Study Finds Active Participation in AA Aids in Long-Term Recovery
Recovering alcoholics who help others in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) have better outcomes themselves, a new study concludes. Helping others increases the amount of time a person stays sober, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.The findings come from a 10-year study, PsychCentral.com reports. The researchers examined the effects of Alcoholics Anonymous-related Helping (AAH). “The AAH findings suggest the importance of getting active in service, which can be in a committed 2-month AA service position or as simple as sharing one’s personal experience in recovery to another fellow sufferer,” lead researcher Maria Pagano said in a news release.
She found that participants engaged in AAH attended more meetings and did more step-work than those who did not help others. Pagano noted that “being interested in others keeps you more connected to your program and pulls you out of the vicious cycle of extreme self-preoccupation that is a posited root of addiction.”
The findings appear in the journal Substance Abuse.
Growing Number of Colleges Ban Smoking on Campus
A number of state universities have enacted bans on smoking this year, according to USA Today. These include the University of Oklahoma, the University of Oregon and Montana State University. By 2014, all of the University of California campuses will ban the use or sale of cigarettes and chewing tobacco.Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will visit the University of Michigan on Wednesday to announce a government-backed campaign to encourage campuses nationwide to go tobacco free.
According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, 774 college campuses in the United States had banned smoking as of July 1, including 562 that had banned tobacco use altogether. Most college campuses banned smoking indoors in the 1970s, leading to smokers gathering at building entrances.
At Montana State University, there was fierce opposition to the smoking ban, according to Jenny Haubenreiser, Director of Health Promotion, and President of the American College Health Association. She explained that in Montana, spit tobacco is part of the culture. She added that parents overwhelmingly support the ban.
This summer, the Ohio Board of Regents recommended a total ban on tobacco products at the state’s public colleges. In June, the University of Maryland announced all 12 of its institutions will become smoke free by July 2013. At schools in the City University of New York system, the use and advertising of tobacco will not be allowed beginning in September.
Having Three or More Drinks a Day May Increase Risk of Earlier Stroke
People who have three or more alcoholic drinks a day may have a higher risk of stroke at a much younger age, compared with those who don’t drink heavily, a new study suggests.The French study included 540 people who had suffered a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, HealthDay reports. One-quarter of participants had three or more drinks a day. These heavy drinkers had a stroke at an average age of 60. In contrast, those who didn’t drink heavily had a stroke at an average age of 74.
Participants younger than 60 who had a stroke that occurred in the deep part of the brain were more likely to die within two years of the study follow-up, compared with those who did not drink heavily.
“It’s important to keep in mind that drinking large amounts of alcohol contributes to a more severe form of stroke at a younger age in people who had no significant past medical history,” study author Dr. Charlotte Cordonnier said in a journal news release.
The study appears in Neurology.
U.S. burger chains aim to scoop up patrons with boozy milkshakes
Gourmet hamburger chains are spiking milkshakes with everything from beer to red wine in a bid to steal customers from "dry" rivals like McDonald's Corp. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc will debut a Samuel Adams Octoberfest milkshake, made with vanilla ice cream, beer and caramel, at its roughly 460 restaurants around the country.Red Robin is not the first restaurant to add booze to milkshakes, which are a menu staple at most burger joints. But its move comes as bartenders take a bigger role in creating menu items that will set more upscale restaurants apart from fast-food chains that often do not sell alcohol.
"Now our guests don't have to choose between a beer or a shake to go with their burger," Donna Ruch, Red Robin's master mixologist in charge of developing alcoholic and nonalcoholic drink recipes, said of the chain's new beer milkshake.
The number of frozen cocktails on restaurant menus is up 52 percent since 2009, despite the flagging popularity of classics like pina coladas, daiquiris and mudslides, according to Mintel Menu Insights, which tracks trends across all types of restaurants.
"Boozy shakes are kind of a thing right now," Mintel food service analyst Kathy Hayden said.
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay sells bourbon, rum and vodka-spiked milkshakes at his chain, called Bobby's Burger Palace. But, as the Red Robin example shows, the combinations don't end with hard alcohol - a traditional ingredient in "adult" milkshakes. TGI Friday's and a slew of independent restaurants sell milkshakes made with Guinness stout, an Irish dark beer brand, usually around St. Patrick's Day. The Counter, a Los Angeles-based burger chain, offers a variety of alcoholic shakes, including versions made with red or white wine. Not to be left behind, fast-food restaurants have been pushing the envelope on nonalcoholic milkshake flavors. For example, fast-food chain Jack In The Box earlier this year caused a stir with its bacon-flavored milkshakes.
Red Robin's beer milkshake is a limited-time offering sold as part of the restaurant's Oktoberfest menu. It will be priced around $5 and served only to patrons of legal drinking age.
The milkshake offers diners a low-cost way to add a little adventure to their meals at a time when the menus at large fast-food burger chains like McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's have become a "sea of sameness," said Denny Post, Red Robin's chief marketing officer.
"The male at the table is the one more likely to take the bait," Post said.
