Posts Tagged Alcohol Abuse

Keep Minors Away from Alcohol this Holiday Season

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse on December 29th, 2011

Parties and celebrations are everywhere during the holiday season. It can’t be denied that these events almost always involve alcohol. This is where adults should become responsible to keep minors away from alcohol during the holiday celebrations.

If you are hosting the party, you must keep your young and adult guests safe. To do this, here are some suggestions:

keep alcohol away from minorsa. Have a strategic area where alcoholic beverages will be placed and make it off limits to minors.

b. Even if it will cost you more, get a bartender to serve drinks to your guests. The bartender will not only keep minors from alcoholic beverages, he could also check and limit how much your adult guests drink. By doing this, you are also helping your friends to be a lot safer on the road.

c. Be vigilant during the party and make sure minors are sober throughout the event. Watch out for unattended alcoholic drinks as they can be easily picked up by kids. Dispose any unfinished drink and collect all left-over drinks.

d. If any minor is caught drinking, call the attention of the parents concerned and have them pick up the child.

As a guest, you too can do your part in keeping teens away from alcohol. If you’re in a gathering, don’t encourage teen drinking and never allow kids to have even a sip of any alcoholic beverage. You should also never leave your own drink unattended at any time during the party. If you ever get a glimpse of a minor having a drink, immediately tell your host or hostess about it.

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‘House Party’ Educates Teens on Underage Drinking

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse on November 19th, 2011

A teen ‘house party’ sponsored by the Muskogee Community Anti-Drug Network and Muskogee Parks and Recreation together with the MHS OKY2Y group became an eye-opener for students on the dangers of underage drinking.

house party drinkingThe ‘house party’ is a part of a reality tour which is dedicated to help teens overcome peer pressure on using drugs and alcohol. In the event, apple juice served in beer bottles and 7UP in vodka bottles were given to the participants.

Throughout the day, teen participants drank, had fun and experienced how police deal with minor drinkers, and showed how drinking can cause premature death of teens when one of the participants overdosed on alcohol.

All these were done by the students and the organizers themselves to send out a strong message that ‘house parties’ where free flowing booze is made available can lead to serious consequences.

A lot of teens in Muskogee say that they often get invitations for such events. Some of them say that the activity is an important tool that will help them make the right decisions, while some don’t agree that all house parties are held the same way the tour depicts it.

Muskogee Police Public Relations Officer Pedro Zardeneta joined in the worthwhile event. He hopes that the reality tour will be enough to warn both parents and children about the things that could possible happen in house parties. For the longest time that he has been a police officer, he said his team has already conducted numerous police busts on house parties.

The tour also tackled how alcoholic drinks can be easily concealed by putting them in soft drinks bottles and whipped cream cans.

Sheril Morgan who is a MHS prevention specialist emphasized that parents should be aware of how these house parties go. “They think they’re keeping kids safe when alcohol is provided. In all honesty, it’s better not to have alcohol at all,” Morgan said.

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Nations’ Capital Tops in Drug, Alcohol Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Addiction on August 2nd, 2011

Drugs and alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems that the country has, and the nation’s capital tops the list for the most number of cases of substance abuse in the United States.

drug abuseA new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed that the District registered an 11.3% of people 12 years old and above who are into drugs and alcohol addiction. Virginia follows with 9.4% and Maryland at 8.1%.

Analysts identified factors such as the wide distribution of drugs, highly stressful living, and inadequate efforts to encourage abusers to seek treatment as the causes why the District topped the list. The latest SAMHSA report also showed the most abused substances in D.C. which includes marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol.

Babette Wise, the director of the drug and alcohol abuse program of Georgetown University Hospital also has her own interpretation why the city climbed at its present level. She says most workers in the District have the idea that work is also a social event, wherein they get to attend parties and functions which give them the opportunity to drink. This is why some who are already in an addiction may find it hard to admit that they need help.

“People will think, ‘How can my relative be an addict when he has this high position or she’s making all this money?’” Wise said.

A big percentage of D.C. residents are into highly stressful jobs or are in poverty which fuel drug abuse. Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Lieberman from the George Washington University says that when these people end up in emergency rooms, treatment will be more successful if done a few days after being discharged from the hospital. Unfortunately, this scenario doesn’t always happen making an addict more agitated and with lesser chances of getting sober again.

