public. We commend the work of the task force that devised the rules and won consensus, and hope that more measures will be put in place. But it’s unfortunate that this task was ever necessary.

Journal News

A Multiple Site Evaluation

“Prevention of Adolescent Reoccurring Violence and Alcohol Abuse: A Multiple Site Evaluation” is a multiple component alcohol abuse and violent behavior prevention strategy, targeted to adolescents ages 16-21 who have high levels of anger, or who are victims/perpetrators of violence, and their families.

Three community centers located in upstate New York provided group participants (N = 210) known to have conduct disorder and substance abuse history.

The centers were used as the intervention sites over a seven-week period with the youth assessment staff using objective screening measures.

The participants were exposed to a two-pronged intervention, using a parental involvement cohort with approximately half of the study participants.

The Teams, Games, and Tournaments strategy was the intervention method. Teams, Games, and Tournaments is a Social Learning Theory-based intervention with demonstrated empirical evidence of the model’s effectiveness.

A 2 times 3 factorial design with two follow-up points encompassed: anger control, alcohol/substance abuse, and family interactive education.

The goals of the study were to help adolescents reduce their alcohol use, to increase productive family interaction, and ultimately to reduce the adolescents’ aggression levels and subsequently reduce the possibility of their becoming victims or perpetrators of a violent crime.

Consistent with Social Learning Theory, the Teams, Games, and Tournaments treatment intervention makes use of adolescents as peer counselors.

The practical implications include that professionals or students in our public schools, juvenile courts, correctional institutions, and residential treatment centers can easily implement this program.

A standardized treatment manual is available. It offers a complete, ready-to-use, and cost-effective tool for reducing adolescent violence and alcohol abuse.

Further, the data provide support for a hypothesis of social learning theory, that is: interventions using multiple components are more effective than single treatments on their own.

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

Who benefits from brief interventions?

Background

Research investigating the differential effectiveness of Brief Motivational Interventions (BMIs) among alcohol-dependent and non-dependent patients in the medical setting is limited. Clinical guidelines suggest that BMI is most appropriate for patients with less severe alcohol problems. As a result, most studies evaluating the effectiveness of BMI have excluded patients with an indication of alcohol dependence.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial of brief intervention in the trauma care setting comparing BMI to treatment as usual plus assessment (TAU+) was conducted. Alcohol dependence status was determined for 1336 patients using DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The differential effectiveness of BMI among alcohol-dependent and non-dependent patients was determined with regard to volume per week, maximum amount consumed, percent days abstinent, alcohol problems at 6 and 12 months follow-up. In addition, the effect of BMI on dependence status at 6 and 12 months was determined.

Results

There was a consistent interaction between BMI and alcohol dependence status, which indicated significantly higher reductions in volume per week at 6 and 12 months follow-up (β = −.56, p = .03, β = −.63, p = .02, respectively), maximum amount at 6 months (β = −.31, p = .04), and significant decreases in percent days abstinent at 12 months (β = .11, p = .007) and alcohol problems at 12 months (β = −2.7, p12 = .04) among patients with alcohol dependence receiving BMI. In addition, patients with alcohol dependence at baseline that received BMI were .59 (95% CI = .39–.91) times less likely to meet criteria for alcohol dependence at six months.
Conclusions

These findings suggest that BMI is more beneficial among patients with alcohol dependence who screen positive for an alcohol-related injury.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

The U.S. Department of Transportation today kicked off the annual Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. campaign aimed at getting drunk drivers off the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also released new data today indicating that eight percent of all drivers, as many as 17 million people, have driven drunk at least once during the past year. The law enforcement crackdown will run through Labor Day and involve thousands of police agencies from across the nation. Enforcement efforts are supported by $13 million in television and radio advertising from NHTSA. "Drunk driving is deadly, it’s against the law, and unfortunately, it’s still a problem," said Secretary LaHood. "With the help of law enforcement around the country, we are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior."

NHTSA’s research revealed that about one in five Americans have driven within two hours of drinking alcohol in the past year. Four out of five Americans identified drunk driving as a "major threat" to their own and their family’s safety. The survey noted that those who reported that they drink and drive consumed alcohol more regularly than individuals who drink but choose not to drive afterwards. More than one in four drinking drivers, 28 percent, consumed alcoholic beverages three or more days a week, compared to 10 percent of drivers who drink but do not drive afterwards. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said, "Our message is loud and clear. If you drive drunk you will be arrested and prosecuted. There will be no exceptions and no excuses. And if you’re below the age of 21, there is zero tolerance for any alcohol in your system whatsoever. That’s why we’re out there with law enforcement, tackling this major safety issue head on."

Administrator Strickland noted that the study revealed a particularly concerning rate of drinking and driving behavior among young drivers, especially young male drivers. Few 16 to 20 year-old respondents admitted to driving after drinking in the survey, but those that did admit to drinking said they drank almost six alcohol beverages at one sitting. While this admission in the survey was inclusive of all drinking occasions, and not just drinking and driving, it does suggest that when young people decide to combine the two, they are drinking more heavily.

Personal drinking behavior can also lead to an increased likelihood of riding with impaired, unsafe drivers. According to the survey, 8 percent of the population 16 and older rode in the past year with a driver they thought may have consumed too much alcohol to drive safely. The latest survey was administered in 2008 by telephone to 6,999 respondents 16 years and older, and over-sampled teenagers and young adults 16-24 years of age. The survey is conducted on a periodic basis to monitor the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior regarding drinking and driving.

U. S. Department of Transportation

Stronger Enforcement, Increased Safety Belt Usage Credited for the Reduction

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Division of Traffic Safety today released data showing a lower number of alcohol-involved, motor vehicle fatalities in Illinois. The reduction in alcohol-involved fatalities has occurred steadily since 2002 with the largest decline occurring between 2007 and 2008.

The announcement comes as the Illinois State Police join local law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois for the Labor Day, You Drink & Drive. You Lose. impaired driving crackdown. For the next two weeks, over 300 agencies will partner with the Illinois State Police in conducting nearly 200 roadside safety checks, impaired driving patrols and nighttime safety belt patrols. Motorists are being warned that impaired driving or failure to buckle up, especially during late-night hours, will result in arrests or safety belt citations.

“IDOT and its partners are committed to the fight against impaired driving in Illinois. We are very gratified that in recent years Illinois has seen reductions in the number of fatalities caused by impaired drivers,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig. “These reductions represent lives saved and are the result of the remarkable dedication shown by the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement agencies in every part of our state, along with more drivers and passengers buckling up. Combined with the educational efforts of the You Drink & Drive. You Lose. and Click It or Ticket campaigns along with increased law enforcement efforts, we are extremely pleased that fewer people are driving impaired and more people are wearing their safety belts.”

“It is inappropriate to drink and drive regardless of the time of day," said Acting Illinois State Police Director Jonathon Monken. "Statistics tells us your chances of being involved in an alcohol related crash or fatal crash increases dramatically at night. Therefore, in addition to efforts put forth during the holiday travel period, the Illinois State Police will focus our efforts on DUI and seat belt enforcement during night time details throughout the Labor Day weekend."

According to data from IDOT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of motor vehicle fatalities involving a drinking driver declined modestly but steadily from 2002 through 2008, culminating with a 16-percent decrease between 2007 and 2008. The number of fatalities involving a legally impaired driver (0.08 BAC and above) also declined from 2002 through 2008, and the total number of fatalities decreased by 77 between 2007 and 2008, a reduction of about 18 percent.

Another encouraging sign of improvement is the reduction in the Illinois’ alcohol-related fatality rate, the ratio of alcohol-involved fatalities to total annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Illinois. This rate has been above 0.50 for several years in Illinois, but fell to 0.48 in 2007 and to a low of 0.41 in 2008.

Now through Labor Day, law enforcement throughout Illinois will be conducting more patrols designed to enforce impaired driving and safety belt laws, especially during late-night hours.

Illinois Goverment News Network