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Police in Ashland, Ore., are hoping to curb drinking among middle school students by giving presentations to area students on the consequences of alcohol abuse.

Lt. Corey Falls, a local police official, commented on the effort: "I think our No. 1 concern is the binge drinking. The earlier that kids start drinking, the worse that it becomes."

Falls reports that binge drinking is the most common problem that area police officers encounter when dealing with teens and alcohol. Binge drinking is also associated with alcohol poisoning and sexual assaults among teens in Ashland, according to Falls.

"Those are some of the extremes that we see from binge drinking," he said.

In 2007, Ashland police issued 244 citations to minors for being in possession of alcohol; 87 of these citations were given to teens under the age of 18. At the end of October, this year, police had issued 154 citations to minors, 30 of these to juveniles.

(Source: www.dailytidings.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge drinking, drinking

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A new study by the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle suggests that drinking as a teen may lead to poor decision-making as an adult.

Previous research has indicated that teen drinking may interfere with critical brain development. Researchers at UW say that the results of this new study actually suggest that teen alcohol abuse may "rewire" the brain to impair good decision-making in the future.

For the study, the UW research team monitored the behavior of two groups of rats at two different developmental stages. The researchers provided one group of adolescent rats with access to gelatin mixed with alcohol for 20 days. The other group was provided nonalcoholic gelatin treats for the same amount of time.

Three weeks later, when the rats were considered adults, they were given two choices: push a lever that always spits out two sugary treats, or push another one that may give them four yummy pellets -- or none at all.

The rats who consumed alcoholic gelatin in adolescence were more likely to make the risky decision by pressing the lever that may not give them anything at all, whereas the rats who consumed the non-alcoholic gelatin were more likely to choose the lever that routinely delivered treats.
The rats were tested again three months later - well into adulthood - and their behaviors were virtually the same.

(Source: www.webmd.com)

Labels: alcohol, drinking

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

The alcohol industry promotes the idea that visible drink labels encourage responsible drinking among young people. However, according to a new study by Australian researchers, young people in Australia use drink labels mainly to maximize the amount of alcohol they consume at the lowest price. The study examined young peoples perceptions of standard drink labeling and purposes for which they use the labels. Study co-author Professor Sandra Jones from the Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong, commented on the findings: "Participants generally agreed that they notice drink labels and take in account what to purchase and consume. While earlier research with adult beer and alcohol drinkers has shown that standard drink labeling enables them to drink safely and responsibly, this motivation is not evident in the consumption choices with young drinkers and might even be counter-productive."

(Sources: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: drinking

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Colby College hosted a speaker this week on the topic of college drinking. Robert Dana, vice president for student affairs at University of Maine at Orono, travels across the country speaking on the topic of alcohol abuse on college campuses. Dana commented, "I think alcohol and college students is a real problem everywhere. ... It's a societal problem. ... If we're going to effectively address it, we have to do something about it."

Dana believes that the problem is not easily solvable and requires collaboration by students, staff, law enforcement, substance-abuse professionals, and others. "You can't take a tremendously complicated public-health problem and wink and nod it away; you've got to embrace it."

The April 12th arrest of two intoxicated Colby students for assault and trespassing brought the issue of student drinking to the forefront. The college has instituted policies and procedures over the last several years which have resulted in decreasing numbers of alcohol-related arrests. Dana believes that talking, thinking, and acting on the issue are important for all colleges because alcohol and substance abuse extend far beyond the campus. "It allows us to be always engaging the subject, which is a major public health crisis in this country. The reality is, there are all sorts of things that cause substance-abuse problems, and we're living in a substance-abusing culture."

(Source: www.morningsentinel.mainetoday.com)

Labels: alcohol, college-drinking, drinking, students

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Older college students are more likely to drink and drive than younger ones, probably because they have more access to cars, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

• Amelia Arria and her colleagues tracked 1,253 students through their four-year college careers.
• They found that although freshman drink more than upperclassmen, students who are over 20 years old are more likely to drive while intoxicated and to be passengers in cars with drunk drivers.
• 25 percent of the 21-year-olds said they had driven drunk, compared to 20 percent of 20-year-olds.

"Our findings call into question the assertion of some advocates who claim that lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a useful strategy for reducing harm associated with alcohol consumption," Arria wrote in a report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Labels: drinking, driving

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments