'Alcoholic' Stigma Keeps Many Problem Drinkers From Seeking Treatment

New research indicates more than 60 percent of Americans with drinking problems do not seek help due to the stigma of alcoholism,UPI reported Dec. 5.

Investigators led by Dr. Katherine Keyes of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health looked at National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) responses from more than 6,300 participants who met criteria for an alcohol use disorder.

According to their findings, problem drinkers who perceived a stigma associated with alcohol abuse -- fully two-thirds of the sample -- were less likely to seek treatment than those who did not.

This was especially true among men, racial and ethnic minorities, and participants with lower income and education.

"Given that alcohol use disorders are one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the United States, the empirical documentation of stigma as a barrier to treatment is an important public health finding," said Keyes.

Stigma reduction should be integrated into public health efforts to promote alcohol treatment, the authors concluded.

The findings were published in the December issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

It is the mission of First Call Alcohol/Drug Prevention and Recovery to reduce the impact of alcohol, drugs, and addiciton by providing quality resources to individuals, families, and the community.

The stigma attached to addiction is part of the impact this disease has on individuals, families, and the community.  First Call offers programs and events to increase awareness and education of the disease of addiction.

The Mike Johnson Memorial Walk for Recovery and HOW to COPE with First Call are some of the events and programs First Call offers to educate the community on this disease.  Check out www.firstcallkc.org for all we do.

Post your thoughts on reducing the stigma associated with the disease of addiction.

In an average year 30 million Americans drive drunk – 10 million drive impaired by illicit drugs.

The Holidays bring gatherings of friends and family, merriment and joy.  In order to gather, people drive, on public streets, with you, with me, with our children and loved ones.  Did you know, as many as 17 %  of the drivers on the road are driving impaired? That is almost 2 out of every 10 cars on the road.

Past year drunk driving rates topped 20 percent in some states. 

The survey’s state-by-state breakdown of drunk and drugged driving levels shows significant differences among the states.  The one bright spot in the survey is that there has been a reduction in the rate of drunk and drugged driving in the past few years.  Survey data from 2002 through 2005 combined when compared to data gathered from 2006 to 2009 combined indicate that the average yearly rate of drunk driving has declined from 14.6 percent to 13.2 percent, while the average yearly rate of drugged driving has decreased from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent.  Twelve states have seen reductions in the levels of drunk driving and seven states have experienced lower levels of drugged driving.

 

A new survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that on average 13.2 percent of all persons 16 or older drove under the influence of alcohol and 4.3 percent of this age group drove under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) census, one in three motor vehicle fatalities (33 percent) with known drug test results tested positive for drugs in 2009.

“Thousands of people die each year as a result of drunk and drugged driving, and the lives of thousands of family members and friends left behind are forever scarred,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “Some progress has been made in reducing the levels of drunk and drugged driving through education, enhanced law enforcement and public outreach efforts. However, the nation must continue to work to prevent this menace and confront these dangerous drivers in an aggressive way.” 
Don’t let a friend, a family member or yourself drive drunk.  Call a cab.  It works. 

First Call, Alcohol/Drug Prevention & Recovery: Giving Up Smoking Linked To Greater Happiness And ...

First Call, Alcohol/Drug Prevention & Recovery: Giving Up Smoking Linked To Greater Happiness And ...: "It appears to be a myth that giving up smoking makes you miserable. Brown University researchers found that those who were in the process of..."

Giving Up Smoking Linked To Greater Happiness And Elevated Mood

It appears to be a myth that giving up smoking makes you miserable. Brown University researchers found that those who were in the process of quitting smoking were never happier. 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210375.php

A research team examined data on 236 male and female smokers who wanted to give up.  Of those candidates:

·         99 failed straight away (never abstained)

·         44 were only found to be smoking free during their first evaluation after the quit date

·         33 abstained successfully right up to their 8-week check-up

·         33 abstained throughout the whole period of the study

·         29 did not exhibit difficulties usually associated with quitting smoking.

Who would have guessed....?

·         The participants who failed straight away were still followed up throughout the study and were found to be the unhappiest of all the groups.

·         Those who quit for a while were very happy during the check-ups when their smoking cessation was being successfully carried out.

·         The ones who managed to abstain throughout the study period had the highest levels of happiness.

