Hazardous Drinking: Prevalence and Associations in the Finnish General Population
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Published Online: 8 Jul 2008

Hazardous drinking, defined as consuming alcohol on a risky level and not meeting the diagnostic criteria of alcohol use disorders (AUDs), has been suggested for a new complementary nondependence diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associations of hazardous drinking in comparison to AUDs, moderate drinking, and abstinence.

A national representative sample of Finns was examined in the Health 2000 Survey. For 4477 subjects aged 30 to 64 years (76%, 2341 females), both the quantity frequency data about alcohol consumption and Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) data concerning AUD diagnoses were available. The nationally recommended limits for hazardous drinking were used (males: 24 drinks, females: 16 drinks/wk). Logistic regression models were used to analyze associations.

The prevalence of hazardous drinking was 5.8%. Hazardous drinking was more prevalent among males than females (8.5% vs. 3.1%). It was most prevalent among the subjects aged 40 to 49 years (7.3%), divorced or separated (8.3%), unemployed (8.2%) and subjects living in the southern (Helsinki) region (7.5%). AUDs versus hazardous drinking were more likely to be in males versus females and in the unemployed versus employed. Subjects aged 40 and over had higher odds for hazardous drinking versus AUDs. The odds for hazardous versus moderate drinking were higher for males versus females (adjusted odds ratio = 3.24), for subjects aged over 40 years, unemployed versus employed and cohabiting, divorced/separated or unmarried subjects versus married subjects.

The high prevalence of hazardous drinking makes it an important public health concern. Hazardous drinkers have different sociodemographic characteristics as compared to people in other alcohol use categories.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mauri.aalto@ktl.fi

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The Integration of Genetic Propensities into Social-Control Models of Delinquency and Violence among Male Youths
American Sociological Review, Volume 73, Number 4, August 2008 , pp. 543-568(26)


This study, drawing on approximately 1,100 males from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, demonstrates the importance of genetics, and genetic-environmental interactions, for understanding adolescent delinquency and violence.

Our analyses show that three genetic polymorphisms—specifically, the 30-bp promoter-region variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in MAOA, the 40-bp VNTR in DAT1, and the Taq1 polymorphism in DRD2—are significant predictors of serious and violent delinquency when added to a social-control model of delinquency.

Importantly, findings also show that the genetic effects of DRD2 and MAOA are conditional and interact with family processes, school processes, and friendship networks.

These results, which are among the first that link molecular genetic variants to delinquency, significantly expand our understanding of delinquent and violent behavior, and they highlight the need to simultaneously consider their social and genetic origins.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: guang_guo@unc.edu

The U.S. Military as a Natural Experiment - Changes in Drinking Age, Military Environment, and Later Alcohol Treatment Episodes among Veterans
Military Medicine, Volume 173, Number 7, July 2008 , pp. 619-625(7)


Before 1982, soldiers consumed alcohol legally on U.S. bases, regardless of age. By 1988, the military established policies to discourage underage and problem drinking and, along with the civilian population, fully transitioned to a 21-year minimum legal drinking age.

We explored whether these changes were associated with changes in later alcohol treatment episodes among male veterans and civilians from years 1992 to 2003. Treatment rates for veterans and civilians were calculated using administrative databases for four age cohorts.

Alcohol treatment rates were similar and odds ratios were ≥1.0 for veterans compared with same-aged civilians in 1992; however, by 2003, veterans' treatment rates fell by 60% for ages 25 to 34 compared with a 20 to 25% reduction for civilians, and odds ratios fell to between 0.80 and 0.60 those of civilians.

The military's concerted efforts to enforce the 21-year minimum legal drinking age were associated with greater reductions in later alcohol treatment episodes among veterans compared with civilians.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: wbw@dartmouth.edu
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New report links homelessness to early relationships

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

The Salvation Army in the UK has produced its fourth report , The Seeds of Exclusion, that works to understand the indicators in early life which can lead to future problems of social exclusion, including mental health, addictions and relationship breakdown. The report aims to understand the nature, complexity and severity of problems for those suffering from social exclusion. Findings show early relationships to be at the heart these issues.

