Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
NAT vol. 24
Contents 2/2007

Editorial

Antti Maunu, Petra Kouvonen
Assessing gendered substance use

Research reports

Sharon Rödner Sznitman
Drugs and gender: A contradictory
project in interviews with socially integrated men and women who use drugs

Jeanette Østergaard
Mind the gender gap! When boys and girls get drunk at a party

Jakob Demant
Youthful drinking with a purpose. Intersections
of age and sex in teenage identity work

Jukka Törrönen, Antti Maunu
Whilst it's red wine with beef, it's booze with a cruise! Genres and gendered regulation of drinking situations in diaries

Commentaries

Manne Forssberg
Gender, party and intoxication

Elina Oinas
Making gender matter - different approaches to gender and partying

Replies

Antti Maunu
Gender theory and empirical research.
A reply to Elina Oinas

Jeanette Østergaard
Differences between quantitative
and qualitative research methods

Interview

Pauliina Seppälä
The forgotten body - Interview with philosopher Sara Heinämaa

Book reviews

Phillip Lalander Mikko Salasuo (eds.)
Drugs and youth cultures-global and local expressions (by Jaana Lähteenmaa)

Peter Gundelach, Margaretha Järvinen (eds.)
Unge, fester og alkohol (by Ellen O. Millar)

Alexandra Bogren
Female Licentiousness versus Male Escape. Essays on Intoxicating Substance Use, Sexuality and Gender (by Suvi Ronkainen Sanna Väyrynen)

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Physical and social availability of alcohol for young enlisted naval personnel in and around home port

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2007, 2:17
30 June 2007

Heavy alcohol consumption rates are higher in the young adult military enlisted population than among civilians of the same age. The literature on alcohol availability, both generally and specifically with respect to work-related drinking, establishes clear links between ease of access, alcohol consumption rates and alcohol-related problems.

Findings associated with social and physical availability of alcohol include low prices in Navy Exchange base stores, frequent barracks parties, drink promotions in bars surrounding bases, and multiple opportunities for underage drinking despite age limits on alcohol purchases and official efforts to deglamorize alcohol use in the Navy.

Both qualitative and qualitative findings suggest that respondents found alcohol and opportunities to drink overwhelmingly available in both on-base and off-base settings, and from friends both in and out of the Navy.

There is qualitative and quantitative evidence for extensive physical and social availability of alcohol in and around bases for young adults in the military. Policy implications include raising the presently tax-free alcohol prices in base stores and enforcing existing policies regarding underage drinking, particularly the provision of alcohol by people of legal drinking age, and by bars in and around bases.

Cooperative preventive efforts with surrounding communities also offer promising ways for bases to reduce alcohol availability for young adult servicemembers.

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Alcoholism is associated with GALR3 but not two other galanin receptor genes
Genes, Brain and Behavior 6 (5), 473–481.



The neuropeptide galanin is widely expressed in the periphery and the central nervous system and mediates diverse physiological processes and behaviors including alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety. Four genes encoding galanin and its receptors have been identified (GAL, GALR1, GALR2 and GALR3).

Recently we found that GAL haplotypes were associated with alcoholism, raising the possibility that genetic variation in GALR1, GALR2 and GALR3 might also alter alcoholism risk. Tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by genotyping SNP panels in controls from five populations.

For the association study with alcoholism, six GALR1, four GALR2 and four GALR3 SNPs were genotyped in a large cohort of Finnish alcoholics and non-alcoholics.

GALR3 showed a significant association with alcoholism that was driven by one SNP (rs3091367). Moreover, the combination of the GALR3 rs3091367 risk allele and GAL risk haplotypes led to a modestly increased odds ratio (OR) for alcoholism (2.4) as compared with the effect of either GAL (1.9) or GALR3 alone (1.4). Likewise, the combination of the GALR3 and GAL risk diplotypes led to an increased OR for alcoholism (4.6) as compared with the effect of either GAL (2.0) or GALR3 alone (1.6).

There was no effect of GALR1 or GALR2 on alcoholism risk.

This evidence suggests that GALR3 mediates the alcoholism-related actions of galanin.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: ibelfer@mail.nih.gov
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Psychiatric Distress in Incarcerated Women With Recent Cocaine and Alcohol Abuse
Women's Health Issues
Volume 17, Issue 4, July-August 2007, Pages 264-272





Women frequently abuse cocaine and alcohol before incarceration. Research indicates that women in criminal justice settings also suffer high rates of psychiatric distress.