How might your celebration of the holidays this year to be more peaceful and joyful?

The holiday season often brings cherished memories, laughter and joy to families—but not to families impacted by substance abuse and addiction.

All too often families affected by substance use disorders spend the holiday feeling anxiety, sadness, despair and hopelessness. Family members may laugh on the outside but feel great emotional pain on the inside. Their dreams of joyful, loving holidays are  lost in the face of addiction.

How might your celebration of the holidays this year to be more peaceful and  joyful?

Missouri collected $91.2 million in cigarette taxes

Missouri collected $91.2 million in cigarette taxes…. But spent $2.24 BILLION to treat smoking related illnesses…

Did you know…?

·         Over 9,000 Missourians die annually from tobacco-related diseases, primarily cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

·         Twenty nine Missouri infants die annually due to maternal smoking during pregnancy.

·         Secondhand smoke causes an average of 1,180 deaths in Missouri annually.

·         Missouri spends $2.24 billion (including $532 million by state Medicaid) annually to treat smoking-related illnesses.

·         Missouri spends $10.1 million for care of newborns due to their mothers smoking during pregnancy.

·         Each Missouri household pays $585 in state and federal tax dollars from smoking-caused expenditures.

For Teen Boys, Heavy Drinking & Impulsivity May Be Vicious Circle

Bouts of heavy drinking can increase male teens' levels of impulsive behavior over time, including their propensity for more heavy drinking, a new study finds. The findings were released online in advance of publication in the February print issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
The study included more than 500 boys in Pittsburgh who were assessed each year from first-grade until they were 20 years old, with another follow-up four to five years later.
When they were teens, boys with moderate levels of impulsive behavior showed a significant increase in impulsivity if they had engaged in heavy drinking the previous year, as opposed to those with low or high levels of impulsive behavior.
"Heavy alcohol use in adolescence may lead to alterations in brain structure and function that reduce behavioral (impulse) control, which could, in turn, promote further heavy drinking," first author Helene R. White, professor of sociology at the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University, said in a news release from the journal's publisher.
The findings emphasize the need for prevention, said Andrew Littlefield, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri. He was not involved in the study.
"Decreasing heavy drinking during adolescence may decrease impulsivity by preventing damage to crucial brain areas. Findings also suggested that adolescents who stopped heavy drinking later 'rebounded' to lower levels of impulsivity. Therefore, decreasing drinking during adolescence could result in improved self-control at later ages," Littlefield said in the news release.
SOURCE: Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, news release, Nov. 16, 2010

Relapse Prevention Skills: The Daily Drill

One of the hallmarks of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is skills building. Following a “daily drill” is a skill that individuals with substance use disorders have found helpful in preventing relapse.

The Daily Drill has a four-word tagline:  Please, Read, Meet, and Thank

Please

Ask for help from a power greater than oneself, whether that be a “Higher Power” or a support group.

Read

 Read some from an addiction recovery-related book.

Meet

Meet with other people who are living life in recovery.

Thank

Express your gratitude for getting through another day without using drugs or alcohol.

Some remarks from FOUR LOKO Consumers

"Legalized cocaine in a can. If you consume Four Loko you can expect to encounter the same results typically associated with snorting a small mound of cocaine.

 "My dealer isn't picking up? Okay, whatever,.. we'll just get some Four Lokos instead."
 or

"nalcoholic energy drink that has over 11% alcohol and taste like Hawaiian Punch, all my boyz are gettin' crazy off Four Loko. What kinda alcohol is in Four Loko anywayz? "

Four Loko is an energy drink with a high alcohol content and boasts of a 'kick' of caffeine as well. Three alumni from Ohio State University created the power drink in 2006 where it was first introduced in Ohio, then Arizona, California and Illinois by the middle of that same year. This energy drink contains the usual suspects, caffeine taurine but also adds the kicker of alcohol content that is three times that of a regular beer.

Would you want your child to drink this?  Should this be legal?

First Call, Alcohol/Drug Prevention & Recovery: Everyone wants to hear, “No new taxes!”

First Call, Alcohol/Drug Prevention & Recovery: Everyone wants to hear, “No new taxes!”: "But the positive impact of a high alcohol tax has been documented by researchers from the University of Florida. They conclude that doubling..."

Everyone wants to hear, “No new taxes!”

