Excessive Alcohol Use
Costs $223.5 Billion Annually
Excessive alcohol use costs the United States $223.5 billion
annually, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). Binge drinking accounts for more than 70 percent of these
costs. “It is striking to see most of the costs of excessive drinking in states
and D.C. are due to binge drinking, which is reported by about 18 percent of
U.S. adults,” report author Dr. Robert Brewer, alcohol program lead at CDC,
said in a statement. CBS News reports the median state cost associated with
excessive alcohol use was $2.9 billion; about $2 of every $5 was paid for by
the government. Alcohol-related costs totaled almost $32 billion in California,
compared with $420 million in North Dakota. The authors concluded costs due to
excessive drinking largely came from losses in workplace productivity,
healthcare expenses and costs resulting from criminal justice expenses, motor
vehicle crashes and property damage. The report found underage drinking
accounted for $24.6 billion, or 11 percent, of the total excessive drinking
costs. The findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine. In 2012, the CDC released a report that found 38 million American
adults are binge drinkers, and most of them are ages 18 to 34. Binge drinking
is defined as men who have five or more drinks in one sitting, and women who
have four or more drinks at one time. The CDC recommends a number of strategies
to reduce alcohol-related costs, including increasing alcohol taxes, limiting
the number of alcohol retailers in certain areas and holding retailers liable
for selling alcohol to obviously intoxicated people or minors who cause death
or injury to others.
Young Americans Turning
Away From Beer, Embracing Liquor As Drink Of Choice: Gallup
Millennials are driving a decline in beer's lead as the most
preferred type of alcohol, according to a recent Gallup poll. The percentage of
adults under 30 who pick beer over wine or liquor has dropped from 71 percent
in the early 1990's to just 41 percent today. While beer narrowly remains the
most popular drink of choice when compared to wine and liquor, young Americans
are shifting towards liquor increasingly. Twenty-eight percent of 18- to
29-year-olds said they prefer liquor today, compared to 13 percent of that age
group who said they preferred liquor in a 1992-1994 survey. Overall, Americans
are about split between beer and wine as their preferred drink, 36 to 35 percent.
But beer's dominance over wine dropped 20 points since 1992, Gallup noted.
Read the rest of this article here.
Pharmacists and Doctors
Squabble as Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic Rages
Pharmacists and doctors are at each other’s throats over a
strongly worded resolution passed by the American Medical Association (AMA)
that was meant to curb phone calls from pharmacists checking for additional
information about pain medication prescriptions. The AMA House of Delegates
passed the strongly-worded resolution in June and now pharmacists have come out
against it, saying it is an affront to the mostly collegial relationship that
the two professions have enjoyed thus far. Read more here.
Problem Behaviors Can Signal Risk in Prescribing
Opioids to Teens
In the years 2007 to 2009, more than 1 in 5 high school seniors
nationwide had used an opioid painkiller (e.g., Vicodin, OxyContin, Percodan,
Percocet, Demerol, Dilaudid, morphine, or codeine) at least once in their
lives. Roughly 1 in 8 had used these medications without a doctor instructing
them to do so. Any history of such nonmedical opioid use should raise a red flag
for a person’s potential engagement in multiple problematic substance-related
behaviors. Click
to read more.
Women Tend to Seek Help for Alcohol Abuse Sooner Than
Men; Females go for treatment after an average 10 years versus 15 years for
males
Women with drinking problems seek treatment an average of four to five years
earlier than men with drinking problems, a new study reveals. Researchers
collected information from 274 men and 257 women in substance abuse treatment
facilities and found that women sought treatment after about 10 years of having
a drinking problem, compared with about 15 years for men. In addition,
the investigators found that women start drinking regularly around the same age
as men -- average age was 19 for women and 18 for men -- and that self-reported
drinking problems begin in the early 20s for both women and men. The findings
were released online Aug. 9 in advance of publication in an upcoming print
issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"Historically, alcoholism has been considered a 'male disease' due to its
markedly higher prevalence among men," study corresponding author Ben
Lewis, a postdoctoral associate in the psychiatry department at the University
of Florida, said in a journal news release. "More recently it has been
recognized that while men may have a higher prevalence, women may be uniquely
vulnerable to negative consequences of chronic drinking." While the study
did not determine why women seek treatment sooner than men, the fact that they
do so is important information for doctors and other health care providers,
said Rosemary Fama, senior research scientist and senior research
neuropsychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine and SRI
International, in the news release. She was not involved in the study. Fama
suggested that women may attach less social stigma to drinking problems than
men and may be more willing to admit that they have a drinking problem and need
professional help to deal with it.