This study aimed to determine how preincarceration abuse of alcohol and cocaine affected current psychiatric distress among female jail detainees held for 10–14 days.

Psychiatric distress is highest (and similar) among women in the high cocaine groups, regardless of alcohol use, and psychiatric distress is lowest among those who used both substances infrequently. Characteristics of psychiatric distress differed based on level of alcohol use, but only when cocaine use was low. High alcohol and cocaine use alone and together also predict the likelihood of psychiatric distress reaching a diagnosable level of severity.

High cocaine, alcohol, or combined use is related to higher levels of psychiatric distress among incarcerated women in this jail. Women should be screened at the time of incarceration, and women who have alcohol and other drug problems should receive treatment that includes mental health services.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: velasquez@mail.utexas.edu
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Treatment Needs and Completion of Community-Based Aftercare Among Substance-Abusing Women Offenders
Women's Health Issues
Volume 17, Issue 4, July-August 2007, Pages 244-255

Women offenders with substance abuse problems typically have many treatment needs on reentry to the community from prison.

This paper explores the correlates of treatment needs among a sample of women offenders with substance-abuse problems (n = 1,404), and the relationship between their treatment needs and other background characteristics with completion of community-based treatment after parole.

Greater treatment needs were associated with unstable housing before incarceration, a history of sexual or physical abuse, mental health problems, alcohol or drug dependence, and first arrest at age <19;>Interventions are needed to engage substance-abusing women offenders in community treatment after parole to address their treatment needs, improve their retention in treatment, and reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: grella@ucla.edu
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How Greenland curbed alcohol abuse

June 29, 2007

Allowing beer, wine sales key to moderating drinking

JOHN THOMPSON

Alcohol abuse causes tremendous damage in Greenland, just as it does in Nunavut and Nunavik.

But the solution chosen by Greenland's government for its most remote communities is not prohibition, which it acknowledges does not work, and only encourages bootlegging and the binge drinking of hard liquor. It's to ban hard liquor, but allow the sale of beer and wine.
. . . . . .

Read Full Article


Source: Daily Dose
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The Readiness to Change and Insight in Alcohol dependent Patients
J Korean Med Sci. 2007 Jun;22(3):453-458.

This study was performed to investigate the effect of insight on the readiness to change in alcoholism.

On the basis of the precontemplation stage, multinomial logistic regression analysis for the control of the differences in the patients' characteristics among each stage of the readiness to change showed that the possibility of contemplation and action stage went up 1.231 (p<0.01) and 1.249 (p<0.01) times higher as the insight score increased.

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Alcohol, Smoking, and Body Size in Relation to Incident Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Risk
American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on June 27, 2007




Studies associate alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and body size with the risk of overall or subtype lymphoma. Current data come mostly from case-control studies or prospective studies with few cases.

In the prospective National Institutes of Health-former American Association of Retired Persons (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study, the authors assessed the above lifestyle factors via baseline questionnaire among 285,079 men and 188,905 women aged 50–71 years and ascertained histologically confirmed Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 58) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 1,381) cases through linkage with cancer registries from 1995 to 2000.

Compared with nondrinkers, alcohol consumers had a lower risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma overall (for >28 drinks/week: adjusted relative risk (RR) = 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59, 1.00; p_trend among drinkers = 0.02) and for its main subtypes.

Compared with never smokers, current smokers and recent quitters (4 years ago) had higher risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (RR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.04, 4.89; RR = 4.20, 95% CI: 1.94, 9.09, respectively), whereas current or former smokers had lower risk of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (RR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.86).

Severe obesity (body mass index of 35: RR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.64) and taller height (RR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.38) were associated moderately with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

These findings add to the evidence that lifestyle factors and relevant anthropometric characteristics play a role in lymphoma etiology.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: limu@mail.nih.gov
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Alcohol Abuse Needs To Be Tackled
June 29, 2007

WORRYING statistics on alcohol abuse in Namibia were made available during the commemoration of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking this week.