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Read Full Article

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Diffusion Tensor Tractography in Mesencephalic Bundles: Relation to Mental Flexibility in Detoxified Alcohol-Dependent Subjects
Neuropsychopharmacology advance online publication 9 July 2008;

Components of the corticocerebellar circuit and the midbrain individually play a central role in addictive processes and have been associated with altered volumes and impairment of cognitive flexibility in alcohol-dependent subjects.

The microstructure of white matter bundles composing the corticocerebellar network and passing through the midbrain was studied using diffusion tensor imaging in a group of detoxified alcohol-dependent men (n=20) and a group of healthy men (n=24).

The relationship between properties of these white matter bundles and cognitive flexibility performance was investigated in alcohol-dependent subjects. Bundles connecting two regions of interest were analyzed using a fiber-tracking quantitative approach, which provided estimates of the fractional anisotropy and the apparent diffusion coefficient, as well as the number of tracked fibers normalized by the volume of regions of interest. Within the bundles running between the midbrain and pons, a mean of 18% fewer fibers per unit volume were tracked in alcohol-dependent men than in healthy controls. In addition, the normalized number of these fibers correlated with the performance in the Trail-Making Test part-B.

Even though the alcohol-dependent subjects were detoxified and apparently neurologically intact, their earlier excessive use of alcohol seems to be associated with altered neural microstructure of mesencephalic white matter bundles, which may contribute to their cognitive flexibility impairment.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: jean-luc.martinot@cea.fr

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Pathways to Change: The Effect of a Web Application on Treatment Interest
American Journal on Addictions, Volume 17, Issue 4 July 2008 , pages 265 - 270


Most individuals with drinking problems do not receive treatment, generally because they do not perceive the need for it. It is difficult to access this population of problem drinkers in order to encourage treatment-seeking.

A Web-based program was written, designed to increase motivation for change. The program guided non-treatment-seekers through a multi-stage assessment and provided them with feedback. The level of interest in treatment was measured pre-and post-intervention.

Compared to baseline, after the intervention, significantly more individuals rated themselves “very interested” in participating in some form of traditional treatment (19% vs. 28%), and their focus on a specific modality increased.

Read Full Abstract


Request Reprint E-Mail: dlieber-man@mfa.gwu.edu
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Effects of Naltrexone During the Descending Limb of the Blood Alcohol Curve
American Journal on Addictions, Volume 17, Issue 4 July 2008 , pages 257 - 264



The neuropharmacological effects of alcohol are known to vary by limb of the blood alcohol curve, yet human laboratory studies of alcoholism pharmacotherapies have largely failed to consider limb of intoxication when examining medication effects on subjective responses to alcohol.

This study examined the effects of naltrexone compared to placebo on subjective responses to alcohol at the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve following a controlled intravenous (IV) alcohol administration. Non-treatment-seeking hazardous drinkers (n = 38) completed two double-blind counterbalanced IV alcohol challenge sessions, one after taking naltrexone (50 mg) for three days and one after taking a placebo for three days. During each session, participants reported on subjective responses to alcohol during the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve.

Analyses revealed significant main effects of naltrexone, reflecting significantly decreased alcohol-induced stimulation, craving, vigor, positive mood, and alcohol “high” and increased tension as compared to placebo.

These findings suggest that naltrexone may exert some of its therapeutic effects via alterations to experiential aspects of intoxication during the descending limb of alcohol intoxication.

Additionally, these results highlight the potential utility of considering limb of blood alcohol curve when examining the mechanisms of action of pharmacotherapies thought to alter subjective responses to alcohol.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: lara@psych.colorado.edu
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Association of Recovery Schools




The 7th Annual Conference of the Association of Recovery Schools will be hosted by Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, July 25-27, 2008. The theme for this year's conference is "Joining Our Voices". The conference will begin at 1pm Friday afternoon.


