Alcohol News

Cars Not the Only Thing Drunk People Should Not Operate

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For decades, the public has been inundated with public service announcements, lectures, signs and police presence all warning drunk people not to get behind the wheel of a car. And while deaths involving drunk drivers are still one of the highest causes of accidental deaths in the country, there is something else that the public should be warned about. People under the influence of alcohol should also not ride a bike or walk home while under the influence of alcohol either.

This is important, because many people may consider it ok to do these things, as long as they are not driving a car. But, a new study shows that over 30% of pedestrian deaths and 20% of bicyclist deaths are related to alcohol. “Education and enforcement campaigns aimed at reducing impaired driving may give people the erroneous impression that walking or riding a bike is a safe alternative. The public needs to better informed about the dangers of alcohol impairment for anybody on the road,” stated Angela Eichelberger, lead author of the study.

This study was commissioned by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and is aimed at broadening public awareness regarding alcohol. Ensuring that people understand that operating any mode of transportation, including walking, while under the influence is dangerous, and can result in death.

Interestingly, the amount of people who die each year from walking or biking accidents that also involve alcohol does not really fluctuate. This means that health organizations, law agencies and schools need to do a better job informing people about the dangers of mixing alcohol into these situations. It is much more common for someone to be told not to drink and drive than it is for them to be told not to ride a bike and drink, or walk home while drunk. But the same reason why someone should not drink and drive applies to those who bike or walk. Alcohol hinders a person’s ability to make good decisions, it lowers coordination and judgement. These are all necessary when navigating around in a bike or on foot.

Possibly a more effective public service announcement would be to show how important it is to ask for rides from sober people, rather than embark on a trip home under the influence.

Veterans’ Suicide Risk Doubles with Drinking, Drug Abuse: Study Finds

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United States veterans living with a substance abuse problem have a higher risk of committing suicide than veterans who don’t have this problem, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at more than four million veterans. They determined that eight percent of men and four percent of women had either drug or alcohol issue. Veterans in this category were twice as likely to take their own lives compared to veterans who didn’t have a substance abuse disorder.

Women Especially at Risk for Suicide

The danger of suicide for female veterans with substance abuse difficulties was even more threatening than it was for males. The women were more than five times more likely to commit suicide than female veterans who didn’t abuse alcohol or drugs.

Kipling Bohnert, the study leader, stated that the study results should serve as helpful information for doctors and health care providers working with patients who have substance abuse disorders. It should make them aware of the risk of suicide and encourage efforts toward prevention.

The suicide rate for US veterans is 20 per day, according to researchers. This is much higher than for the general population. Bonhert commented recently in a university news release that substance use disorders “may be important markers for suicide risk.”

Substance Type Plays a Role in Suicide Risk

The study results revealed that the type of substance used by the veterans had an impact on their risk of suicide. Veterans who abused prescription sedatives, such as tranquilizers, were at the highest level of risk.

Female veterans were at higher risk by abusing opioid pain medications. Male veterans were at higher risk of taking their own lives if they were abusing amphetamines (“uppers”), according to the study results.

The study was published in the online version of the journal Addiction. It draws attention to the need for more suicide prevention efforts directed toward veterans with substance abuse issues. This need is even more urgent for veterans living with mental health concerns such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Gun Safety Should be Included in Prevention Efforts

Gun safety needs to be addressed in the efforts to lower suicide rates. Two-thirds of the suicides examined in the study involved use of firearms. Another 25 percent of suicides by veterans with substance abuse issues involved ingesting poisons. Strategies to prevent suicide by taking harmful substances also needs to be addressed.

Benefit of Strict Alcohol Laws

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Alcohol-related car accidents are among the leading cause of death in the United States. According to new research, about half of all fatal car accidents where a child is killed is due, in some part, to alcohol. Despite having some of the toughest alcohol laws in the world, the United States still sees thousands of lives lost to the dangerous combination of alcohol and driving. In an effort to reduce this statistic, some researchers have released a study that shows the possibility of a decrease in these deaths of more strict alcohol laws are enacted.

“To reduce alcohol-related crash deaths among youth, it is important to strengthen policies that focus on adults, not just youth, and that focus on drinking, not just driving,” commented Dr. Tim Naimi, an alcohol epidemiologist at Boston University’s School of Medicine. This means that the most effective policies often have little to do with drink driving or underage drinking. In fact, policies like increasing taxes on alcohol beverages, or reducing the number of stores that can sell alcohol in an area, or limiting the times that alcohol can be sold are among the most effective policies in eliminating drunk driving deaths.

A focus on this approach has gained some media attention as the best way to reduce alcohol-related violence, deaths and misconduct and it appears that many states are coming on board. For instance, the states with the strictest alcohol policies reported a decrease of 9% when it came to youth-related deaths from incidents involving alcohol. And often children who are killed in crashes where alcohol is involved were not driving and were not drinking. The data shows that almost half of the youth killed in these crashes were not driving, and 80% of those victims were passengers in a car being driven by an adult who was under the influence of alcohol.

While these new policies could help with the mortality rate in alcohol-related events, it is important to note that researchers are not advocating lesser laws or punishment for drunk drivers. Broader policies are effective, but in conjunction with strict drink driving policies and laws is where the real results are seen.

Rewards Beneficial in Helping Alcoholics with Co-Occurring Disorders

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Helping someone overcome an addiction to alcohol is difficult and requires a lot of effort on the part of the addict, loved ones and treatment or counseling team. However, helping someone who is addicted to alcohol and also suffering from a mental illness can be even harder.

This smaller portion of the population are often forced to receive treatment for the mental illness and alcoholism separately, which makes it more unlikely that they will actually overcome their addiction. In order to find a better solution to this problem, researchers at Washington State University conducted a study that examined a potentially better form of treatment for those that have been diagnosed with an addiction to alcohol and a mental illness.

This particular experiment centered around small rewards for submitting clean urine tests. Participants that had been identified as alcohol dependent and suffering from a severe mental illness were split into two groups. The first group, of about forty subjects, were given small prizes if they passed a urine analysis test. The other group, made up of the same amount of people, were given rewards whether they passed the test or not. The study lasted about 12 weeks. The researchers found that subjects who had been given rewards for staying clean were more likely to stay clean, even after the 12-week study. Additionally, researchers also noted that drug use and tobacco use were also diminished in the group that received rewards for passing their tests. This was not the intention of the study, but interesting because it appears that the reward system is powerful enough to address more than one addiction at a time.

“Our findings suggest that contingency management is a feasible approach for people with alcohol problems. And it may be particularly effective in those with serious mental illness – such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder – a high-cost and difficult-to-engage population,” explained Michael McDonell, associate professor in WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

While this particular group is not vast, mental illness paired with an alcohol addiction can be extremely dangerous and costly to the individual, family and society. Developing an effective way to treat these patients is important and may also open doors for more successful treatment modalities for non-mental health patients that suffer from alcoholism.

Study Examines Cause Behind Excessive Drinking Among Couples

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Alcohol consumption and volatile relationships make for a dangerous combination. Domestic violence and extreme arguing are common manifestations of this duo. But, why do some couples get involved in this lifestyle, while other couples do not? This is the question that The National Institutes of Health is looking to answer. And they are willing to spend a lot of money in making sure that they understand the mechanics behind this issue. The organization is paying almost $600,000 to The State University of New York at Buffalo to develop and carry out the study.

And while the question is an interesting one, some people are not sure why it is being investigated so seriously. But, as the grant explains, this is a public health problem, the fallout of which costs the taxpayers a lot of money. “Understanding the relationship-specific motivations for alcohol use, as well as the risk and protective factors associated with relationship drinking processes as they occur in real-time in couples’ natural environments, is crucial to addressing problematic alcohol use in relationships,” explained researchers.

So, while the taxpayers are footing the bill for this expensive study, the amount spent on handling the problems from alcohol-fueled domestic problems is far greater. Taxpayers are charged with funding health services, legal fees and of course the salaries of the officers who have to respond to fights that escalate.

Researchers have been able to pinpoint some of the reasons people consume alcohol in relationships. Women are more likely to drink in order to fulfill their intimacy needs and men are more likely to drink in order to fill their social needs. This may be why some relationship arguments are fueled by alcohol, because both partners have different goals behind their alcohol consumption.