Mintel's Hayden said a festive, attention-grabbing drink is bound to help differentiate Red Robin from its fast-food rivals. At the same time, the beer shake also should help the company compete with the scores of independent, gourmet burger chains popping up around the country. While a beer milkshake is a good fit for Red Robin's menu, the jury is still out on whether it will lure new customers - especially the hungry young men who frequent burger chains, Hayden said. "It will get some curiosity drinkers, but I don't know if it will get new young men in the door," said Hayden, who had not tasted the new milkshake. (Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Heavy Drinkers
at Greater Risk for Stroke; Drinking 3 or More Alcoholic Drinks a Day Raises
Stroke Risk
Heavy drinkers may be at a much greater risk for a bleeding stroke, a new study suggests.
People who drank about three or more alcoholic drinks per day also had the strokes almost a decade and a half before those who didn't drink quite as much. The findings appear in Neurology.
Exactly how heavy drinking may raise risk of this type of stroke is not clear. The study included 540 French people with an average age of 71 who had a less common type of stroke called an intracerebral hemorrhage. This type of stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain, not a blood clot.
The people in the study and/or their caregivers or relatives were asked about drinking habits. Fully 25% were heavy drinkers. This was defined as having about three or more drinks per day, or about 1.8 ounces per day of "pure" alcohol. Participants also had CT scans of their brains, and French researchers reviewed their medical records. The heavy drinkers were about 60 when they had stroke. By contrast, the people who were not heavy drinkers were about 74 when they had a stroke. The heavy drinkers were also more likely to be smokers and did show some evidence of irregularities in their blood that would make them more likely to have a bleeding stroke.
One Drink a Day Is Still OK
"The study does add to our knowledge that excessive drinking is bad for our health in a variety of ways, including increased risk of bleeding into the brain," says Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH. He is a heart doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Still, the study is small, and larger ones will be needed before telling people not to drink past a certain level.
Heavy drinkers may be more likely to have high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke. "If someone enjoys drinking, I don't discourage them, but I will caution them even more so after this study to make sure that the amount is considered moderate," Bhatt says. Risks of falling and liver problems are also linked to heavy drinking, he says.
However, "we do know that one glass of red wine a day, on average, lowers heart attack and stroke risk, and that is still true," says Patrick Lyden, MD. He is the chair of the department of neurology at of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His advice remains unchanged. "If you don't drink, don't start because you think it will protect your heart, and if you do drink, keep it moderate."
So what is moderate drinking, exactly? "My rule of thumb is one glass of wine a night, and that is the same as a glass of beer or one mixed drink," he says. "This doesn't mean you can save them up and have seven drinks on a Saturday." Certain people should avoid alcohol, including those taking blood thinners and people with high blood pressure, Lyden adds. Rafael Ortiz, MD, is the director of the Center for Stroke and Neuro-Endovascular Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He tells WebMD that smart stroke prevention includes:
Not smoking
Eating a healthy diet
Maintaining normal blood pressure levels
Moderate drinking
"These are concrete things we can all do today to lower our risk of stroke," he says.
Heavy drinkers may be at a much greater risk for a bleeding stroke, a new study suggests.
People who drank about three or more alcoholic drinks per day also had the strokes almost a decade and a half before those who didn't drink quite as much. The findings appear in Neurology.
Exactly how heavy drinking may raise risk of this type of stroke is not clear. The study included 540 French people with an average age of 71 who had a less common type of stroke called an intracerebral hemorrhage. This type of stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain, not a blood clot.
The people in the study and/or their caregivers or relatives were asked about drinking habits. Fully 25% were heavy drinkers. This was defined as having about three or more drinks per day, or about 1.8 ounces per day of "pure" alcohol. Participants also had CT scans of their brains, and French researchers reviewed their medical records. The heavy drinkers were about 60 when they had stroke. By contrast, the people who were not heavy drinkers were about 74 when they had a stroke. The heavy drinkers were also more likely to be smokers and did show some evidence of irregularities in their blood that would make them more likely to have a bleeding stroke.
One Drink a Day Is Still OK
"The study does add to our knowledge that excessive drinking is bad for our health in a variety of ways, including increased risk of bleeding into the brain," says Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH. He is a heart doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Still, the study is small, and larger ones will be needed before telling people not to drink past a certain level.
Heavy drinkers may be more likely to have high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke. "If someone enjoys drinking, I don't discourage them, but I will caution them even more so after this study to make sure that the amount is considered moderate," Bhatt says. Risks of falling and liver problems are also linked to heavy drinking, he says.
However, "we do know that one glass of red wine a day, on average, lowers heart attack and stroke risk, and that is still true," says Patrick Lyden, MD. He is the chair of the department of neurology at of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His advice remains unchanged. "If you don't drink, don't start because you think it will protect your heart, and if you do drink, keep it moderate."
