Alcohol Consumption

Latest National Survey Shows Youth Alcohol Consumption Down

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Each year the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) releases the results of the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) in September during National Recovery Month. Among the annual tracking of substance abuse and related behavioral health information, the ongoing survey finds patterns in usage statistics that help give not just a snapshot of consumption, but also help predict trends in drug and alcohol abuse.

The latest survey found some mixed results. Predictably, there was a rise in marijuana usage, given the legalization for adults in several states. However, one positive note was that alcohol consumption among adolescents decreased over the previous year. More specifically, past-month drinking among teens aged 12 t0 17 fell from 17.6 percent in 2002 to 11.5 percent by 2014.

Overall underage drinking is down over the past decade, but there was little change from the previous year when looking at binge drinking and heavy drinking rates. Some believe that the total usage statistics remain generally equal year after year, but the trends in the substances change. While plausible, this doesn’t negate the fact that less young people abusing alcohol equals an improvement in our society.

What Happens When You Stop Drinking for a Month?

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There is a movement that is gaining steam throughout the country, it is called Sober September. The idea is that people give up alcohol for the entire month to give their bodies a chance to recover from the rest of the year of drinking. However, how beneficial is a month of sobriety? Does it only take one month to make up for the other eleven months of damage inflicted to the liver and the brain? The truth is that an alcohol-free month is only temporarily beneficial, as it is not a long enough period of time to allow the body to recuperate from heavy drinking.

“I would look at a month of sobriety as equivalent to an intermittent fast, or juicing, or a cleanse. And we have no real evidence that they are physically beneficial per se. But it’s like rebooting a computer – they make you stop, they make you conscious, they make you mindful, and there’s the opportunity to get into a pattern that’s better for you,” explained Dr. David Katz, the founder of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.

Katz also wonders why people would feel a need to take a break from alcohol. If someone feels that they are due for a month long break, it is likely because they are consuming too much alcohol in the first place. Researchers have determined that women who drink more than a few glasses of wine a week are in danger of drinking too much. Men who drink more than 21 units of alcohol fall into the same category. Oftentimes binge drinking (drinking several drinks in a short amount of time) is a behavior that occurs without the person realizing that they are participating in this type of dangerous behavior.

While maintaining sobriety for a month will make a person feel better, it will not repair the damage that was created in the liver. In order for liver damage to be addressed, a person needs to stop drinking altogether for a significant amount of time. However, one major benefit of taking a month off of drinking is that it will help break the habit of going out every night and feeling like the only way to have fun is to drink.

Research Finds No Real Cure For Hangovers

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Despite marketing efforts for novel products or supplements, the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology recently determined that the only real cure for a hangover is to drink less, or to not drink at all.

Binge drinking episodes and chronic heavy drinking create many problems for people, and some of the more acute symptoms include the hangover the next morning. A typical hangover includes major headaches, dehydration, aches and pains, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and more.

Researchers conducted surveys on more than 700 Canadian college students. After collecting the data, it became clear that the less a person drank the less likely they would develop a hangover the next day. The information analyzed will help researchers determine exactly why a person experiences a hangover in the first place and what goes on in their body that makes them nauseous, tired, depressed and anxious after they drink. The simple answer seems to be that any ingestion of a toxic substance can produce such symptoms.

“Research has concluded that it’s not simply dehydration – we know the immune system is involved, but before we know what causes it, it’s very unlikely we’ll find an effective cure,” explained Dr. Joris Verster of Utrecht University.

Hangovers are especially common for college students, which is the age range an population that has the highest rates of binge drinking. Hopefully the revelation that there really is no cure for a hangover might deter at least a few people from engaging in such dangerous behavior.

When to Discuss Alcohol with Kids

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New research shows that parents and educators should be discussing the dangers of alcohol much earlier than many people previously expected. Explaining why children should not consume alcohol, and how doing so can harm them, needs to be done between the ages of 9 and 13. This is likely a much different approach regarding underage drinking prevention than what most parents and schools have been doing. The tendency to wait until children are older to discuss alcohol and drugs is proving to be too late.

“Surveys indicate that children start to think positively about alcohol between ages 9 and 13 years. The more young people are exposed to alcohol advertising and marketing, the more likely they are to drink, and if they are already drinking, this exposure leads them to drink more. Therefore, it is very important to start talking to children about the dangers of drinking as early as 9 years of age,” the report discussed.