The hope is that by discovering why couples consume alcohol, experts and policy makers can figure out new ways to keep people safe from domestic violence and educate couples who are struggling with these issues before it escalates out of hand.

Should We Stop Advertising Alcohol?

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The tobacco industry was hit hard when it was determined that they could not advertise their products on television or radio. The decision was made after considering overwhelming evidence that tobacco caused different types of cancers, lung diseases and was dangerous to children. However, alcohol companies have been able to continue advertising, despite the clear dangers associated with heavy alcohol use. Some people are looking to put an end to this, especially after a new study was published, focusing on alcohol advertisements.

The study concluded that alcohol advertising should be more regulated, specifically to protect children. The study focused on how often children were exposed to alcohol advertisements. It was discovered that sporting events were responsible for some of the most exposure for children to alcohol ads. This would make sense, events like the Super Bowl are viewed by as many 100 million people, making it an advertiser’s dream. In fact, some of the most iconic Super Bowl commercials have been about alcohol. After all, who can forget the Budweiser Clydesdale horses? But, many of these viewers are children. And if it was deemed unsafe and irresponsible to advertise tobacco products, why is it ok to advertise alcohol to children?

In the past alcohol companies have been tasked with monitoring themselves when it comes to advertisement placement. This means that alcohol companies do not advertise on children’s channels, or in children’s magazines. But this type of self-editing does not seem to be working, according to the study.

“Governments have previously approved self-regulatory measures on alcohol advertising; however, we can no longer say that they might work to protect our young people – they don’t. In a literature review of more than 100 studies, none was identified that supported the effectiveness of industry self-regulation programs,” commented Chris Brooke of the UK Health Forum, where the study took place.

Included in the study is a list of suggested changes made to current advertisement policies that would decrease the amount of exposure children have to alcohol. The most extreme suggestion is that there should be a ban on all alcohol advertising, but the list also includes things like; regulations should be enforced by the government – not the alcohol companied and regulations should be developed outside of the alcohol companies.

Alcohol Consumption Increases Prostate Cancer Risk

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After examining 27 studies, researchers in Canada and Australia have published a paper warning that alcohol consumption increases a person’s risk for prostate cancer. And while the research is not there to say that alcohol causes prostate cancer, there is a definite link between consumption and odds that someone will develop cancer of the prostate. This information, which is now being shared with the public, highlights the need for more studies involving alcohol and its link to different cancers in both males and females.

The researchers poured over several different studies and were able to determine that the more a man drinks the more likely they are to develop prostate cancer. Even men who drink about 2 alcoholic drinks a day are 8 to 23% more likely to have this type of cancer.

So, what exactly is the connection between alcohol and prostate cancer? Researchers are unable to answer this question and many have said that more funding needs to be allocated for further research into alcohol’s effects on cancer cells. Some have hypothesized that alcohol changes the DNA in the cell over time. And while the exact source of these cancers is unknown, it is clear that alcohol greatly increases the risks for obtaining prostate cancer, which is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in males.

“This new study contributes to the strengthening evidence that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for prostate cancer. Alcohol’s contribution to prostate cancer will need to be factored into future estimates of the global burden of disease,” explained Tim Stockwell, co-author of the study.

Over the last few years, researchers have found more and more evidence that alcohol greatly increases cancer risk in drinkers. This new analysis adds prostate cancer to mouth, stomach, esophagus, and liver cancers that drinkers are more likely to develop. Women drinkers are also at a greater risk of developing breast cancer. The toll that these cancers take on the patient, families and taxpayers is something that need to be explored further as well.

Alcohol Mixed With Energy Drinks Can Have Serious Effects on Developing Brains

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One of the many dangerous new trends involving substance abuse among adolescents and young adults includes mixing alcohol and energy drinks that contain caffeine. This may not seem like that big of a deal at first, but new information reveals the effects are more severe than some might think. Researchers at Purdue University conducted a study that showed mixing alcohol and caffeinated beverages can alter the makeup of the developing brain.

Causing damage to a growing neural center has long lasting effects, the researchers also concluded that these adolescents and teenagers are more likely to develop problems with how they deal with rewarding substances as adults. This means that drug use or alcohol use may be a bit more difficult for them to stop or abstain from because their brains have been altered to demand more.