So what is moderate drinking, exactly? "My rule of thumb is one glass of wine a night, and that is the same as a glass of beer or one mixed drink," he says. "This doesn't mean you can save them up and have seven drinks on a Saturday." Certain people should avoid alcohol, including those taking blood thinners and people with high blood pressure, Lyden adds. Rafael Ortiz, MD, is the director of the Center for Stroke and Neuro-Endovascular Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He tells WebMD that smart stroke prevention includes:
Not smoking
Eating a healthy diet
Maintaining normal blood pressure levels
Moderate drinking
"These are concrete things we can all do today to lower our risk of stroke," he says.
Without
Alcohol, Red Wine Is Still Beneficial
Drinking red wine may help lower blood pressure, but a new study from Spain suggests that alcohol is not the reason.
In a small randomized clinical trial, 67 men ages 55 to 75 who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease were assigned to daily drinks: four weeks drinking one ounce of gin, 10 ounces of red wine or 10 ounces of nonalcoholic red wine. All the men tried the three programs in succession. When the men drank gin, they experienced no change in blood pressure. With red wine, there was a slight but statistically insignificant lowering. But with nonalcoholic red wine, the men saw a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The study, published last week in Circulation Research, concludes that the blood-pressure-lowering effects of red wine are attributable not to its alcohol content, but to the beneficial chemicals called polyphenols that it contains, even in its nonalcoholic form. In fact, they suggested alcohol may limit the beneficial effect of the polyphenols.
"There have been many studies that show the cardiovascular benefits of drinking red wine," said the lead author, Gemma Chiva-Branch, a doctoral candidate at the University of Barcelona. "Our study pertains only to blood pressure. If you want to control blood pressure, drinking nonalcoholic red wine may be one good dietary measure you could take."
Drinking red wine may help lower blood pressure, but a new study from Spain suggests that alcohol is not the reason.
In a small randomized clinical trial, 67 men ages 55 to 75 who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease were assigned to daily drinks: four weeks drinking one ounce of gin, 10 ounces of red wine or 10 ounces of nonalcoholic red wine. All the men tried the three programs in succession. When the men drank gin, they experienced no change in blood pressure. With red wine, there was a slight but statistically insignificant lowering. But with nonalcoholic red wine, the men saw a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The study, published last week in Circulation Research, concludes that the blood-pressure-lowering effects of red wine are attributable not to its alcohol content, but to the beneficial chemicals called polyphenols that it contains, even in its nonalcoholic form. In fact, they suggested alcohol may limit the beneficial effect of the polyphenols.
"There have been many studies that show the cardiovascular benefits of drinking red wine," said the lead author, Gemma Chiva-Branch, a doctoral candidate at the University of Barcelona. "Our study pertains only to blood pressure. If you want to control blood pressure, drinking nonalcoholic red wine may be one good dietary measure you could take."
When
the addiction cure is another addiction
Addiction manifests itself in different compulsions and
behaviors, which is critical to recognize during the treatment. Coupled with
pharmaceutical and psychosocial treatments, certain replacement habits can be
extremely effective for those with "addiction syndrome" [EPA].
The
autopsy report for Celebrity Rehab star Rodney King was released less than one
week after fellow program alumni Joey Kovar was found dead in his friend's
apartment. King was under the influence of cocaine, PCP, marijuana and alcohol
when he drowned in a swimming pool. After our
weekly "aftercare" meetings, my rehab cohorts and I used to watch
Celebrity Rehab together, moaning and kvetching about how we didn't have a pool
or a garden. We did, however - like on TV - have to face our sometimes-bitter
loved ones during family week.
Denise was
in her mid-60s, attempting treatment for the first time, listening to her
daughter publicly berate her to our group. "I
just can't trust her around my children anymore," the daughter complained
to our designated family therapist. "My mom gets out of control when she
drinks, and it's unfair to the kids."
Denise checked into treatment just a few hours before I did. She introduced herself as an alcoholic, but I quickly learned that her real drug of choice was food. We bonded during our 30-day treatment program.
Addiction transfer
The doctors attributed Denise's sudden alcoholism to the physiological changes resulting from her recent gastric bypass surgery. Indeed, people who undergo certain weight loss procedures can double their risks for developing alcoholism. But someone like Denise, who had all the pre-surgery risk factors, should have been warned about her likelihood to addiction hop post-operation and treated accordingly.
Denise was far from the first person I'd seen switch from one destructive outlet to another after swearing off the first. My own life had been a perpetual cycle of compulsive behaviors and substance abuse, never sticking with one long enough to hit "rock bottom". From food to shopping to men to prescription medication to hard drugs, my memories are more easily tracked by obsessive binges than by time alone. So when I finally entered treatment, I was eager to find a solution. Instead, I picked up a nasty cigarette habit and a handful of prescriptions for unwanted, non-narcotic medications. During family week, my dad suggested that I "replace" my drug addiction with a more productive addiction (his suggestion was exercise). After all, he had seen me invest my obsessive tendencies into school my whole life. His idea was met with laughter from the counselors and staff, all of whom felt he should stick to his own field: financial engineering.