Experts agree that it is not just the parent’s responsibility to begin educating their children about the dangers of alcohol. Physicians and health care providers should begin discussing the issue with children and their parents as well. Studies show that by the time children reach the age of 13, 21% have already tried more than a sip of alcohol. This number skyrockets by the time children graduate high school. Almost 80% of high school graduates have drunk more than a sip of alcohol.

Further indication that parental involvement is vital when it comes to the decision of whether or not to consume alcohol is that most children agreed that their parents were the biggest influencers on drinking. Kids whose parents discussed the dangers of alcohol abuse and experimentation were less likely to become heavy drinkers while in college. This is particularly vital because college students are more likely to engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking occurs when a person consumes large quantities of alcohol in a short amount of time. There are many dangers to binge drinking, such as alcohol poisoning, making poor decisions regarding driving and sex and the risk of developing an alcohol addiction.

Studies Find Community-Wide Approach Reduces College Drinking

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Heavy alcohol consumption and binge drinking among college students is a major problem in America, including right here in Arizona. Young people fall victim to the pressures of college and their peers, have a desire to fit in and are not under the supervision of adults anymore. This is typically a recipe for disaster, as has been proven time and again in college towns all over the country.

However, ongoing research shows that there are ways to cut down on the behavior, both on campus as well as off campus. Involving the community is a big factor, as showing a common concern for students helps to reduce their frequency and level of intoxication. Multiple studies indicate that having campus officials work in tandem with community leaders and student representatives in a coalition can cut down on the drinking that occurs at parties, restaurants and bars.

Measures taken include the use of under-age people ordering drinks under-cover, resulting in warnings and fines for establishments that serve alcohol to those who aren’t yet 21. Other practices can include more DUI checkpoints and noise ordinance enforcement for parties. Many of these tactics were part of the California Safer University studies that were funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Therapeutic Site for Vets Helps Reduce Drinking and PTSD Symptoms

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Hundreds of thousands of returning active duty soldiers and veterans have drinking problems that are connected to their service for our country. Recently, those who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom seemed to be highly affected. The drinking is often in an attempt to self-medicate the PTSD symptoms they are experiencing.

A few years ago, research was conducted on the effectiveness of an online tool for helping these men and women reduce their drinking as well as their PTSD symptoms. It is called VetChange, and the randomized clinical trial showed that the program did indeed help. The results had been published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Today VetChange is a free service that is sponsored by Boston University and VA Boston Healthcare System in partnership with the National Center for PTSD, with support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and the National Center for PTSD.

“Many veterans use alcohol to self-medicate for PTSD-related issues, such as stress, anger and sleep problems. Our program focuses on alcohol and its link to PTSD. It helps them learn to address these problems and other stressors in their lives without using alcohol,” said Dr. Brief, Director of Residential and Rehabilitation Services at the VA Boston Healthcare System, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at Boston University.

The tool can be used by itself for Vets looking to reduce their drinking and improve the quality of their lives, and it can also be used in conjunction with traditional substance abuse and mental health treatments or therapies.

Citizens Concerned About Drunk Driving

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A survey conducted by the Gallup group showed that American citizens are more concerned with drunk drivers on the road, than people driving under the influence of other substances. Overall, 97% of people who were surveyed cited alcohol as the number one concern they have for drivers on the road. While participants were not asked to rate substances based on how impaired a substance made a driver, they were instead asked what substance concerned them the most regarding other driver’s safety on the road.

The results of the survey show that despite a countrywide attack on drunk driving, including public service announcements, education and increased punishment for those who are caught driving while under the influence of alcohol, there is still great worry over the safety of the roads. It also shows that it is difficult to change behavior simply with laws and PSAs. There must be more ways to influence people to eliminate their drunk driving patterns.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and other public groups have helped to make a significant push for more accountability for drunk drivers as well as more public awareness about the issue. Way too many people have lost their lives. This Gallup survey also revealed that teenagers agree with adults that alcohol is more dangerous to consume prior to getting behind the wheel than other drugs.

Experts do agree that while marijuana does not appear to pose as great a risk to other drivers as alcohol, this might change as more and more states begin to legalize marijuana. It is unclear how the amount of people who smoke marijuana and drive will change, but it is likely to increase. Additionally, people are more prone to mix alcohol and marijuana, which is much more dangerous than either substance by itself.

