alcoHELP’s Epping Forest District Council’s “Crucial Crew”

For the past two weeks we have been at Gilwell Park, Chingford. During that time we have seen nearly 1,500 year 6 ( 11year old) children from the Primary schools in the Epping Forest District Council’s area. As the leading alcohol awareness providers we are in the privileged position of one to one contact with the children. Our programme focuses them on the consequences of drinking, how to deal with peer pressure and the effects of alcohol on the senses via the brain.They experience visual sensory deception:-

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We also ask “How do you feel when you’re around adults who have been drinking? ” Here a just a few of their comments:-

Frightened.
Uncertain.
If I’m out I worry how I’m getting home.
Unsafe.
They make “unsensible” decisions.
Unsafe ‘cos you don’t know what they’re going to do.
I feel like the only sensible one left when adults drink.
Wary.
I just want to walk away.
They’re stupid.
I feel like the only normal one.
Sometimes they might attack me and not know it.
Unhappy.
They try to get you to drink.
They don’t care about what you think
Vulnerable
They smell of puke and sick.
Very Unsafe.
Left out.
I feel in charge.
Invisible
Proud that I haven’t done it (drink).
Unlucky.
They might get violent.
They say stupid things and don’t remember…..

People over 65 should drink less

BBC report

Recommended safe limits for drinking alcohol by older people should be drastically cut, according to a report.The Royal College of Psychiatrists says people over 65 should drink a maximum of only 1.5 units of alcohol a day. A group of experts from the Royal College of Psychiatrists says there is a growing problem with substance abuse among older people, who they describe as society’s “invisible addicts”  They also want GPs to screen every person over the age of 65 for substance misuse, along with health campaigns around drugs and alcohol specifically targeting older people.

I do  work at The Priory hospital and there seems a higher incidence of “older people” being admitted for addiction problems.  tm

Amy Winehouse ‘too drunk to sing’ in Belgrade concert

Re BBC report

Amy, Amy Amy, you are heading the way of Joplin, Jones, Jim & Jimi. We are sure you want a sustained recovery but going back on the road, into the lions den, so early after leaving The Priory was always going to spell disaster. You are so so talented and we don’t want to be reading your obituary in the next few years. We know what it’s like- we’ve been there and there is a solution. Get back into The Priory for their 28 day ATP Programme, then into secondary rehab for six months. In this time just write, don’t go into the studios or on stage for at least a year. Get yourself a strong sponsor and a sober companion ( a recovery “bodyguard” with you constantly) for when you do.

23rd July 2011  Rest in Peace

Alcoholism Drug Shows Promise in Three Danish Studies

An experimental drug to treat alcohol dependence has shown promising results in three clinical trials in Denmark. The company is now submitting the drug for approval in Europe.
The drug, Nalmefene, was tested for its effectiveness in reducing a person’s craving for alcohol. Unlike current drug treatments for alcoholism, Nalmefene can be taken with alcohol. Nalmefene blocks a craving mechanism that is regulated by the brain’s opioid receptors, according to the article. Other currently available drugs that treat alcoholism discourage drinking by causing unpleasant side effects when a person drinks even a little alcohol.
The three studies included a total of 2,000 people with alcohol dependence. Half were given Nalmefene and half were given a placebo, on an ‘as-needed’ basis, according to a news release by the company, Lundbeck A/S. The study found the drug reduced heavy drinking days and total alcohol consumption within the first month of treatment. The improvement was maintained throughout the yearlong study, according to the company. The most common side effects were dizziness, insomnia and nausea.

Children who see their parents drunk are twice as likely to regularly get drunk themselves.

Children who see their parents drunk are twice as likely to regularly get drunk themselves, a survey of young teenagers has suggested.
Poor parental supervision also raises the likelihood of teenage drinking, said the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The Ipsos MORI survey found the behaviour of friends is also a powerful factor in predicting drinking habits.
The more time teenagers spend with friends, the more likely they are to drink alcohol, it suggested.
In a survey of 5,700 children aged 13 to 16, carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, researchers found one in five claimed to have been drunk by the time they were 14.
By the age of 16, half of those questioned said they had been drunk.

THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF STATISTICS THAT WE, alcoHELP GATHER. AS ALCOHOL EDUCATION PROVIDERS WE ARE IN ONE TO ONE SITUATIONS WITH CHILDREN AGED 9 UPWARDS. SEE WHAT SOME OF THEM SAY ABOUT ADULTS DRINKING!!…www.alcohelp.com

Police target parents on underage alcohol supply

Police have launched a “tough love” offensive on parents and proxy-buyers who supply teenagers in a Cornish resort with alcohol.
The Newquay Safe partnership – which comprises Cornwall Council, health workers, volunteers and businesses as well as Devon and Cornwall Police – says it may take legal action against those it deems responsible for contributing to underage drinking in the town.
Tourism bosses have been keen to clean up Newquay’s reputation as a haven for drunken revellers following the death of two students, who died within a fortnight of each other following binges in the town two years ago.
Last summer’s crackdown on teen drinking was applauded by James Brokenshire, Minister for Crime Prevention, as well as community leaders after police seized hundreds of cans of alcohol from underage drinkers and summoned parents from out of the county to collect their drunken children during the crime prevention campaign.

Colchester Borough Council’s take on alcohol and youngsters..

“I’m appalled, though not surprised, that the culture for young people to feel that drinking to excess is okay,” said Cllr Tina Dopson, cabinet member for communities and young people at Colchester Borough Council. “We are battling against like a celebrity culture where drinking is seen as okay and drinking to oblivion is seen as okay.”

She said among measures the Council takes to address the problem is the organising of sessions for 10 and 11 year olds to make them aware of the dangers of issues such as drinking and shoplifting.

Tom Smith, youth policy co-ordinator at Alcohol Concern, said: “We have to recognise that underage alcohol consumption is extremely serious and it’s much higher than our European counterparts and the level of harm to users is much higher too.

“The price of alcohol makes a big difference to young people – it’s available at pocket-money prices.

“This clearly makes it very accessible and available to young people and they’re also exposed to a barrage of marketing about positive messages around alcohol.”