Addiction manifests itself in different compulsions and behaviors, which is critical to recognize during the treatment process. Rather than identifying patients by their drug of choice, which may be transitory, research suggests we institute a broader conceptualization of this complex brain disease. Denise and I, for instance, would have been better served if the treatment staff had approached us as candidates for "addiction syndrome", as opposed to an alcoholic and an opiate addict.
"Addiction syndrome" [PDF] is the idea that common pathways underlie related addictive behaviors, causing many individuals to switch from one compulsion to another. Studies supporting the syndrome model have found that different objects of addiction (for example, eating, gambling and drug use) all stimulate the neurobiological circuitry of the central nervous system. In one such study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) concluded that both money and beauty activated the reward system of the brain in a similar fashion as that associated with the anticipation of cocaine users' experience. Scientists have, in turn, asserted dopamine as a critical neurotransmitter in the development and maintenance of both behavioral and drug addictions.
Replacement habits
There are similar neurobiological consequences for chemical and behavioral addictions, like the appearance of tolerance and withdrawal. Research has shown that the emergence of neuroadaptation is not unique to chemical dependency; in fact, disordered gamblers frequently increase their bets in order to reach the same high.
The syndrome model is also supported by the high rates of co-occurrence addiction maintains with many mental health problems, like depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders such as eating disorders and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Although neurobiological reward activity is the most well-known evidence defending the addiction syndrome, genetics can also contribute to a person's vulnerability to addiction. Studies in male twins have determined that shared genetic and environmental risk factors for drug and alcohol use are not substance-specific. Because there is evidence that genetics do not account for someone's susceptibility to disparate objects of addiction, psychosocial influences enhance neurobiological risk factors to determine how someone experiences addiction.
During the first year of recovery, about 80 to 90 per cent of individuals who enter treatment programs will relapse. While relapse may be due to inadequate or ineffective treatments and interventions, revising the way we view and diagnose the disease may substantially improve these outcomes. In order to fully address addiction, we must consider the precursors, manifestations and consequences of all addictive behavior, regardless of the presence of drugs and alcohol. My insurance-supported treatment programs, like most, implemented the 12-step model. At a women's Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting I attended after treatment, I frequently noticed other members struggling with ferocious addiction transfer. When an elderly woman cried, "I just can't stop eating!" another member told her to save it for the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meeting the following day. I attended the OA meeting several times, and it was comprised of the very same 20 women who frequented the rooms of AA.
We were all suffering from the same chronic condition - addiction syndrome. Separating us into different groups didn't change the result.
Contrary to the beliefs of many 12-steppers, the AA program doesn't address many of the psychiatric and biochemical issues at the root of chronic alcoholism. Instead, by means of a new routine (meetings), AA provides a model for habit change. By providing a new routine for similar cues and rewards, AA can work as a positive form of "addiction transfer" for the recovering alcoholics in the program (this may be less surprising for some than others). When coupled with pharmaceutical and psychosocial treatments, certain replacement habits can be extremely effective for those of us with "addiction syndrome". But some replacement habits are more effective than others.
A 2005 study found that AA was a successful habit replacement for members only until life stresses got too high. At that point, true believers in program effectiveness were more likely to sustain sobriety than casual believers. So what's the best bet for those of us looking to make serious life changes?
For me, it's exercise. Turns out my dad's suggestion to replace my addiction with a more positive one wasn't so ridiculous. In fact, it's been said that Alcohol Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson wanted people to be every bit as devoted to their habit of going to meetings as they were to getting their drink on.
So until today's treatment programmes catch up to the research, seems the best an addict can hope for is to actively switch addictions, just as Wilson suggested almost a century ago.
Chelsea
Carmona is a freelance writer whose work has been featured in major media
outlets like The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The
San Francisco Chronicle and The Huffington Post. Chelsea's work
focuses on drug policy, addiction, and women's issues. She works for the Op-Ed
Project as the West Coast Regional Manager.
New Study Explores Cravings in Recovering Alcoholics and Social Drinkers
The Stroop task is a commonly used tool in assessing attentional bias, the tendency to focus attention toward a specific cue. In the study of alcoholism, Stroop tasks have demonstrated that alcoholics have an attentional bias toward alcohol-related cues. But a recent study suggests that this may depend on the level of craving experienced by the alcoholic. Matt Field of the University of Liverpool recently compared the attentional bias of 26 social drinkers to 28 participants who had just finished an outpatient program for alcohol addiction. Field wanted to find out if the level of cravings experienced by the alcoholic participants would influence their bias in the tasks.All of the participants completed three different-length visual probe experiments and an alcohol Stroop task. They also were asked to report their levels of dependency and cravings for alcohol. Field discovered that the alcoholic participants, despite abstaining from alcohol, had a significant level of bias toward the alcohol-related cues when compared to social drinkers. When he assessed the data from the visual tasks, Field found that craving was a clear indicator of bias. In particular, the alcoholic/abstinent participants with high levels of cravings had the highest levels of bias. The low-craving alcohol/abstinent participants and the social drinkers had similar biases, which were weak in comparison to high-craving alcoholic participants.