Although these would not come as a shock to most Namibians who openly acknowledge this fact, we should nevertheless be propelled into trying to do something about it! The findings were the result of a survey by the Social Impact Assessment and Policy Analysis Corporation, and were highlighted this week by Simon Nhongo, Resident Co-ordinator for the United Nations. The report reveals, among others, that more than half of Namibian adults consumed an average of 10 litres of alcohol a week. It also broke down the percentage of users, citing Windhoek to be the 'drinking capital' (69,9 per cent of the adult population). Other statistics included the southern region with 65,2 per cent and the northern regions with what many felt was a surprisingly low figure of 26 per cent. The statistics may well be open to scrutiny and debate and even dismissed out of hand (we were not told how the survey was carried out and what number of people polled), but there are few people who would contest the fact that alcohol is widely used, and more often than not, abused, in this country. Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who spoke at the event, highlighted alcohol abuse as an 'evil' that needed addressing throughout African societies. . . . . . . Read Full Article ___________________________________________________________________________

eNewsletter: June 29, 2007

NASADAD presentation on recovery community organizations Thanks to the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors for the opportunity to speak at their recent conference about Faces & Voices of Recovery and recovery community organizations. Special thanks to Friends of Recovery VT Executive Director Patty McCarthy and Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) Executive Director Phil Valentine for a terrific presentation. Profiles of Recovery Advocacy in Action The fifth in our series of interviews with recovery advocates from across the country by Bill White and Pat Taylor features the President of People Advocating Recovery (PAR), Mike Barry. Learn more… Tom Coderre featured in Addiction Professional magazine Faces & Voices of Recovery’s National Field Director, Tom Coderre, was interviewed in the May-June 2007 issue of Addiction Professional magazine. Learn more... Bill to rename NIDA and NIAAA moves forward On June 27, 2007 the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee voted to approve S. 1011, a bill to change the name of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the National Institute on Diseases of Addiction and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to the National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health (“NIADH”). The next step will be consideration by the full Senate. Senate Appropriations Committee moves critical funding bills The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill on June 19, 2007. Its action was followed closely by full Appropriations Committee action on June 21, 2007. The bill includes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Learn more… Organizing Rally for Recovery! and Recovery Month 2007 Faces & Voices is working with recovery community organizations across the country organizing September 15th Rally for Recovery! events during National Recovery Month observances. New tools including How to Organize a Recovery Walk; How to Organize a Town Hall meeting; How to Organize a Sports Event and How to Organize a State Level Civic Engagement Campaign are available on our web site. Resources “Substance Abuse and Mental Health Care Environment “Toxic” for Persons in Recovery and Those Working in the Field” is the headline reporting on the findings of a report from the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce, commissioned by federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Learn more… The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outreach Partners Program invites applicants to submit proposals from organizations in: New York City, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Southern California, Texas Border Region, and Virginia. Charitable non-profit organizations that conduct statewide or regional outreach that focuses on mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders interested in becoming Outreach Partners are invited to participate in this competitive process. Learn more… Sentencing and Incarceration Alternatives Project funding opportunity from the Open Society Institute (OSI). Funds are available for grassroots/community-led advocacy, constituency-building and mobilization; coalition building; public education; impact litigation; policy-driven research and analysis; and leadership development. Learn more…

Press Release - Alcohol Companies' Product Advertising on Television Dwarfs "Responsibility" Ads From 2001 to 2005

For Immediate Release June 27, 2007

Contact: Joseph Schmidt 202.687.0884

Youth 239 times more likely to see ads promoting alcohol products than industry spots discouraging underage drinking; B-Roll With Ads Available

Washington, DC - Alcohol industry "responsibility" advertisements comprised less than three percent of the nearly 1.5 million alcohol industry television advertisements that aired from 2001 to 2005, according to a new study released today by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University.

The report, titled DROWNED OUT: Alcohol Industry "Responsibility" Advertising on Television 2001-2005, analyzed the industry's "responsibility" advertising because it is the largest source of such advertising.

In addition to looking at the number of ads, the study analyzed spending and found that of the $4.9 billion spent to advertise alcohol on television from 2001 to 2005, just 2% (or $104 million) was spent to air 41,333 "responsibility" advertisements.

The CAMY report showed that from 2001 to 2005, underage youth were 239 times more likely to see an advertisement selling alcohol than one of the industry's "responsibility" advertisements, designed to educate about the dangers of underage drinking. Additionally, during that same period underage youth were 32 times more likely to see an advertisement selling alcohol than a "responsibility" advertisement about drinking-and-driving and drinking safety.
. . . . . .