But the positive impact of a high alcohol tax has been documented by researchers from the University of Florida. They conclude that doubling the alcohol tax is associated, on average, with a 35% reduction in alcohol-related deaths, an 11% drop in traffic accident deaths, a 6% reduction in sexually transmitted diseases, a 2% decline in violence and a 1.4% drop in crime. 

Did you know…

Missouri’s beer tax is $0.06/gallon and hasn’t been raised since 1971. 

Missouri has the second lowest beer tax in the nation, with the highest being Alaska at $1.07.

Missouri spirits tax is $2/gallon and is the second lowest spirits tax in the nation.

The State of Washington has the highest spirits tax at $26.45/gallon.

■I'm shouting out because 1.9 million youth age 12 to 17 abused prescription drugs last year. #drugfacts2010

Today, First Call is joining teens, parents, teachers, and scientists across America to kick off National Drug Facts Week by offering up our own shoutout for educating teens about drug abuse!

I'm shouting out because in 2009, nearly 1 out of 10 high school seniors were still abusing prescription pain pills… unintentional overdoses involving pain medicines have more than tripled in the past 10 years, outnumbering total deaths involving heroin and cocaine.

Every day 2,000 teens on average use Rx drugs for the first time - without a doctor's prescription http://bit.ly/d4d6Oj.

In 2007, prescription pain meds were involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined http://bit.ly/djfjGi

I didn’t Cause it, I can’t Control it, I can’t Cure it.

These are “The 3 C’s of Codependence Recovery.”  Once a codependent stops trying to make someone else stop using drugs or alcohol, they can begin to focus on their own recovery. 

Every person struggling with a substance use disorder has parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, spouses, children, neighbors, co-workers, friends, nieces, nephews. Have you tried to control a loved one’s use of alcohol or other drugs? Have you made threats, tried to bargain, begged?  It’s not easy to see that we are all impacted by a substance use disorder.  How we react is what makes the difference in our well-being.

How do you react?

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.

Legislators, both new and experienced, need to know where you stand on issues of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug prevention and treatment, today and regularly throughout their term.  Know your legislator, vote for your beliefs, know what issues are being introduced and tell your legislator where you stand on the issues.  

Who’s my Legislator - Missouri

http://movotesconservation.org/Home.aspx?ContentID=251

Who’s my Legislator – Kansas

http://www.kslegislature.org/redistricting.html

Kids, Questions, Drugs and Alcohol. Tips on how to answer

Young people can come up with some pretty challenging questions for parents when it comes to drugs and alcohol

So here are some ideas for dealing with challenging questions and some answers to some of the more baffling questions we might have to deal with.

1. (First) Stay calm, be yourself
2. Let your core beliefs guide you
3. Be willing to talk about the topic at length, but don’t get into a debate.
4. Don’t make something up. Know the facts or research the facts from trustworthy sources together.
5. Focus the discussion on the facts and the values you hold.

Some of the more common questions you may be asked, and ideas on how to respond to them.

Q: You smoked/drank/did drugs when you were younger and you turned out okay…

A: I made a lot of mistakes I would hope you wouldn’t make because I want you to have every advantage in life. And, I was fortunate, there’s no guarantee you will be. When I was younger there were no such things as bicycle helmets and very few cars had seat belts and I turned out okay. That doesn’t mean we should abolish seat belts and bicycle helmets.

Q: At 18, I can get married, join the army, vote, etc., but I can’t drink, that’s not fair.

A: It’s not a matter of fair, it’s a matter of your brain not being fully developed enough to handle alcohol until you’re 21. You greatly increase your chances of becoming an alcoholic if you drink when you’re younger.

Q: Marijuana is good for you, it’s a medicine…

A: First of all …do you have AIDS, glaucoma or cancer? (No) Then it’s not for you! Also, it’s illegal, it’s dangerous, and it’s just not worth it.

These are a few of the more common challenging questions a parent may face. Remember to stay focused on your values and your goals for your children, address the questions proactively and remember to keep reaching out for knowledge and support.

First Call is an agency of recovery referral, prevention, and education.  Make the First Call for help; we have counselors available 24/7.  Visit our Speas Resource Center for books, videos and DVDs on prevention, recovery and treatment of substance use disorder.  More about us at  www.firstcallkc.org