Field also realized that some of the alcoholic participants dropped out from treatment as a direct result of subjective cravings for alcohol, in addition to severe dependency. Although there has been abundant research in the area of bias and addiction, this study is among the first to compare bias in social drinkers and alcoholics. Field chose social drinkers over nondrinkers because he wanted to minimize the effect novelty of alcohol-related cues might have had on nondrinking participants. However, including nondrinkers in this type of experiment could provide additional insight into the relationship between cravings and alcohol dependency. “These results clarify the importance of subjective craving as a correlate of attentional biases in abstinent alcoholics,” Field said.
Reference: Field, M., Mogg, K., Mann, B., Bennett, G. A., Bradley, B. P. (2012). Attentional biases in abstinent alcoholics and their association with craving. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0029626
More States Institute “Social Host” Laws to Cut Down on
Underage Drinking
A growing
number of states are instituting “social host” laws, which are designed to cut
down on underage drinking, The Wall Street Journal reports. The laws impose
criminal or civil penalties on hosts who permit underage drinking on their
property. As of January, 28 states had adopted such laws, up from 18 in 2005.
Hosts can be charged regardless of who supplies the alcohol, or whether anyone
is hurt, the article notes.Several states, including California, have passed laws that impose penalties if someone is harmed by underage drinking. In addition, many counties and cities are passing their own social hosting measures.
Law enforcement officials across the nation say many teenagers find access to alcohol at house parties. Studies have shown that these parties are often where teens first start binge drinking. The social host laws allow police to arrest the host, without establishing who supplied the alcohol—which can be difficult to prove.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving supports social host laws. Opponents of the laws object that they can punish hosts who try to prevent underage drinking. The laws assume hosts know there was drinking in their home, or should have known.
Marijuana Use Linked with Increased Risk of Testicular Cancer
A new study finds that young men who use marijuana have an increased risk of testicular cancer, according to ABC News. The men in the study who smoked marijuana were twice as likely to develop the most common form of the disease in men under age 35, compared with those who didn’t smoke marijuana.The tumors of marijuana smokers tended to grow more quickly, and were more difficult to treat, the researchers found.
“Most men who get testicular cancer today survive, and that’s wonderful. But as a result of treatment, they may have problems with fertility or sexual function,” said lead author Victoria Cortessis of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.
“So we’re talking about the risk of developing the cancer in the first place as well as the subsequent effects of the cancer and its treatment.”
It is unclear how marijuana might increase the risk of testicular cancer. Cortessis said that the drug may disrupt how testosterone regulates testes development and function, in a way that makes the testes much more vulnerable to cancer.
The researchers found that men who used cocaine were less likely to develop testicular cancer. Cortessis said this finding might be due to cocaine’s toxic effects. “Since this is the first study in which an association between cocaine use and lower testis cancer risk is noted, additional epidemiological studies are needed to validate the results,” she noted in a news release.
The study appears in the journal Cancer.
Judging Alcohol Intake More Difficult if You Drink From a Curved Glass
The shape of your glass may influence how much alcohol you consume, a new study suggests. Researchers in England found a curved glass interferes with a person’s ability to judge their alcohol intake.“When drinking alcohol, most of us pace ourselves,” lead researcher Angela Attwood of the University of Bristol told NPR. “Because the feeling of drunkenness comes later, we rely on visual cues to tell us how much we’ve been drinking and when to slow down.” She noted those visual cues include the height of liquid remaining in the glass.
“For straight glasses, the halfway point in height is the same as the halfway point in volume, but when you’ve got a shaped glass it doesn’t work very well,” she said.
Study participants were asked to drink either a non-alcoholic soft drink or beer from one of two different types of glasses. One was straight, and the other was fluted—narrow at the bottom, and wide at the top. Participants drank beer almost twice as fast in the fluted glasses compared with the straight glasses, but people with non-alcoholic beverages drank them at the same rate, regardless of the shape of the glass. One week later, participants looked at pictures of straight or curved glasses with varying levels of liquid, and were asked to decide if the glass was more or less than half full. Participants had a much more difficult time finding the halfway point of the curved glass than the straight glass. Those who were worst at judging the halfway point were the same people who drank their beer the fastest in the earlier experiment.
“People often talk of ‘pacing themselves’ when drinking alcohol as a means of controlling levels of drunkenness, and I think the important point to take from our research is that the ability to pace effectively may be compromised when drinking from certain types of glasses,” Dr. Attwood said in a news release.
The findings appear in the journal PLoS ONE.
Bath Salts : is it the Zombie Apocolypes?
The New Drug That's Sweeping the Country
In December I took a trip to Maine to see my family. When I
arrived, my mom picked me up from the bus station. We spent the trip home
talking about everything that had changed since the last time I was up there.
That's when the question came up, "Do they have bath salts in
Baltimore?" I was confused, was she talking about the stuff you put in
your bath tub? That's when she explained it to me. There was a new
"Legal" way that people were getting high, and it was sweeping the
state.
