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When parents find out their teen is abusing drugs or alcohol, the family’s immediate focus is generally on getting help for the teen. But parents are often in great need of help themselves. They may need advice on what to say to their teen, how to evaluate whether he or she needs professional treatment and where to find the appropriate substance abuse treatment program if one is needed. A new toll-free telephone helpline is providing that assistance.
The Parents Toll-Free Helpline, 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373), is staffed by clinical social workers with practical experience in substance abuse prevention and treatment. … (Source: Join Together, 07/29/11)

Latest figures from a national survey of 11-15 year old pupils suggests fewer young people are drinking, and are less accepting of drunkenness. However it also finds no clear trend in consumption levels for those that do drink. The findings come from an annual survey which in 2010 included 7,296 pupils from 246 schools.
Some key findings from the report includes:
Between 2009 and 2010 the percentage of 11-15 year olds who had tried alcohol fell from 51% to 45%.
In 2010, the mean amount consumed by pupils who had drunk in the last week was 12.9 units. Mean consumption levels have varied between 11.6 units and 14.6 units since 2007, with no clear trend. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/28/11)

… with and without a recent history of sexual violence.
Alcohol misuse among college students is a significant public health problem that can have negative long-term implications. One important correlate of problem drinking among college female populations is sexual violence. The current study investigated: (1) past year sexual violence and its association with alcohol consumption and related psychosocial variables (stress, coping, and mental health); and (2) whether the impact of an alcohol intervention was different for college women with a history of sexual violence compared to those without such a history. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/24/11)

Underage drinking and associated problems have profound negative consequences for underage drinkers, their families, their communities, and society as a whole. Underage drinking contributes to a wide range of costly health and social problems, including motor vehicle crashes (the greatest single mortality risk for underage drinkers); suicide; interpersonal violence (e.g., homicides, assaults, rapes); unintentional injuries such as burns, falls, and drowning; brain impairment; alcohol dependence; risky sexual activity; academic problems; and alcohol and drug poisoning. On average, alcohol is a factor in the deaths of approximately 4,700 youths in the United States per year, shortening their lives by an average of 60 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] Alcohol-Related Disease Impact [ARDI] software, 2009b). … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/21/11)

Almost one-quarter of Americans age 12 or older say they participated in binge drinking in the previous month, according to a government survey. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found binge drinking rates varied among states, ranging from 14.1 percent in Utah, to 29.8 percent in North Dakota. The survey defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks on one occasion. …
The survey included interviews with more than 137,000 people between 2008 and 2009. … (Source: Join Together, 07/21/11)

A craze for a ‚turbo-charged‘ alcoholic energy drink as strong as wine and sold in pint cans has lead to a rise in violence, police have claimed.
One can of ‚Crunk Juce‘ is the equivalent of drinking a pint of wine mixed with an energy drink.
‘Crunk Juce’ is 12 per cent proof and marketed as an alternative to beer and wine that will ‘leave you wondering what happened’.
But police say drinkers of ‘Crunk’ – slang for being crazy drunk – are increasingly involved in crime and are now working with trading standards to investigate its impact on public health. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 7/19/11)metro.co.uk, 06/26/11

Binge drinking among young people may have peaked according to official new data.
Amid the constant furore surrounding binge drinking among Britain’s young people, a quiet revolution is taking place. Increasing numbers are abstaining from alcohol in what appears to be a rejection of media stereotypes and peer pressure.
An annual survey of young people’s drinking habits, to be published by the NHS Information Centre in two weeks, is expected to show another rise in the number of young teenagers who have never had a drink. This follows nine years of steady increases in the proportion of 11 to 15 year olds who have never tried alcohol, from 39 per cent in 2001 to 49 per cent last year.
These figures coincide with a 21 per cent decline in the number of children under the age of 16 needing hospital treatment for alcohol-related diseases in the past two years, suggesting that safe drinking messages may be starting to get through. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/19/11) independent.co.uk, 07/06/11

A nationwide study confirms that binge drinking has reached epidemic proportions in China and argues that efforts to tackle the problem must address the country’s unique drinking culture.
In this study, published online today in the journal Addiction, binge drinking was defined as consuming 50g or more pure alcohol in one day for men (about five 330ml tins of beer), and 40g or more for women. The study found that of the almost 50,000 people surveyed across China, 55.6% of men and 15% of women were current drinkers, having had at least one drink in the previous twelve months. Among current drinkers, men averaged a daily intake of 47.8 grams of pure alcohol, with a median of 5.6 binges per year. Women fared a bit better, with an average daily intake of 19.1g and a median of 2.4 binges per year. 26% of male drinkers and 8% of female drinkers were classed as ‚frequent drinkers‘, drinking 5-7 days per week. …(Source: Medical News Today, 07/18/11)

Teenage girls who binge-drink have a higher risk of long-term harm to the brain compared to boys of the same age who also binge drink, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Their definition of binge-drinking is consuming at least four (for females) or five (for males) alcoholic drinks at one sitting.
The investigators said that activity levels in several regions of the brain among girls who binge drink were lower than what one would normally find among typical teenagers. …(Source: Medical News Today, 07/17/11)

To examine the proportion of self-reported alcohol consumed by different gender and age groups in Brazil over the past year, and to examine whether the “prevention paradox” applies to Brazilian data on alcohol-related problems.
A multistage cluster sample, representative of the Brazilian household population 14 years of age or older (N=3007). The response rate was 66.4%.
The top 2.5% of the drinkers by volume consume 14.9%, the top 5% consume 27.4%, and the top 10% consume 44.2% of all alcohol consumed in Brazil. Men consume 77.8% of the total alcohol, and 18 to 29 year olds consume 40.3%. Individuals below risky drinking guidelines for weekly volumetric intake account for 49-50% of all problem drinkers and 45-47% of all problem types reported. Individuals who do not binge or who binge infrequently (1-3 times/year) account for 50-51% of all problem drinkers and 45-46% of all reported problem types. Most binge drinkers are low volume drinkers. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/13/11)