Teen drinking declining but still a big problem 

October 2, 2012

Teen drinking and driving rates have dropped by 54 percent over the last two decades. However, that still means that 1 million teens drank and drove in 2011, according to a new report.

Among teen drivers who were involved in fatal crashes in 2010, 1 in 5 had some alcohol in their system, and 81 percent had blood alcohol levels over the legal limit for adults, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Binge drinking, which was defined as having at least five alcoholic drinks within a few hours, was reported by 85 percent of high school teens who noted drinking and driving in the past month.

"We are moving in the right direction," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the CDC director. "But we must keep up the momentum," because 1 in 10 high school teens drinks and drives each month, endangering themselves and others.

To read more, click this link: http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/02/14184297-teen-drinking-declining-but-still-a-big-problem?lite 

Source: NBC News

Alcohol advertisers overwhelmingly target black youths, statistics find

September 27, 2012

While it is known that marketing agencies pitch products to what's known as a "target audience" to try to brand their products and establish a principle audience.

Though this is common practice for all marketing/advertising companies and not a single demographic has been left untouched, a new study makes an alarming discovery about alcohol distributors and their prevalence for targeting African-American youths.

"The report's central finding-that African-American youth are being over-exposed to alcohol advertising-is a result of two key phenomena," summarizes author David Jernigan, PhD, the director of CAMY. "First, brands are specifically targeting African-American audiences and, secondly, African-American media habits make them more vulnerable to alcohol advertising in general because of higher levels of media consumption. As a result, there should be a commitment from alcohol marketers to cut exposure to this high-risk population." 

To read more, click this link: http://www.counselheal.com/articles/2961/20120927/alcohol-advertisements-overwhelmingly-target-black-youths-statistics-find.htm 

Source: Counsel & Heal

Tenn. frat house alcohol enema case worries experts 

September 30, 2012

Before an unruly Tennessee party ended with a student hospitalized for a dangerously high blood alcohol level, most people had probably never heard of alcohol enemas.

Thanks to the drunken exploits of a fraternity at the University of Tennessee, the bizarre way of getting drunk is giving parents, administrators and health care workers a new fear.

When Alexander "Xander" Broughton, 20, was delivered to the hospital after midnight on Sept. 22, his blood alcohol level was measured at 0.448 percent - nearly six times the intoxication that defines drunken driving in the state. Injuries to his rectum led hospital officials to fear he had been sodomized.

Police documents show that when an officer interviewed a fellow fraternity member about what happened, the student said the injuries had been caused by an alcohol enema.

"It is believed that members of the fraternity were utilizing rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol," according to a police report.

While Broughton told police he remembered participating in a drinking game with fellow members of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter, he denied having an alcohol enema. Police concluded otherwise from evidence they found at the frat house, including boxes of Franzia Sunset Blush wine.

To read more, click this link: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/49228851/ns/health/#.UG2NFU3A-So

Source: NBC News

Kentucky: Judge halts order allowing liquor sales 

October 3, 2012

A federal judge has stopped enforcement of a ruling that would allow grocery stores and other outlets to sell booze.

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II on Wednesday ruled that an appeal by state officials and package liquor stores is unlikely to succeed. But Heyburn wrote that allowing sales to go forward immediately would cause legal confusion before lawmakers could act to fix the statute in question.

Heyburn ruled in August that Kentucky's law barring grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers from selling wine and liquor is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

The state and liquor stores say they plan to appeal the decision to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. 

Source: Louisville Courier & Journal