In Teen Girls, Alcohol Habits Tend
to Differ By Race
A new study
reveals racial differences in the alcohol habits of high school females,
with alcohol use more common among white girls than black girls. And among
those who do drink, black girls tend to consume more liquor, whereas white
girls generally drink both beer and liquor.
Continue reading here.
CVS pharmacies to ID customers buying nail polish
remover to prevent criminals from using it to make crystal meth
Nail polish remover can be used for dozens of things that have
nothing to do with removing nail polish. For example, it can be used to remove
permanent marker, dissolve superglue and rub paint off of windows. It's
also used to make crystal meth, which is why CVS pharmacies have implemented a
policy requiring anyone buying nail polish remover to present photo
identification. 'Our policy limits the sale of these products in conjunction
with other methamphetamine precursors and is based on various regulations
requiring retailers to record sales of acetone,' said CVS Public Relations
Director Mike DeAngelis. According to the pharmacy chain, when you
purchase a bottle of nail polish remover, the clerk will scan your ID and keep
track of how often you purchase products that contain acetone. It's
unclear how much acetone a person would need to buy in order to be denied
purchase. There currently are no state or federal laws limiting the
amount of acetone products a person can buy in a single day. But CVS' new policy
may be a preemptive move to avoid future lawsuits.
Number of Calls to U.S. Poison
Control Centers About Exposure to Synthetic Marijuana and Synthetic Cathinones
Stable at Lower Levels Than Recent Years
The number of calls to U.S. poison control centers about
exposure to synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones remained relatively
stable in the first six months of 2013, according to data from the American
Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). After peaking in July 2011 at
705 calls, the number of calls for synthetic marijuana, also known as spice or
K2, began to decline in 2012, reaching 173 in January 2013. Since then the
number of calls for exposure to synthetic marijuana have remained relatively
stable at around 250 calls per month, with a slight decrease from May to June
2013 (from 272 calls to 221 calls). A similar pattern emerged for synthetic
cathinones, also known as bath salts. After peaking in June 2011 at 744 calls,
the number of poison center calls for synthetic cathinone exposure declined
sharply during the rest of 2011, stabilized for the first part of 2012, then
declined again after a brief rise. The number of calls for exposure to
synthetic cathinones has remained around 90 calls per month since September
2012. The decreases in exposure calls for synthetic marijuana and bath salts
since 2011 may be related to the heightened media exposure about the negative
effects of these drugs as well as recent federal and state legal bans on the
substances. SOURCE: Adapted by CESAR from the American Association of Poison
Control Centers (AAPCC), Synthetic Marijuana Data June 30,2013,
2013.
New Sign of Stimulants’
Toll on Young
The number of young adults who end up in the emergency room
after taking Adderall, Ritalin or other such stimulants has quadrupled in
recent years, federal health officials said Thursday, fresh evidence of the
unexpected consequences that can result from the wide use of medicines for
conditions like attention deficit disorder. The number of emergency room visits
related to stimulants among people ages 18 to 34 increased to 23,000 in 2011,
from 5,600 in 2005, according to national data from the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the Department of Health and
Human Services. Peter J. Delany, the director of the office that oversees
statistics for the administration, said the rise was particularly pronounced
among 18- to 25-year-olds. He said it was part of a broader pattern of negative
health effects from prescription drug abuse across American society. Continue
reading here.