WHAT IS IT
This drug is Methylenedioxypyrovalerone or more
commonly referred to as bath salts. It's a designer drug that is packaged and
labeled as not for human consumption and sold in gas stations, tobacco stores,
head shops, etc. Bath salts are stimulants that mimic cocaine, lysergic acid
diethylamide (LSD), methamphetamine, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/07/bath-salts-dangerous.html).
It is also known as Cloud 9, MDPK, MTV, Magic, Maddie, Black Rob, Super Coke,
PV and Peeve. Bath salts are usually ingested by sniffing or snorting. They can
also be taken orally, smoked, or put into a solution and injected into vein(http://www.drugfree.org/drug-guide/bath-salts).
THE EFFECTS
People who use bath salts may experience many symptoms.
"Bath Salts" are known to produce side effects similar to Meth and
Cocaine such as elevated heart rate, hypertension, irritability, extreme
paranoia, delusions of super-human strength and invincibility, hallucinations,
suicide, aggressive and violent behavior, and possibly even murder(http://www.drugfree.org/drug-guide/bath-salts).
With all these side effects, you can see why people are doing what they are
doing. But, if you aren't up-to-date with the entire extreme behavior here's a
rap up(http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/06/04/bath-salts-a-deadly-new-drug-with-a-deceptively-innocent-name/2/).
- A 21-year-old Louisiana man slit his throat in front of his family after he snorted bath salts, because he believed police were after him.
- In Scott, Louisiana a man attacked another man and bit him in the face.
- In Pa police arrested a couple high on bath salts who had nearly cut their 5-year-old daughter with a knife, which they were using to stab the "90 people" they believed were "living in the walls" of their apartment.
- In Kentucky a prison guard off duty reportedly high on bath salts was cited for 10 different acts of violence in two different towns, and ultimately had to be tasered.
- A man in West Virginia high on bath salts was found wandering the woods in lingerie after he allegedly stole, raped, and killed a goat.
- In Indiana a man committed suicide after telling his family for weeks that the FBI were following him and watching him eat.
- A young man in Ohio was fatally shot after he held a knife to his girlfriend's neck.
- A Mom in New York who tried to attack her 3 year old was tasered and eventually died due to bath salt use.
A drug that turns people into zombies? That is exactly what
some people think we are looking at. Is it a zombie apocalypse? That question
in its self would probably be a no, but people are resorting to violent,
cannibal-like behavior. So my question would be, with all the negative side
effect, why would anyone want to use this drug. I took to the streets and asked
people why, the answer I got all too often was "They wanted to see if it
really made you crazy." Is it the media's attention that is making this
drug so appealing? Maybe it's how easily available and under the radar it is.
People who use bath salts don't fail drug tests. Right now Bath Salts have
become the fourth most popular street drug, behind marijuana, ecstasy, and
cocaine(http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/06/04/bath-salts-a-deadly-new-drug-with-a-deceptively-innocent-name/2/).
The government is trying its best to get rid of the product and right now it
has a temporary ban on the 3 most common ingredients in the products. The only
problem would be that where this is a synthetic drug, the makers' only need to
change it a little to get pass the laws and that may mean that they will come
out with something more dangerous than what they have now. Hopefully people see
how this is making everyone act and will stop them from wanting to do it. But
until then, as long as they can find it, they are going to use it.
More resources ; http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/deadly-new-drug-pt-1
Drugs for Anxiety, Depression or Insomnia May Increase Risk of Car Accidents
Drugs for anxiety, depression and insomnia could impair driving ability, and may increase the risk of having a car accident, a new study suggests.Taiwanese researchers compared 5,200 people involved in major auto accidents, with more than 31,000 people with no record of serious accidents. They found people who were involved in car accidents were more likely to have been taking medications, known as psychotropic drugs, for these conditions, HealthDay reports.
“Our findings underscore that people taking these psychotropic drugs should pay increased attention to their driving performance in order to prevent motor vehicle accidents,” lead researcher Hui-Ju Tsai said in a news release. “Doctors and pharmacists should choose safer treatments, provide their patients with accurate information and consider advising them not to drive while taking certain psychotropic medications.”
Previous studies have found an association between some drugs used to treat insomnia and anxiety, such as benzodiazepines, and auto accidents. This study also looked at the effects of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and drugs used to treat insomnia known as “Z-drugs.” The new study found an association between car crashes and benzodiazepines and antidepressants, but not antipsychotics. The findings suggest that higher doses of medication increase the risk of accidents.
The findings appear in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Nurses Face Challenges in Implementing Alcohol Screening, Intervention, and Referral
Nurses are key partners in implementing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use disorders, but they face challenges in putting the program into practice, a new project suggests.Cydne Perhats, MPH, Senior Research Associate at the Emergency Nurses Association in Des Plaines, Illinois headed the two-year project, which included a network of 10 mentors who guided emergency departments and their staff through the process of implementing alcohol SBIRT.