The latest study looked at the effects of drinks on adolescent mice. When the mice were given caffeine and alcohol combinations, researchers were able to observe that the brains of the mice reacted in the same way as when they were given cocaine. This link provided more insight into the dangers of these drink combinations. As the trials went on, the researchers were able to see an increase in certain brain proteins that indicate long-term changes to the neurochemistry of the brain.

“It seems like two substances together push them over a limit that causes changes in their behavior and changes the neurochemistry in their brains. We’re clearly seeing effects of the combined drinks that we would not see if drinking one or the other,” explained Richard van Rijn, an assistant professor at Purdue University.

Alcohol and caffeine combinations are a trend that have observable physical complications. And teenagers are prone to following trends. And while consuming these types of beverages does not ensure that addiction will take place, it is becoming more clear that consumption is likely to lead toward brain alterations that could have more severe effects down the road.

Small Sips of Alcohol Could Harm Children in the Future

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Curiosity is arguably one of the best traits of a young child. They are interested in the world around them and are discovering things for the first time. So, when a parent is having a glass of wine and the child wants a sip, some parents do not see the harm in letting them have a taste. Parents want to be there when they experience alcohol for the first time and explain to them that it is a “grown up” drink, and the taste of alcohol is usually an acquired taste so having a child taste something that is bad to them may prevent them from drinking when they are in high school – at least that is the train of thought for some parents.

However, a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, revealed that children who sipped alcohol before the sixth grade were five times more likely to drink a full alcoholic beverage by the time they get in high school. The study also showed that these children were four times more likely to binge drink, or drink with the intention of getting drunk. And while the researchers do not want parents to feel that they have made in irreversible mistake, they do want the information out there so parents can better educate children.

“I would say that it is advisable not to offer your child a sip of your beverage, as it may send the wrong message – younger teens and tweens may be unable to understand the difference between drinking a sip and drinking one or more drinks,” explained Kristina Jackson, one of the co-authors of the study.

Researchers were able to come to this conclusion after interviewing 561 middle schoolers in Rhode Island over a three-year period. About 1/3 of these students said they had tried alcohol before entering middle school. Most of these children said they received the alcohol from their parents.

Instead of allowing small children to sip alcohol, it is best for parents to explain what alcohol is and to refrain from allowing them to taste the beverage. While there are many types of influencers in a child’s life that may cause them to drink, early exposure does not have to be one of those reasons.

Reduction of Alcohol Availability Impacts Suicide Rates

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Excessive alcohol consumption increases one’s chances of attempting or committing suicide. This is a statement that has been supported by studies going back to the seventies. It is likely that suicides and depression are influenced by alcohol intake because of the damage alcohol does to the brain. A person who is an alcoholic, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol daily, physically changes the shape and chemical makeup of their brain. This change can result to physical ailments, as well as emotional problems. While many studies have corroborated the link between alcohol and suicide, not many studies have examined the effects of alcohol restrictions on suicides.

Recently, a group of researchers set out to determine if areas with heavier alcohol tax, restrictions on the amount of alcohol in stores, or stricter driving under the influence laws had lower suicide rates. The answer was, yes – areas that make it more difficult to purchase alcohol, or get away with consuming excessive amounts, have less people committing suicide. The research did not specifically answer why this would be the case, but is likely that slight adjustments to make it more difficult to consume copious amounts of alcohol make it less likely that a person will get to the point of wanting to commit suicide.

“By making alcohol less available, it is possible to reduce the average risk of suicide, especially those where alcohol is involved. Departing from approaches that narrowly target members deemed at ‘high risk’ and that commonly address suicidal behaviors almost exclusively as problems of individuals, this population-based approach is likely to maximize public health benefit and to show long-lasting influence on reducing suicide,” explained the authors of the study.

Currently, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. Cities throughout the country are constantly looking at how they can lower their suicide rate. Which is why this information is so critical. By curbing the access to alcohol, even slightly, thousands of lives can be saved. In fact, the data is even more compelling when you look outside of the United States. The same researchers looked at information gathered in other countries, and found similar results, highlighting the influence cities and town all over the world can have on suicide rates.