Alcoholics, alcoholism, and alcohol abuse

The American Journal of Psychology is reporting that different pharmacological treatments are recommended for different subtypes within alcoholics. For example, middle-aged weekend bingers should take Topiramate and for people who drink daily and have a family history of alcoholism, they recommend Naltrexone. In all cases, they recommend goal setting, clinical monitoring, and psychotherapeutic support.

People who attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings drank less -- and less frequently -- than those who did not attend AA, and also were less depressed, according to research based on the federal Project MATCH treatment study.

Source: Join Together

An evaluation of the online screening tool CheckYourDrinking.net found that problem drinkers reduced their alcohol consumption by 30 percent at three- and six-month followups -- similar to the success rate for in-person interventions -- according to Canada's Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

New research out of Hazelden Foundation says, in essence, share your drug and alcohol history with your kids. They want to know, and a truthful and reasoned conversation can have great preventative effects.

A mother killed her 2 year old daughter, 3 nieces, 3 men in another car, and herself when she drove the wrong way down the expressway. She had up to 10 drinks in her system and had recently smoked marijuana.

The following link has the full story: 1010wins.com

Editorial Comment

From a a book review at sfgate.com:

Queenan bravely but cautiously drops the cool, sarcastic, funnyman persona in this shocking new memoir and looks back on his horrific childhood in Philadelphia. He was often beaten senseless by his tyrannical drunken father, who used to pull the boy from his bed at night and make him sit and listen to him rant about everything from the passing of the era of Kennedy's "Camelot" to the new dictates of the Catholic Church. His three sisters were not spared from their father's violent alcoholic rages, while their mother sequestered herself upstairs, neither helping them nor partaking in the madness. Queenan never forgave her for her silence and passivity.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month and one way companies are getting involved is with public awareness campaigns about workplace alcoholism. The cost of alcoholism and other drug addictions in the U.S. workforce exceeds $100 billion a year, according to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI). Part of Alcohol Awareness Month is educating companies in identifying the signs of an alcoholic and help problem drinkers.

Source: Fox Businesses

Screening and brief intervention (SBI) for addictions and other behavioral problems could save billions in healthcare costs if widely implemented as a component of national healthcare reform. But experts say that the programs need to be introduced in a systemic fashion to be effective and avoid overburdening physicians.

Various research studies have shown that SBI can cut hospitalization costs by $1,000 per person screened.

This information comes from a Join Together report. The report says that use of SBI programs is growing nationally but still faces some significant hurdles, including lack of funding; reimbursement and cultural issues; and so-called UPPL laws, which allow health insurers in some states to deny payment to individuals injured in alcohol-related incidents, discouraging screening in trauma centers and emergency rooms.

Advocates say that devoting even a few minutes to screening patients for alcohol and other drug problems in emergency rooms, health clinics, employee-assistance programs, and doctor's offices can identify at-risk patients and steer them into treatment before problematic substance use blossoms into a more serious health crisis.

Research has shown that many screened patients cut down on their drinking simply because they were asked about their alcohol use; likewise, brief interventions have been shown to effectively reduce alcohol and other drug use.

Noting that the U.S. spends at least $200 billion annually treating problems related to alcohol and other drug problems, Richard Brown, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, added that SBI is a natural fit for national healthcare reform. "It's a wonderful way to promote healthy behaviors and reduce healthcare costs," he said.

- Written by Kristina Parker

From The Sun Sentinel

Dallas Adkins Jr., the Kings Point resident whom deputies shot last week after he pointed a rifle at them, is an Air Force veteran who struggled since he returned from Vietnam, his mother said Friday.

...He struggled with post-traumatic stress and alcoholism, and moved to Florida to get his life together, they said.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism go together all too frequently. Today, with soldiers coming home from two wars, these problems threaten to be worse than ever. Help is out there for families. In Rochester, we are lucky enough to have the Veterans Outreach Center (VOC).

But resources are never sufficient and more and more soldiers are returning from the war to fight their own battles.

Families in Recovery is dedicated to working with veterans in the Rochester region on their family alcoholism issues. We will be partnering with the VOC, hopefully in the coming year, to start offering services both for veterans and for their families.

We send soldiers off to fight our wars, to keep us safe. It is time we all returned the favor.

Additional research has come out showing again that any alcohol advertising, regardless of the intended audience, leads more kids to drink. From an article in biomedcentral.com (link goes to a press release)

Alcohol advertising and marketing may lead to underage drinking. A large systematic review of more than 13,000 people, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, suggests that exposure to ads and product placements, even those supposedly not directed at young people, leads to increased alcohol consumption.

The authors recommend that counter-advertising, social marketing techniques and other prevention options such as parenting programmes, price increases and limiting availability may be useful to limit alcohol problems in young people.

I would say that there are two elements minimum that are required to have a meaningful long-term impact on this issue.

First, parents and other family members need to be aware that any exposure to alcohol normalizes consumption, an issue particularly felt in alcoholic homes where consumption is constant. When kids see beer t-shirts on dad or Absolute ads in mom’s magazine, this makes it easier and easier for kids to pick up a bottle themselves far earlier than they otherwise would have.

And second, kids need to hear the counter-message. Alcohol is at the heart of many of society’s major problems. From domestic violence to coronary disease to depression, there are few domains where alcohol’s presence is not felt. Especially in younger, developing minds and bodies, the risks of drinking far outweigh any temporary idea of fun. Alcohol leads to half of all sexual assaults, huge increases in serious physical assault and violence, and 40% of all traffic fatalities. And the list goes on and on.

Kids need to hear the counter-message, but again in alcoholic homes, any real discussion of the counter-message is typically missing. Heck, these are the kids who are witnessing the counter-message first hand. They see the extremes of the pain alcohol abuse and dependence can cause. And the result for these kids – they are at least 4 times more likely than the rest of the population to abuse and become dependent on alcohol themselves.

A huge, community-wide marketing campaign seems like an appealing response. But I would want to do a bit more research first. Some studies have shown that any exposure to alcohol normalizes it – even campaigns meant to counter the problem. So who do we target – the kids or the parents? And do we try and scare people – think of the ‘brain on drugs’ ads? Or do we merely try and teach them? Or do we offer alternative messages, affirming ones, that take the focus off the problems and put it on the solutions instead. I am leaning towards the final option.