Emergency departments in the project had access to a series of five web-based seminars that explained the process of implementing SBIRT, as well as follow-up technical assistance through mentoring, both face-to-face and online. “We hoped to identify ways to facilitate the nurse-delivered SBIRT model,” Perhats said. She presented the findings at the recent International Nurses Society on Addictions annual meeting. Almost one-third of patients treated in emergency departments and about half of severely injured trauma patients have alcohol problems, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for people with substance use disorders, as well as those who are at risk of developing these disorders.
“Nurses are well positioned as SBIRT leaders because they are the largest group of health care providers and are in frequent contact with patients across all health care settings,” Perhats said. “With health care reform, many more people will be moved into primary care, and the nurses’ role will become even more important.” She noted that nurses, who work across the continuum of care in all health care settings, are comfortable with conducting assessments and ensuring patients are compliant with recommended care—a key skill required for SBIRT implementation. Research has patient acceptability for nurse-delivered SBIRT, making them a natural choice to implement the program.
Perhats notes that nurses see delivering SBIRT as part of their job, and are somewhat confident in screening patients. However, there was wide variation and inconsistency among project sites in terms of what nurses learned about SBIRT, and how they implemented the program. “It’s important to have a standardized protocol, so that nurses are consistently implementing the procedure in the same way,” she adds. “Nurses need targeted training that includes more practice opportunities and guidance on how to handle individual situations.” The project’s findings suggest that SBIRT education needs to be easily accessible, short-term and repetitive in order to accommodate nurses’ busy schedules and limited time and availability. The project also found great variation in the support nurses receive from their hospital. “In some participating facilities, nurses delivering SBIRT have a lot of support from management and hospital administration, including continuing education, while others do not,” Perhats said. “It appears that once nurses have received formal training in SBIRT, emergency departments with a supportive culture that provides the necessary infrastructure, as well as more incentives to help facilitate the implementation process, would be more successful over time.”
Remote mentorship was also difficult to sustain and face-to-face guidance might be more beneficial. “ERs with a strong on-site champion were better able to sustain their efforts over time,” Perhats noted. Billing and reimbursement are key obstacles, Perhats said. “In most states, nurses are not listed as eligible providers to be reimbursed for SBIRT services. It’s one of the key frustrations of translating SBIRT into practice, especially in emergency care.” ERs can take steps to make it easier for nurses to implement SBIRT, such as setting up a specific private area where nurses can ask patients about their alcohol use, said Perhats. Some facilities have begun using computer kiosks or other mobile devices so that patients can answer these sensitive questions. But, it’s not certain whether this method is as effective as nurse-delivered SBIRT.
There are several larger issues that make SBIRT implementation challenging not just for nurses, but for health care facilities in general, Perhats points out. One such issue is the existence of “alcohol exclusion” laws in some states, which allow insurers to deny coverage for hospital reimbursement of medical costs if alcohol or drug use was involved. Another issue is the lack of inclusion of SBIRT in many electronic medical record software packages. Even in hospitals that do include alcohol screening in the software used in the emergency department, there may be different software for the rest of the hospital, according to Perhats. “That means that if harmful alcohol use is flagged in the ER, it may not be seen on the inpatient record if the patient is admitted to the hospital,” she said. “Health care reform will provide a unique opportunity to address some of the policy and practice changes that will ultimately make nurse-led SBIRT implementation more likely to succeed.”
For more information about how hospitals can successfully implement SBIRT, visit the “Expanding SBIRT to Hospitals” website
Methamphetamine Makers Develop Sophisticated New Business Model
Methamphetamine makers are importing raw powdered meth from Mexico, and refining it at “conversion labs” into the crystal form of the drug, The Wall Street Journal reports. In the past, the drug was produced in small U.S. labs, or shipped in its finished form from Mexico. Drug groups smuggle large amounts of meth powder or liquid, often disguised as antifreeze or other products. According to law enforcement officials and academic experts in drug trafficking, Mexican drug groups are adapting to changing markets and legal strategies. Like other businesses, drug traffickers have found it is more efficient to do final processing of their product close to their customers, instead of importing finished products, according to John Donnelly, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in Fresno, California. “Anything that any good businessman does, these guys will do,” he noted.Conversion labs have been found in California, Georgia and Texas in the past two years. The number of conversion lab busts is growing, as is the size of meth seizures. “We never saw those kinds of seizures before,” Erasmo Carrizosa, the head of anti-meth strategy for the California Department of Justice, told the newspaper. “Before, if you popped a guy for five pounds, it was a lot of meth.”
Minnesota Announces Statewide Plan to Tackle Drug Abuse
Minnesota unveiled a statewide plan this week to tackle drug abuse, in response to the rising abuse of prescription opioids, and the increasing purity of heroin on the streets. The plan, which focuses on prevention, aims to strengthen drug prevention efforts through schools, correctional facilities, drug courts, the medical community and family-based counseling, the Star Tribune reports.“Substance abuse is a serious and costly issue that affects us all,” Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said in a news release. “The long-term and immediate steps recommended in this comprehensive strategy will help save lives and dollars by making our prevention and treatment efforts more efficient and effective.”