Drug Company Has List of
MDs Who May Recklessly Prescribe Painkillers
Purdue Pharma, which makes the opioid painkiller OxyContin,
has compiled a database of about 1,800 doctors it suspects may have recklessly
prescribed the drug to people addicted to it, as well as to drug dealers, the
Los Angeles Times reports. The company has kept most of the list private. The
company has maintained the list over the last decade, according to the
newspaper. It has only alerted law enforcement officials or medical authorities
about a small percentage of doctors on the list. Many of the doctors in the
database have continued to write prescriptions for the drug, the article notes.
The list was discussed for the first time in public at a drug dependency
conference in San Diego in June. The company has told law enforcement officials
or medical regulators about 154, or 8 percent, of the doctors in the database,
Abrams said. She noted the company would alert authorities in some situations,
such as cases in which their sales representatives witness apparent drug deals
in doctors’ parking lots, or observe doctors who appear to be under the influence
of drugs or alcohol.
High-Potency Marijuana Can
Lead to Dangerous Behavior, Doctors Say
Many marijuana growers are trying to increase the content of
the drug’s active ingredient, THC, as high as it will go, CNN reports.
High-potency marijuana can lead to dangerous behavior, such as intoxicated
driving, several experts say. Generally, the most potent strains have a THC
content of about 25 percent, the article notes. Dr. Mahmoud ElSohly, who
directs the lab at the University of Mississippi that tracks the potency of
marijuana seized by federal law enforcement officers, says they have found
marijuana with a potency of 37 percent. In 1972, the average THC potency was
less than 1 percent. That rose to 3 to 4 percent in the 1990s, and is almost 13
percent today. Dr. Julie Holland, a New York psychiatrist, says certain
behaviors, such as driving, can be deadly for a person who is acutely
intoxicated from THC. “The risk is not that you’ll stop breathing or that
you’ll die,” she says. “The risk is that you’ll become very altered and disoriented,
and you can get anxious and panicky in that situation.” Dr. Stuart Gitlow,
President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, notes, “If you look at
marijuana, the intensity has changed. So I would expect it to have a somewhat
higher addictive potential.” He added, “ Most people are going to be fine, but
there still will be that 10 percent of people who are going to get as high as
they possibly can.”
Moderate Drinkers May Gain
Less Weight Than Heavier or Lighter Drinkers
Recent research suggests people who drink moderately—about
two glasses a day for men, and one for women—may gain less weight than those
who drink heavily or don’t drink at all, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“People who gain the least weight are moderate drinkers, regardless of
[alcoholic] beverage choice,” Erik Rimm, Associate Professor of Epidemiology
and Nutrition at Harvard Medical School, told the newspaper. Rimm, who chaired
the 2010 review of alcohol in the federal dietary guidelines, notes the
difference in weight gain is modest. “Starting to drink is not a weight-loss
diet,” he said. Rimm says after people drink alcohol, their heart rate
increases, so they burn more calories in the subsequent hour. “It’s a modest
amount,” he said. “But if you take an individual that eats 100 calories instead
of a glass of wine, the person drinking the glass of wine will have a slight
increase in the amount of calories burned.” Alcohol can influence a person’s
food choices. Research suggests women who drink alcohol consume fewer sweet
foods. This may be because alcohol stimulates the same pleasure center in the
brain as sweets. A study published earlier this year found people consume more
calories and fat on the days they drink alcohol. Researchers from the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism studied 1,864 adults who answered a
diet questionnaire on two days within a 10-day period. On one day, they drank
alcohol, and on the second day, they did not. When they drank, they had an
average of two to three alcoholic beverages at a time. On days they did not
drink, men consumed an average of 2,400 calories, while women consumed about
1,700 calories. When they drank, men consumed about 400 more daily calories,
and women took in about 300 more calories.
New Muscle-Building Drugs
at Risk of Being Abused
New drugs being tested as treatments for muscle-wasting
diseases such as muscular dystrophy could be abused by athletes if they reach
the market, experts tell NPR. Researchers are also studying the drugs, called
myostatin inhibitors, as potential treatments for muscle wasting in other
diseases, such as cancer and kidney disease. The drugs block a substance called
myostatin, which the body normally produces to stop muscles from becoming too
large. At least one myostatin inhibitor is likely to receive approval by the
Food and Drug Administration in the next few years, the article notes.
Ten Percent of Americans
Admit Taking Medication They Have Not Been Prescribed
A new poll finds 10 percent of Americans admit they have
taken someone else’s prescription drugs. One-quarter of those people used the
drugs to get high. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found about 60 percent of Americans
who used someone else’s prescriptions were seeking pain relief, while 20
percent took them to sleep, or to manage anxiety and stress, Reuters reports.
Two-thirds of those who said they used other people’s prescriptions said the
drugs were given to them by a family member, friend or acquaintance. Some
people use another person’s prescriptions to save on costs, the article notes.
Dr. Wilson Compton, a Division Director at the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, warned against taking someone else’s prescription drugs. He noted
doctors prescribe specific dosage levels according to a person’s individual
needs. “Simply because it’s a medicine that comes from a pharmacy does not mean
it is without risk,” he said. “There’s a reason they require a prescription.”
The online poll included the responses of 6,438 American adults.
Teens With Half-Siblings
More Likely to Use Drugs and Have Sex by Age 15
Having half-siblings increases the chance that a teenager
will use drugs and have sex by age 15, according to a study presented at the
American Sociological Association annual meeting. Researchers found that teens
who have a half-sibling with a different father are about 65 percent more
likely to have used drugs by age 15. They are also about two-and-a-half times
more likely to have had sex by that age, HealthDay reports. “For children,
[multi-partnered fertility] means having a half-sibling, but it also means, for
first-born children, that they usually experienced their biological parents
splitting up — if they were together at all, lived in a single mother household
for some time, experienced their mother finding a new partner at least once and
perhaps lived with a stepfather, and finally experienced their mother having a
baby with a new partner,” researcher Karen Benjamin Guzzo of Bowling Green
State University explained in a news release.
Advice on Addiction in
Boomers
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, use of illegal substances is increasing in adults over 50.
Abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs has also been on the rise. With the
population of adults over 65 expected to grow to 73 million from 40 million
between 2010 and 2030, the number of those needing treatment stands to
overwhelm the country’s mental health care system, according to a recent report
by the Institute of Medicine.
Continue here.
What I Wish I Had Done
Differently with My Addicted Son
A while back, I received an e-mail from a concerned mother.
In it, she described her son’s addiction. She spoke about several experiences
that were similar to my own. She told me about how she had done this and that
trying to help. She was scared she was going to lose her son. Read
the rest here.
Binge Drinking Remedy?
Washington State University Imposes Early-Morning Friday Classes To Combat
‘Thirsty Thursday’
In response to a student who died from alcohol poisoning
last school year, Washington State University (WSU) is taking precautionary
measures to reduce the amount of drug use and binge drinking. Changes include
more early-morning Friday classes, more alcohol-free floors in residence halls,
and alcohol screening for at-risk students. “If something as simple as the
timing of a student’s academic classes will help prevent excessive drinking
behavior, then it’s a good science-based practice to implement,” said Dr. Bruce
Wright, executive director of WSU’s Health and Wellness Services. That’s not
all that the university has in store for its booze-loving incoming freshmen.
Underage students are subject to parental notification if they are caught
violating alcohol or drug policies. University officials are also considering
the removal of fraternity freshman housing. “We know from multiple
national studies and local data that freshmen are more likely to experience
alcohol-related harm than other students and that freshmen fraternity members
are in the highest risk category,” Wright added. “The idea is to eventually
have all freshmen living in the residence halls where trained personnel are on
hand 24/7.” A recent study conducted by The Parternship at Drugfree.org shows
that teenagers getting ready to enter college aren't all that worried about the
effects of binge drinking. In fact, 45 percent of the individuals between
grades nine and 12 said that they didn’t know why binge drinking was such a big
deal. Around 68 percent of respondents admitted to consuming alcohol, with
their first drink at the average age of 14. Participants' explanations for why
they drank included “because it is fun” and so that they won’t feel left out.