Read Full Press Release
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Thirty-Month Follow-Up of Drinking Moderation Training for Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Volume 75, Issue 3, June 2007, Pages 501-507




This study examined the durability of a group-based drinking moderation training for heavily drinking women reporting low physical dependence on alcohol.

Thirty-month follow-up results indicated that women who at baseline were relatively heavier drinkers had significantly greater benefit from the drinking moderation training when exposed to intervention enhancements entailing life skills training and booster sessions.

Further, the initial improvements in drinking, relative to baseline levels, did not statistically deteriorate over the 30-month follow-up.

The findings support the application of treatment enhancements among women in this population who at baseline are relatively heavier drinkers.

Read Full Abstract

Repint Request E-Mail: walitzer@ria.buffalo.edu
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Press Release - BMA Cymru Wales publishes plan to tackle Wales's drink problem
(issued by BMA Wales Thursday 28 Jun 2007)



BMA Cymru Wales has published a four point plan to tackle Wales’s alcohol problem.

The number deaths in Wales as a result of the abuse of alcohol continues to rise and doctors report an increase in the number of young people presenting to the NHS with serious illness resulting from alcohol misuse.

Drinking in moderation can be a source of pleasure however the effect of excessive alcohol consumption on our health and the related social and economic impact is significant. For example, the number of patients discharged from hospital with alcoholic liver disease has more than doubled in the past ten years throughout the UK.

The plan calls upon the Welsh Assembly Government to:

1. Pass a Licensing Measure to end deep discounting of alcohol for sale in off licences, supermarkets and other off sales outlets.

2. Undertake research into the measures by which pricing mechanisms can be used in Wales to discourage heavy consumption of high alcohol products.

3. Legislate for alcohol labelling rather than relying on voluntary agreements with the drinks industry.

4. Reduce the drink driving limit from 80mg to 50mg and introduce Random Breath Testing in Wales.

Read Full Press Release

Source: Daily Dose
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Governor signs bill banning holiday booze on American River
Sacramento Bee
By Ed Fletcher - Bee Staff Writers

Published 5:05 pm PDT Thursday, June 28, 2007

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law emergency legislation that makes it illegal to drink alcoholic beverages while rafting the lower American River during summer holiday weekends -- Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.

The urgency legislation goes into effect immediately. In the American River Parkway, alcoholic beverages will be illegal on shore and in the river this Saturday and Sunday, and next Wednesday -- July 4th.
. . . . . .

Read Full Article
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Concurrent and simultaneous drug and alcohol use: Results of the 2000 National Alcohol Survey
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Volume 90, Issue 1, 6 September 2007, Pages 72-80




This study estimates the prevalence, assesses predictors and evaluates factors associated with concurrent and simultaneous use of drugs and alcohol in the United States population.

Approximately 10% reported using marijuana in the last 12 months (concurrent use); 7% reported drinking alcohol and using marijuana at the same time (simultaneous use).

Approximately 5% of current drinkers reported using drugs other than marijuana in the last 12 months; 1.7% reported drinking alcohol and using drugs other than marijuana at the same time.

Being younger, having less than a high school education, not having a regular partner and having heavier drinking patterns were associated with using alcohol and marijuana simultaneously.

Simultaneous use of marijuana and alcohol as well as other drugs and alcohol were significantly related to social consequences, alcohol dependence, and depression.

These results mirror clinical populations in which increasingly younger clients report use of alcohol and drugs and need treatment for both.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: lmidanik@berkeley.edu
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News Release - Researchers Identify Alcoholism Subtypes

For Release: Thursday, June 28, 2007

Analyses of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) reveal five distinct subtypes of the disease, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Our findings should help dispel the popular notion of the ‘typical alcoholic,’” notes first author Howard B. Moss, M.D., NIAAA Associate Director for Clinical and Translational Research. “We find that young adults comprise the largest group of alcoholics in this country, and nearly 20 percent of alcoholics are highly functional and well-educated with good incomes. More than half of the alcoholics in the United States have no multigenerational family history of the disease, suggesting that their form of alcoholism was unlikely to have genetic causes.”

“Clinicians have long recognized diverse manifestations of alcoholism,” adds NIAAA Director Ting-Kai Li, M.D, “and researchers have tried to understand why some alcoholics improve with specific medications and psychotherapies while others do not. The classification system described in this study will have broad application in both clinical and research settings.” A report of the study is now available online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

. . . . . .