At a news conference to announce the plan, Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy said the state also needs more chemical dependency treatment for prison inmates, most of whom are addicted to drugs before they enter prison. “We only have 800 treatment beds, and we are not meeting the needs of our offenders,” Roy said. “There are more than 100,000 former offenders on our streets now. This is a life-and-death issue.”
According to the new Minnesota State Substance Abuse Strategy, the purity of Mexican heroin in Minneapolis is among the highest in the country, and the cost of heroin per pure milligram is among the lowest. The report also notes, “Addiction to prescription narcotics is at record-high levels according to numerous sources, and the collateral consequences of widespread prescription narcotic abuse, trafficking and addiction have continued to erode the quality of life and public safety in the communities.”
The new plan calls for increased participation by doctors and pharmacists in the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program, which tracks prescriptions for controlled substances. The plan also calls for training for doctors in addiction, prescribing opioids and alternative approaches to managing pain.
5 Damaging Myths About Addiction
By Adi
Jaffe, Special to CNN
Editor's note: Adi Jaffe is a Los
Angeles-based addiction psychologist and researcher. A former drug addict and
convicted drug dealer, Jaffe is a UCLA-affiliated researcher and expert on
substance abuse, especially on the neuroscience and policy issues involved, and
founder of AllAboutAddiction.com.
Do drugs
really "fry" your brain? Once an addict, always an addict? Is there
such a thing as an "addiction gene"?
The
subject of addiction
is plagued by myths and misinformation that were created to scare our children
away from drugs. But these haven't succeeded, and have actually made it harder
for addicts to seek treatment and to return to a normal life.
As
a former methamphetamine addict myself, I know how hard it is to overcome both
the addiction and, possibly even more so, the stigma that society places on us
because of these myths.
In
fact, in a study I'm currently conducting at the University of California Los
Angeles, we're finding even more evidence that one of the top reasons addicts
put off treatment is a fear of the social consequences. In a nutshell, people
fear the label of "recovered addict" more than they do the hardships
of going "cold turkey."
Why?
Because in many cases they risk facing social humiliation and a variety of
legal restrictions on driving, housing, custody of children, business
licensing, as well as an extended period of mandated drug testing, many of
which stem from a misunderstanding of addiction.
In
my own case, I'm still required to finish three years of drug testing before I
can earn a state psychology license -- in spite of the fact that I've already
received a Ph.D., been drug-free for 10 years, successfully completed a drug
rehab program and undergone three years of previous drug testing.
Since
September is National Recovery Month, it's worth taking a closer look at the
top addiction myths that hold us back from a real understanding of what
addiction is, what the real dangers are and how we should manage this national
problem.
Myth No. 1: There is an addiction gene
There
is no single gene, or set of genes, that determines whether or not a person
will become an addict. And even if a person's parents are addicts, it doesn't
mean they will be too. Current addiction research shows that roughly 50% of
addiction tendencies are attributable to genes.
That's a high percentage, but it still
leaves half of the equation up to the environment and personal experiences. The
addiction gene myth lulls many people into a false sense of confidence about
their own drug use while paradoxically also discouraging many addicts from
seeking treatment.
Myth No. 2: Marijuana is a 'gateway drug'
The
addiction rate for marijuana is lower than that of alcohol, and there is little
scientific evidence that it acts as a trigger for harder drugs.
While
teen marijuana use is not to be encouraged, the real "gateway drug"
risk might be from abusing prescription opioids and stimulants, like OxyContin,
Vicodin and Adderall, or with inhalant drug use. These have strong addictive
properties and more accessible to teens.
A
2010 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that among 12th
graders, 8% abused Vicodin and 5.1% abused OxyContin. Inhalant use peaks in the
8th grade at around 17%, far earlier than all other drugs.
Myth No. 3: Addiction is for life
This
simply isn't true, and it places a huge emotional and psychological burden on
recovered addicts. Addiction is a spectrum disorder, like depression, and every
person is different.
While
there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug
addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite -- short-term users who manage
to put the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives. According to
the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 75% of alcoholics
recover without treatment.
Myth No. 4: Drugs 'fry' your brain
Remember
the 1987 anti-drug commercial that used a frying egg to show "your brain
on drugs?" While drug abuse can be bad for the brain, it is a gross
oversimplification to say that drug use generally causes permanent and severe
brain damage.
This
myth gives the impression that recovered addicts are "damaged goods"
and sets the stage for discrimination by employers, health care providers and
the legal system. That said, certain drugs are neurotoxic: methamphetamine,
MDMA, cocaine and inhalants are a few examples. However, even with these types
of drugs, the side effects, while undesirable, by no means produce a
"damaged" person.
Myth No. 5: You have to hit 'rock bottom'
Here's
why this is dangerous: If we wait until a person "bottoms out," it
could be too late to help them.
Every
person has a different "bottom." For some, it could be getting
arrested or becoming homeless. For many, it's much less dramatic -- losing an
important personal relationship, being confronted by family or doing poorly at
work or school.
There
is little evidence that the level of consequences a person accumulates before
seeking help is related to their chances of succeeding in recovery. It's better
to get help early than to hold out for the perfect desperate moment.
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