"You're seeing this weakness in this generation of teens' attitudes around
drug and alcohol use," said Steve Pasierb, president of The Parternship at
Drugfree.org. "It's not like this generation of kids thinks they're more
bulletproof than others, but they really don't see any harm in that heavy
drinking."
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder Impacts Brain Development Throughout Childhood and Adolescence Not
Just at Birth
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published findings
showing that brain development is delayed throughout childhood and adolescence
for people born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Christian Beaulieu
and Carmen Rasmussen, the two primary investigators in the research study,
recently published the results of their work in the peer-reviewed journal, The
Journal of Neuroscience. Their team scanned 17 people with FASD, and 27 people
without the disorder, who were between 5 and 15 years old. Each participant
underwent two to three scans, with each scan taking place two to four years
apart. This is the first research study involving multiple scans of the same
FASD study participants. Researchers used an advanced MRI method that examines
white matter in the brain. White matter forms connections between various
regions of the brain and usually develops significantly during childhood and
adolescence. Those who took part in the study were imaged multiple times, to
see what kinds of changes occurred in brain development as the participants
aged. Those without the disorder had marked increases in brain volume and white
matter -- growth that was lacking in those with FASD. However, the advanced MRI
method revealed greater changes in the brain wiring of white matter in the FASD
group, which the authors suggest may reflect compensation for delays in
development earlier in childhood. "These findings may suggest that
significant brain changes happened earlier in the study participants who didn't
have FASD," says the study's first author, Sarah Treit, who is a student
in the Centre for Neuroscience at the U of A. "This study suggests
alcohol-induced injury with FASD isn't static -- those with FASD have altered brain
development, they aren't developing at the same rate as those without the
disorder. And our research showed those with FASD consistently scored lower on
all cognitive measures in the study." Treit said the research team also
made other important observations. Children with FASD who demonstrated the
greatest changes in white matter development also made the greatest gains in
reading ability -- "so the connection seems relevant." And those with
the most severe FASD showed the greatest changes in white matter brain wiring.
Scans also confirmed those with FASD have less overall brain volume -- this
issue neither rectified itself nor worsened throughout the course of the study.
Beaulieu is a researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, while Rasmussen
works in the Department of Pediatrics. Their research was funded by the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The team is continuing their research
in this area, in hopes of finding a biomarker for FASD, and to examine how the
brain changes from adolescence into adulthood in those with the disorder. The
advanced MRI imaging the team used can pinpoint brain damage present in those
with FASD, and could one day guide medical interventions for those with the
disorder, which affects one in every 100 Canadians.
Alcohol Abuse
Important Risk Factor in Early-Onset Dementia, Researchers Find
A study of risk factors for early-onset dementia finds
alcohol abuse tops the list, HealthDay reports. In contrast, the influence of
hereditary factors is small, according to the researchers. They define
early-onset dementia as occurring before age 65. The researchers studied
488,484 men drafted at about age 18 into the Swedish military over a 10-year
period. They were followed for approximately 37 years. During that time, 487
men developed early-onset dementia, at an average age of 54. Besides alcohol
intoxication, other risk factors included drug abuse, the use of antipsychotic
drugs, stroke, depression, having a father with dementia, poor mental
functioning as a teen, being short and having high blood pressure. Men who had
at least two of these risk factors, and were in the lowest third of overall
mental ability, had a 20-fold increased risk. “These risk factors were
multiplicative, most were potentially modifiable, and most could be traced to
adolescence, suggesting excellent opportunities for early prevention,” the
researchers wrote in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Posts