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Dangers Teens Face with Drinking

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Raising Healthy Kids on May 16th, 2011

In 2005, it has been found out that there are 10 million people, within the ages of 12 to 20, drink alcohol. Of the ten, seven million are binge drinkers and two million are confirmed heavy drinkers. Imagine what these figures could be today.

drunk teenWhatever reasons teens and young adults may have for drinking, the same dangerous effects will be experienced. Here are some examples presented to show that drinking isn’t at all good for the body.

When an individual is in puberty, a lot of hormonal changes in the body are taking place. If a certain adolescent starts to drink at this time, his alcohol intake may affect the hormone balances which could have drastic results. The widely affected hormones include those of the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone. The balance of these substances in the body is disturbed with the presence of alcohol, and the normal development of muscles and bones as well as other organs will be upset resulting to abnormalities.

Drinking is also a major cause why minors get into vehicular accidents. Accidents that happen due to drunk driving have become a leading cause for teen deaths. Other causes of death linked to alcohol intake are suicide, drowning, and even murder.

Early drinking can develop into an alcohol addiction and dependence during adult life. In a study done by the Mayo Clinic, those who drink before the age of 21 are four times more likely to become alcohol addicts when they become adults, compared to those who wait until the age of 21 before starting to drink.

Lastly, sexual irresponsibility is also linked to teen drinking. Most teens that get into drinking also becomes careless and involve themselves into sexual activities without proper protection, ending up with unwanted pregnancies or acquiring STDs. When alcohol affects the brain, the individual’s inhibitions are also hit, making him or her sexually active.

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Teen’s Death Linked to Prom Night Drinking

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse on May 3rd, 2011

For the family and friends of Jonathan Sierra, he was a fun and friendly person they will surely miss. One of Jonathan’s friends, Amanda, tells people that her friend was “a nice person, outgoing, friendly, people person. He would always make you laugh and stuff.”

party drinkingIt was just supposed to be a night of celebration, but it all ended in Jonathan’s death. He was an 18-year-old graduating student from Skyline High School. Last Saturday, he attended their prom and he and his friends, who were all seniors from the same school, decided to have an after-party at the Aloft Hotel. On Sunday morning, Sierra was found dead.

According to a report from the33tv.com, police investigation revealed that Jonathan and his friends were drinking that night. Dr. Mark Till, an emergency room physician at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, says that it’s a usual occurrence when prom and graduating season starts. Most of the cases handled in the ER are teens getting too drunk.

Why are there more kids involved in such emergencies? For one thing, teens usually drink heavily and get into trouble, while those who are quite older and have gained experiences in drinking have learned to consume only the right amount that they could handle.

Alcohol also has an anesthetic effect on the body. When those who drink too much pass out, their bodies still absorb the alcohol. “If their alcohol level is high enough, it suppresses all kinds of functions in their brain, but the primary one they get in trouble with is breathing. They’ve stop breathing, and once they stop breathing it’s shortly over”, Dr. Till said. When a person throws up, it’s the period where his or her body protects itself from the poisoning effect of alcohol.

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Study Ranks Alcohol As More Dangerous Than Heroin or Crack

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse on November 2nd, 2010

Most people are all too familiar with the dangers posed by such illegal drugs as heroin or crack – but it is the legal substance, alcohol, which is deemed as most dangerous. A feature on the New York Daily News shared the results of a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, which arrived at that conclusion.

alcohol abuseA panel of experts studied different social, physical and psychological problems associated with various drugs. The experts arrived at the conclusion that alcohol, heroin, and crack, in that order, were most harmful for others. On the other hand, heroin, crack, and methamphetamine were deemed as most harmful to the individual user.

Dr. Petros Livados, director of the Addiction Institute of New York at St. Luke’s – Roosevelt Hospital, shared the following insight regarding the results of the study with the Daily News: “Both in terms of the medical consequences as well as societal consequences, I agree that alcohol ranks very high in overall harmfulness. Alcohol has tremendous repercussions in our society in terms of drunk driving and societal consequences.”

The study was funded by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies in London, and the report on The Lancet was co-authored by the former chief drug policy advisor of Britain, Professor David Nutt.

Dr. Jeffrey Parsons, addiction expert and chair of the psychology department at Hunter College, shared that since alcohol is legal and sanctioned socially, “it does not carry the same stigma and issues that illegal drugs do… But the negative health consequences of alcohol are even greater than with many illegal drugs.”

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