Read Full News Release

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A gene x gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with conduct disorder and antisocial behavior in males

Behavioral and Brain Functions 2007, 3:30

Published

22 June 2007

Antisocial behaviors are complex polygenic phenotypes that are due to a multifactorial arrangement of genetic polymorphisms. Little empirical research, however, has been undertaken that examines gene X gene interactions in the etiology of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior.

This study examined whether adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior were related to the dopamine D2 receptor polymorphism (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor polymorphism (DRD4).

Multivariate regression analysis revealed that neither DRD2 nor DRD4 had significant independent effects on conduct disorder or antisocial behavior. However, DRD2 interacted with DRD4 to predict variation in adolescent conduct disorder and in adult antisocial behavior.

The results suggest that a gene X gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with the development of conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior in males.

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Majority of Insured Workers with Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits Belong to Plans That Limit the Amount of Care Allowed, A Practice “Virtually Unknown in Medical Care”

June 25, 2007

The majority (88%) of workers with job-based health insurance had some coverage for substance abuse (SA) treatment in 2006, according to a survey of public and private U.S. employers.

The most common forms of SA treatment covered were outpatient treatment (87%), inpatient hospital detoxification (86%), and inpatient hospital rehabilitation (84%).

However, most (81%)of these employees with coverage for SA benefits belonged to plans that limited the number of hospital days and/or office visits allowed for SA treatment (see figures below). The average number of hospitaldays permitted was 34 per year and 87 per lifetime while the average number of office visits allowed was 34 per year and 68 per lifetime (data not shown).

Noting that “such limits in visits and days are virtually unknown in medical care”(p. w478), the authors conclude that “the SA benefit design encourages short stays through caps and other limits, which is some cases may result in inadequate treatment”(p. w481).

Read Full FAX
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Care Environment “Toxic” for Persons in Recovery and Those Working in the Field

June 18, 2007

“The environments in which behavioral health care is both given and received are toxic for persons in recovery, family members, and the workforce,”according to a recent report commissioned by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report examined the current status of the substance abuse and mental health—also known as behavioral health—workforce and found “overwhelming evidence that the behavioral health workforce is not equipped in skills or in numbers to respond adequately to the changing needs of the American population”(p. 1). Among the weakness contributing to the current “toxic”environment:To address these weakness, seven strategic goals with specific actions were developed and are discussed in length

•A Critical Workforce Shortage. . . . . .

•A Narrow Focus on Urban White Adults. . . . . .

•Dissatisfaction Among Persons in Recovery. . . . . .

•Inadequate and Irrelevant Training. . . . . .

To address these weakness, seven strategic goals with specific actions were developed and are discussed in length in the report. The report concludes that “the workforce remains the most essential ingredient for success in the development of resilience and for ensuring positive outcomes for people in recovery and their families”(p. 25).

Read Full Report (PDF)

Contributor: Don Phillips
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Reliability of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria using the semi-structured assessment for drug dependence and alcoholism (SSADDA)
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Article in Press, 27 2007

The semi-structured assessment for drug dependence and alcoholism (SSADDA) yields reliable DSM-IV diagnoses for a variety of psychiatric disorders, including alcohol and drug dependence.

This study examines the reliability of individual DSM-IV criteria for lifetime substance dependence diagnoses and the impact of those criteria on diagnostic reliability.

Overall, the inter-rater reliability estimates were excellent for individual DSM-IV criteria for nicotine and opioid dependence; good for alcohol and cocaine dependence, and fair for dependence on cannabis, sedatives and stimulants.

The impact of any individual criterion on diagnostic reliability was minimal, consistent with the notion that the DSM-IV diagnosis of substance dependence measures an underlying construct that is relatively consistent across specific groups of substances.

These results, combined with results from a study of the SSADDA's diagnostic reliability, show that the instrument can be used reliably to assess substance dependence.

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Reprint request E-Mail: kranzler@psychiatry.uchc.edu
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Subtypes of alcohol dependence in a nationally representative sample

Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Article in Press, 26 June 2007

The authors sought to empirically derive alcohol dependence (AD) subtypes based on clinical characteristics using data from a nationally representative epidemiological survey.

The best-fitting model was a five-cluster solution.

The largest cluster (Cluster 1: 31%) was comprised of young adults, who rarely sought help for drinking, had moderately high levels of periodic heavy drinking, relatively low rates of comorbidity, and the lowest rate of multigenerational AD (22%).

