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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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.

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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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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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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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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.

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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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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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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.

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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"






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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

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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.

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

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