Alcohol Abuse Down Worldwide, but Increased in U.S.

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Worldwide, alcohol abuse has gone down by 7.6%, according to a recent study that looked into world epidemiology. The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and showed that despite the good global news, alcohol abuse has actually increased by 5.5% in the United States. This means that current preventative methods are not creating enough of an effect as much as policy makers had hoped.

Of the 76.8 million people around the world who were diagnosed with alcohol use disorders, 5.1 million of those people are from the United States. Researchers criticized the U.S. for not making more efforts to prevent alcohol abuse. In addition to the growing alcohol problem, illicit drug use is also a major problem in this country, and is more of a problem here than the rest of the world.

The report, which was published in The Lancet, included the rates of abuse of other drugs as well, and overall the U.S. isn’t doing very well in the substance abuse category. University of Washington professor and lead study author Theo Vos told CNSNews.com that the reported declines in substance abuse are modest, and that little progress has been made to prevent alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. and around the world.

Media Influence on Drinking

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A common misconception is that alcohol is healthy for an individual. Several years ago a report was issued stating that a glass of wine daily would fend off heart disease. For years afterwards many people would cite this study as a reason why it was ok to promote drinking. However, since the study was released, researchers have discovered that any health benefits from a glass of wine a day are negligible and there were likely problems with the study in the first place. The danger of publishing information is that is not accurate is that the millions of people that it reaches will subsequently make decisions off of wrong information.

“It is particularly interesting to note that those who believe alcohol to be heart healthy actually drink more alcohol. Whether their belief causes this behavior, or merely justifies it, remains an interesting unknown,” explained Dr. Gregory Marcus, director of clinical research at the University of California, San Francisco.

Marcus and his team conducted a study to determine people’s perceptions on alcohol and any related health benefits. They discovered that 80% of the people who believed that alcohol was healthy for an individual felt this way because of the reports produced by the media on the health benefits of wine. Additionally, the researchers discovered that those that believed that alcohol was healthy had high rates of alcohol abuse. These people consumed 47% more alcohol than people who did not believe that alcohol was healthy for a person.

The correlation between the media and the public’s decisions is interesting, and highlights the major role the media has when it comes to the decision making process. Experts agree that the danger of consuming too much alcohol far outweighs any minor health benefits a glass of wine has for a person. Binge drinking and drunk driving are threats that make alcohol consumption a risky endeavor, especially for those that tend to over drink in the first place.

Large Number of People Suffer from Alcohol Abuse

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A new study revealed that fourteen percent of Americans currently struggle with an alcohol abuse problem. In addition to those that are currently suffering from an alcohol abuse problem, a total of 30% of Americans have struggled with alcohol abuse at least once in their lifetime. The study was conducted by researchers who wanted to investigate exactly how prevalent alcohol addiction is in American society. While problems like; heroin addiction and prescription pill abuse are well known and discussed at length, alcohol addiction is the quiet killer.

“Most importantly, this study highlighted the urgency of educating the public and policy makers about alcohol use disorder and its treatments, destigmatizing the disorder, and encouraging among those who cannot reduce their alcohol consumption on their own, despite substantial harm to themselves and others, to seek treatment,” explained the authors of the study.

In order to educate more people about the dangers of alcohol abuse and also that more Americans are suffering from an addiction to alcohol than many people thought, the researchers published their study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study came about after medical experts changed the definition of alcohol use disorder, altering the criteria people needed to exhibit in order to be diagnosed with the dangerous addiction. The new definition added more signs of alcohol abuse and clarified that someone has to display at least two of the symptoms listed in the definition. Some of the new criteria included; continuing to drink alcohol despite it harming relationships, school or work performance being negatively affected by alcohol consumption and attempting to quit drinking and being unable to.

Researchers gathered data from 36,000 Americans. Questions were asked about their drinking habits and if their drinking negatively affected any aspects of their life. Researchers also studied those that admitted to having a drinking problem at one point in their life. Interestingly, most of the people that had struggled with alcohol in the past, or were currently struggling with alcohol, had not or were not receiving treatment. There is a general feeling that an alcohol abuse problem can go so long without being detected because the public is not aware of the signs of an alcohol addiction and how common the problem actually is. Researchers hope that the study will help to shed some light on the alcohol problem in the country.