Conference Home Page
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The Government and alcohol watchdog that can’t handle its super-strength drink

8 July: 2008:

Homelessness charity Thames Reach has slammed both the Government and the Portman Group for letting the drinks industry off the hook over the availability of dangerous nine per cent super-strength beers.

This follows the Portman Group’s Complaints Panel decision to reject a complaint from Thames Reach, concerning the production of super-strength lager containing four and a half units of alcohol in 500ml cans.

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Read Full Article

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Public consultation on proposed revision to ISD's list of ICD10 codes used for reporting alcohol-related hospital discharges.


ISD generated National Statistics on alcohol-related discharges from acute and psychiatric hospitals are based on a cluster of diagnostic codes from the The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD10), a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Alcohol-related hospital discharges are the basis of a national indicator/target: to reduce alcohol-related hospital admissions by 2011.

For the purpose of producing statistics on alcohol-related discharges ISD uses a list of ICD10 codes (for a full description of these codes see WHO) to extract records from relevant databases. This list has been undergoing an internal ISD review over the past year. Some changes to the list have been suggested, and are being assessed by a team of substance misuse professionals across Scotland. All briefing notes and background documents will be made available here for a period of 12 weeks. This is in accordance with the Public Consultation protocols described in the National Statistics Code of Practice [PDF 400KB]. All comments will be welcome.
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Read Full Notice
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Safety: Laws Reduce Drunken-Driving Deaths

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Published: July 8, 2008

Two federal policies meant to make it harder for young people to acquire alcohol have significantly reduced drunken-driving deaths, a new study finds.

The policies — banning purchase or possession of alcohol by people under 21 and making it illegal to use false identification to buy alcohol — have been in effect in all 50 states since at least 1988, when Congress made them a condition for federal highway money.

Reporting in the July issue of Accident Analysis and Prevention, the scientists calculate that the possession and purchase laws reduced the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers involved in fatal crashes by about 11 percent. Laws requiring an automatic license sanction for the use of fake IDs resulted in a 7 percent decrease.

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Read Full Article

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Russia's chief doctor blasts new drink-drive law

08/07/2008

TOYAKO (Hokkaido), July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's chief sanitary official criticized on Tuesday a new law that allows motorists to drive after drinking small amounts of alcohol.

"It is a crime. It is a dangerous decision for our country," Gennady Onishchenko told reporters on the sideline of the G8 summit currently being held on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

The decree, which came into force on July 1, allows motorists to drive with alcohol levels of 0.03 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, equal to a 0.33 bottle of beer or 250-300 mls of wine drunk 15 minutes before a test.

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Read Full Article

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Russia loosens drink driving law
PM - Monday, 30 June , 2008 18:41:00 Reporter: Scott Bevan MARK COLVIN: Australian drivers know the risks of drink driving and the consequences of blowing over .05. In Russia, the legislation is even tighter; if drivers have any alcohol in their system, they're breaking the law. But from next week traffic laws will loosen a little, with a .03 blood alcohol limit coming into play. Critics of the amendment say it not only condones drink driving, but it will lead to even more road deaths in a country where traffic fatalities are already horrifically high. . . . . . . Read Full Article _________________________________________________________________

3rd National Conference on Women, Addiction and Recovery

September 15–17, 2008, Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina in Tampa, FL

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, in partnership with New Century Institute and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, is pleased to host The 3rd National Conference on Women, Addiction and Recovery: Inspiring Leadership, Changing Lives.

This 2 ½ day conference will bring together a diverse audience with an interest in substance abuse treatment for women and women with children. The audience will find a broad mix of topics addressed, including best practices as well as innovative and emergent approaches to treating women, issues pertaining to recovery support, health and wellness, as well as program administration and management. The conference theme, “Inspiring Leadership, Changing Lives,” provides a framework for the conference and will be addressed by nationally recognized speakers.

More Information

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News Release - UNC study ties ending moderate drinking to depression

8 July 2008

UNC study ties ending moderate drinking to depression

CHAPEL HILL – Scientific evidence has long suggested that moderate drinking offers some protection against heart disease, certain types of stroke and some forms of cancer.