In contrast, Clusters 4 and 5 (21% and 9%, respectively) had substantial rates of multigenerational AD (53% and 77%, respectively), had the most severe AD criteria profile, were associated with both comorbid psychiatric and other drug use disorders, lower levels of psychosocial functioning, and had engaged in significant help-seeking.

Clusters 2 and 3 (19% each) had the latest onset, the lowest rates of periodic heavy drinking, medium/low levels of comorbidity, moderate levels of help-seeking, and higher psychosocial functioning.

Five distinct subtypes of AD were derived, distinguishable on the basis of family history, age of AD onset, endorsement of DSM-IV AUD criteria, and the presence of comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders.

These clinically relevant subtypes, derived from the general population, may enhance our understanding of the etiology, treatment, natural history, and prevention of AD and inform the DSM-V research agenda.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: mossh@mail.nih.gov

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Namibia: Alcohol 'Destroying' Namibia

The Namibian (Windhoek)

27 June 2007

Denver Isaacs

WHILE Namibians have become increasingly aware of the dangers of illicit drug use, alcohol seems to have slipped under the radar and is wreaking havoc in the country.

This was highlighted yesterday by Simon Nhongo, Resident Co-ordinator for the UN, during the commemoration of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Quoting the findings of a recent study conducted by the Social Impact Assessment and Policy Analysis Corporation, Nhongo said that more than half of Namibia's adult population consumes an average of 10 litres of alcohol a week.

The study, he said, further revealed that 55,6 per cent of adult Namibians consume about 33 bottles of beer in a week.
. . . . . .

Read Full Article

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Alcohol Research & Health

Alcohol Metabolism Part: Mechanisms of Action Volume 29, Number 4, 2006

243 In This Issue [PDF]

245 Overview: How Is Alcohol Metabolized by the Body? [PDF] Samir Zakhari 256 Glossary [PDF] 258 Role of Acetaldehyde in Mediating the Pharmacological and Behavioral Effects of Alcohol [PDF] Etienne Quertemont and Vincent Didone 266 Oxidation of Ethanol in the Brain and Its Consequences [PDF] Richard Deitrich, Sergey Zimatkin, and Sergey Pronko 274 Alcohol Metabolism’s Damaging Effects on the Cell: A Focus on Reactive Oxygen Generation by the Enzyme Cytochrome P450 2E1 [PDF] Dennis R. Koop

281 Combined Effects of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Variants and Maternal Mitochondrial Genes on Alcohol Consumption [PDF] Yedy Israel, María E. Quintanilla, Amalia Sapag, and Lutske Tampier 296 The Role of Nutritional Therapy in Alcoholic Liver Disease [PDF] Christopher M. Griffith and Steven Schenker 286 Studying Alcohol Elimination Using the Alcohol Clamp Method [PDF] Vijay A. Ramchandani and Sean O’Connor 291 Use of Cultured Cells to Study Alcohol Metabolism [PDF] Dahn L. Clemens 307 Index to Volume 29 [PDF]

Welcome to the latest
'What's new on the Alcohol Information Scotland website'

New on the site
Latest publications include:
Alcohol and Injury in Emergency Departments		World Health Organisation
	The Relationship between Off-sales and Problem Drinking in Scotland		Scottish Executive
	The Influence of Alcohol on Blood Pressure		The Alcohol Education and Research Council
	Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy		Department of Health
	Highlights from latest media comment
	Date	Publication	Publisher
	26th June	Survey suggests success in policing of underage drinking	BBC News
	25th June	Doctors call for crackdown on cheap alcohol sales in Scotland	BBC News
	23rd June	Doctors debate reduction of the drink-drive limit	The Scotsman
	23rd June	Gene therapy research may yield future treatment prospects for alcohol misuse.	New Scientist
	21st June	Fire chiefs back fresh initiative to reduce number of alcohol-related fires	Alcohol Focus Scotland
	20th June	Crackdown aims to bar 'slammers' in fight against irresponsible drinking	Various Sources
	19th June	High price of national 'drinking culture'	BBC News
	18th June	Alcohol-related liver disease 'doubles in decade'	Various Sources
	18th June	Number of woman drink drivers is on the rise	The Telegraph
	Forthcoming Events
	A list of forthcoming workshops, training courses, seminars and conferences