But new research shows that stopping drinking – including at moderate levels – may lead to health problems including depression and a reduced capacity of the brain to produce new neurons, a process called neurogenesis.

The findings from the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill appear online in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

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Alcohol ban hits Prague’s public places

08-07-2008 By Dominik Jůn

This Monday saw a new bylaw come into effect, banning the consumption of alcohol in many public places in Prague. But, concerns remain as to just what the ban is supposed to achieve.

As of Monday, drinking in numerous public places in Prague has been outlawed. A new bylaw, passed by the Prague City Council, now levies a varying range of fines for those caught drinking near metro stations, schools, hospitals and other public areas. The inevitable question being asked is – what is the purpose of such a bylaw? To many, the answer is clear, it is an attempt to rid Prague’s streets of the numerous vagrants who often sit in public places consuming alcohol. David Binar is the executive director of Forum PSR, which is a self-described association of responsible spirit’s producers that promotes drinking responsibly and in moderation: . . . . . . .

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Self-concept disturbances: Cognitive vulnerability for early drinking and early drunkenness in adolescents at high risk for alcohol problems
Addictive Behaviors Article in Press 8 June 2008


We tested the hypotheses that adolescents with few positive and many negative self-schemas would drink and get drunk earlier than adolescents with many positive and few negative self-schemas.

When considering the combined effects of the number of positive and negative self-schemas, antisociality, and parental alcoholism on drinking outcomes, the number of negative self-schemas directly predicted early drinking onset, whereas the number of positive self-schemas moderated the effects of antisociality on early drunkenness.

Moreover, although self-concept properties at baseline did not differentiate level of alcohol involvement at follow-up in mid-adolescence, they did distinguish earlier from later age of onset among those who initiated, with effects tending to be somewhat stronger for boys than girls.

Self-schemas appear to be an additional risk factor in the pathway to problem alcohol involvement in adolescence, above and beyond the contributions of such known risk factors as antisocial behavior and parental alcoholism.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ccorte@uic.edu
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Effect of positive and negative affective stimuli and beverage cues on measures of craving in non treatment-seeking alcoholics
Psychopharmacology Online First 6 July 2008


Laboratory paradigms are useful for investigating mechanisms of human alcohol cue reactivity in a highly controlled environment. A number of studies have examined the effects of beverage exposure or negative affective stimuli on cue reactivity independently, but only a few have reported on interaction effects between beverage cue and affective stimuli, and none have evaluated the effects of positive stimuli on beverage cue reactivity.

To assess independent and interactive effects of both positive and negative affective stimuli and beverage cue on psychophysiological and subjective measures of reactivity in alcohol dependence.

Mixed-effect models revealed a significant main effect of beverage and positive (but not negative) affective stimuli on subjective strength of craving and significant main effects of both positive and negative affective stimuli on ratings of emotionality. Despite the power to detect relatively small interaction effects, no significant interactions were observed between affect and beverage conditions on any reactivity measure.

A key finding of this study is that positive affective stimuli commonly associated with drinking situations can induce craving in the absence of alcohol cues. Main effects of beverage cue replicated results from previous studies. Beverage and affective cues showed no interaction effects.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mason@scripps.edu
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News Release - Does Gene Variant Make Women More Prone to Alcoholism?

	German-Swedish study underpins the role that endorphins play in ethanol dependence

A particular gene variant might make women more susceptible to alcoholism. At least, a study carried out by the Universities of Bonn and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute makes this a plausible conclusion. Accord-ing to this, a gene in the endorphin metabolism is altered in a typical fashion more often in women alcoholics than in healthy women. In mice too, endorphins seem to play an important role in the amount of alcohol consumed, particularly among females. The scientists discuss their results in the current issue of the journal 'Biological Psychiatry' (doi:10.1016/j.biospych.2008.05.008). . . . . . . . Read Full Release __________________________________________________________

Officials hope to lessen college drinking problems

The Associated Press - Tuesday, July 08, 2008

BISMARCK, N.D.

North Dakota campus officials are seeing encouraging signs in the battle to control drinking among college students, though they are not ready to declare victory.

"We are hopeful that we are moving in the right direction," said Karin Walton, director of the North Dakota Higher Education Consortium for Substance Abuse prevention.

Walton said the number of students at 11 state university campuses who said they abstained from drinking alcohol has gone from 31 percent of those surveyed in 1994 to 36 percent in 2006, the most recent year available.

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Read Full Article

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After the Battle, Fighting the Bottle at Home

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ

Published: July 8, 2008

Most nights when Anthony Klecker, a former marine, finally slept, he found himself back on the battlefields of Iraq. He would awake in a panic, and struggle futilely to return to sleep.

Days were scarcely better. Car alarms shattered his nerves. Flashbacks came unexpectedly, at the whiff of certain cleaning chemicals. Bar fights seemed unavoidable; he nearly attacked a man for not washing his hands in the bathroom.

Desperate for sleep and relief, Mr. Klecker, 30, drank heavily. One morning, his parents found him in the driveway slumped over the wheel of his car, the door wide open, wipers scraping back and forth. Another time, they found him curled in a fetal position in his closet.

Yet only after his drunken driving caused the death of a 16-year-old cheerleader did Mr. Klecker acknowledge the depth of his problem: His eight months at war had profoundly damaged his psyche.

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Read Full Article

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GAHR-Net e-Newsletter

These bi-monthly newsletters will highlight some of the key news and features from around the world that are relevant to the field of alcohol harm reduction. This month, there is feedback from the ‘4th International Conference on Alcohol and Harm Reduction’ in Barcelona, news from the World Health Organization, a consultation from the Scottish Government, and a feature on ‘super-strength’ lagers and ciders.

	Alcohol Harm Reduction Conference Takes Place in Barcelona				Consultation: ‘Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol'
	World Health Organization to Develop Global Alcohol Strategy				Campaign Targets ‘Super-Strength’ Drinks

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Alcohol consumption and prehypertension: an investigation of university youth.
Behav Med. 2008 Spring;34(1):21-8.



Prehypertension and heavy alcohol consumption increase the risk for primary hypertension (PH), a major predictor of cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. Although undergraduate college students have exhibited prehypertensive blood pressure (BP) levels and more than 40% of undergraduates drink heavily, few researchers have examined both risk factors in the university context.

In this study, the authors collected BP and self-reported quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption data from 211 undergraduates (95 women).

Logistic regression analyses showed that prehypertensive undergraduates (ie, those with systolic BP > or = 120 mm Hg or diastolic BP > or = 85 mm Hg) were nearly 4 times more likely to consume alcohol levels associated with increased risk for developing PH.

Additional research on alcohol and PH among adolescents and undergraduates is needed, with particular reference to mechanisms and reducing the risk for morbidity and mortality emanating from cardiovascular disease.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: rsjorgen@syr.edu
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Mixing alcohol, energy drinks popular trend

Experts say the combination is dangerous.

AMBER TRAVIS
Tribune Staff Writer

University of Notre Dame student Belan Molina said she and her friends have heard about possible negative effects of mixing alcohol and energy drinks, but they often gather to do just that.

"You have to take (drinking) to another level," she said. "Because a couple of energy drinks will not do that much to you.

"I think it could be a lot worse."

Kelly Lawrence, assistant director of the office of alcohol and drug education at Notre Dame, said the chemicals within alcohol and energy drinks interact to make them a dangerous combination.
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Read Full Article
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Drinking games prove deadly to college students

By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press Writer

WINONA, Minn. (AP) -- On the morning after the house party on Johnson Street, Jenna Foellmi and several other twentysomethings lay sprawled on the beds and couches. When a friend reached over to wake her, Foellmi was cold to the touch.

The friend's screams woke up the others still asleep in the house.

Foellmi, a 20-year-old biochemistry major at Winona State University, died of alcohol poisoning on Dec. 14, one day after she had finished her last exam of the semester. According to police reports, she had three beers during the day, then played beer pong - a drinking game - in the evening, and downed some vodka, too.

Foellmi's death was tragic, but typical in many ways.

An Associated Press analysis of federal records found that 157 college-age people, 18 to 23, drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. The number of alcohol-poisoning deaths per year nearly doubled over that span, from 18 in 1999 to a peak of 35 in 2005, though the total went up and down from year to year and dipped as low as 14 in 2001.

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Read Full Article

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The Incentive Salience of Alcohol

Translating the Effects of Genetic Variant in CNR1

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(7):841-850.

The gene that codes for cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) represents an important target for investigations designed to elucidate individual differences in the etiology of alcohol dependence.

To achieve a better understanding of the role of the CNR1 gene in the etiology and treatment of alcohol dependence.

Findings indicate that the C allele of rs2023239 is associated with greater CB1 binding in the prefrontal cortex, greater alcohol cue–elicited brain activation in the midbrain and prefrontal cortex, greater subjective reward when consuming alcohol, and more positive outcomes after treatment with a medication that targets the mesocorticolimbic neurocircuitry. In addition, there were strong correlations between cue-elicited brain activation and alcohol consumption measures in individuals with the C allele.

Individuals with the C allele may be more susceptible to changes in the mesocorticolimbic neurocircuitry that is involved in the attribution of incentive salience after repeated exposure to alcohol.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: kenth@psych.colorado.edu

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Systematic Analysis of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission Genes in Alcohol Dependence and Adolescent Risky Drinking Behavior
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(7):826-838.



Glutamatergic neurotransmission is implicated in alcohol-drinking behavior in animal models.

To investigate whether genetic variations in glutamatergic neurotransmission genes, which are known to alter alcohol effects in rodents, contribute to the genetic basis of alcoholism in humans.

Association analysis of alcohol dependence and haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering 10 glutamatergic genes. Resequencing of functional domains of these genes identified 204 SNPs. Haplotypes with a frequency of 5% or greater could be discriminated by 21 haplotype-tagging SNPs analyzed for association in 2 independent samples of alcohol-dependent adult patients and controls as well as adolescent trios.

Analysis of study 1 revealed that NR2A and MGLUR5 have the greatest relevance for human alcohol dependence among the genes selected with odds ratios of 2.35 and 1.69, respectively. Replication analysis in study 2 confirmed an association of alcohol dependence with NR2A (odds ratio, 2.01) but showed no association with MGLUR5. Combined analysis of study 1 and study 2 exhibited a more significant association on the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test (P < .001) for NR2A; NR2A was associated with positive family history, early onset of alcoholism, and maximum number of drinks in adults as well as risky drinking patterns in adolescents.

Genetic variations in NR2A have the greatest relevance for human alcohol dependence among the glutamatergic genes selected for their known alteration of alcohol effects in animal models.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: g.schumann@iop.kcl.ac.uk
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July 2008

vol. 9 issue 7

Binge Drinkers Have a Disconnect Between Assessing Their Driving Abilities & Reality Naltrexone is Effective for Alaska Natives & Other Alaskans Living in Rural Areas Men are more likely than Women to Crave Alcohol When They Feel Negative Emotions Read Full Issue ____________________________________________________________

SAMHSA's Road to Recovery Update
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Road to Recovery Update keeps you informed about activities leading up to National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) in September. Feel free to forward this information to friends and colleagues, include it in newsletters or listservs, or link to it from your Web site.

Today's Webcast

Wednesday, July 2: "Real People, Real Recovery: Effectively Delivering Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care"






Read Full Update
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Action News
Action News Vol. XVIII No. 2 (2008)

Action News is a quarterly newsletter produced by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse that addresses current events related to substance abuse.

Highlights:

Rethinking harm reduction: The focus of disagreement on “harm reduction” appears to be related to the type of drug use behaviour being targeted

Bloggers wanted for youth strategy: CCSA seeking comments on proposed direction for youth drug prevention

Two new CAS reports released: Prevalence data sheds more light on Canadian youth, public opinion

CCSA documents among "50 best": IHRA picks three CCSA titles as model harm reduction resources

Tiered treatment model recommended: Working Group submits final report on improving treatment in Canada

A professional body, but what kind?: Survey finds an association is best suited to substance abuse workforce

SPECIAL INSERT: An interview with Michel Perron, CCSA's Chief Executive Officer

Read Full Issue (PDF)
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Alcohol and fatal accidents in the United States—A time series analysis for 1950–2002
Accident Analysis & Prevention Volume 40, Issue 4, July 2008, Pages 1273-1281

To estimate the association between per capita alcohol consumption and fatal accidents in the United States and to compare the outcome with findings from Europe and Canada.

A 1-L increase in per capita consumption was on average followed by 4.4 male deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, but had no significant effect on female accident mortality. Regarding specific categories of accidents, the effect on fatal motor vehicle accidents accounted for a large part of the overall effect for men and was also significant for women. With respect to fatal falling accidents and other accidents, the only significant effects were found among young males. As concerns women, the association with per capita consumption in the US was weak in comparison with Canada and Europe. The US effect estimate for overall male accidents was however equally strong as in Northern Europe (5.2) or Canada (5.9), and stronger than that found in Central and Southern Europe (2.1 and 1.6, respectively). With respect to alcohol and fatal motor vehicle accidents, the association for men of 3.2 was stronger than in Europe and more similar to the Canadian finding (3.6).

Per capita alcohol consumption has at least partly been an explanation for the development of male fatal accidents and particularly motor vehicle accident rates in the post-war United States. High traffic density and relatively high legal limits for drunken driving blood alcohol concentration (BAC) are suggested to explain the strong association found between alcohol and fatal motor vehicle accidents. The results also suggest that a reduction in per capita consumption would have its most preventive impact on fatal accidents among younger males.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: mats.ramstedt@sorad.su.se

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Acute poisoning and suicide trends in Sri Lanka: Alcohol a cause for concern
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Volume 32 Issue 3, Pages 290 - 290

No abstract


Request Reprint E-Mail: j.foster@mdx.ac.uk
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Alcohol ad regulation could
prove troublesome

06 July 2008
By Catherine O’Mahony

The new self-regulatory codes on alcohol advertising sound comprehensive, but they could prove tricky to implement in some cases.

In general, the new rules depend heavily on establishing that media audiences are at least 75 per cent adult before alcohol advertising can be allowed. That’s fine in the world of television, but it will be difficult elsewhere.

Existing print and radio research, for instance, doesn’t measure the under-15 audience at all, so it’s hard to see how anyone can say how many children use these media. The issue is being examined at present, but it is complicated by the fact that researchers cannot, by law, interview children without parental consent. The final decision is down to a monitoring body for the new rules, chaired by Pater Cassells, which must track compliance with the new regime and which may opt to conduct its own media research.
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Read Full Article
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News Release - Treatment for Cigarette, Alcohol and Drug Use During Pregnancy Dramatically Improves Outcomes for Mom and Baby, Kaiser Permanente Study Shows

Largest study to date examined nearly 50,000 pregnant women

OAKLAND, Calif — Pregnant women who receive treatment for substance abuse early in their pregnancy can achieve the same health outcomes as pregnant women with no substance abuse, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Perinatology.

The study, which is the largest to date, examined 49,985 women in Kaiser Permanente's prenatal care program and found that integrating substance abuse screening and treatment into routine prenatal care helped pregnant women achieve similar health outcomes as women who were not using cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs. This is also the largest study to examine multiple substances: cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin.

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Read Full Release

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State of Drinking: Our alcohol culture
July 6, 2008














In a series of stories over the next month, Gannett Wisconsin Media will examine the ways in which alcohol is woven into the fabric of life in Wisconsin. Collectively, the articles in the series tell a bigger story — a story about the state’s drinking culture.

Ten of the stories will explore issues related to each of the 10 measures that Gannett Wisconsin used to rank the culture of alcohol in each state.

Beer sustains economies of Wisconsin communities

Disparate worlds connect through tavern's tap

Analysis ranks state No. 1 for alcohol’s impact on lives


Read Full Report
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