April 2011 Marks the 25th Alcohol Awareness Month! 

April is "Alcohol Awareness Month." In 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence began promoting awareness that alcoholism is a disease and not a moral weakness. It is treatable. Since then they have campaigned to reach the American public with information about alcoholism.  Alcoholics can and do recover. In support of Alcohol Awareness Month, the Council has implemented a help line, available 24 hours a day at 1-800-NCA-CALL.

Over the past 13 years, the focus of Alcohol Awareness Month has been on underage drinking and the dangers of alcohol use and abuse by youth. However, alcohol abuse is prevalent within all age groups in the United States. People who abuse alcohol can be:

• College students who binge drink at local bars;
• Pregnant women who drink and put their babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome;
• Professionals who drink after a long day of work; and
• Senior citizens who drink out of loneliness.

            For every alcohol dependent person, at least 9 others are affected. Early use of alcohol can lead to a lifelong problem. Youth who drink alcohol before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent. The adolescent brain is still changing and growing and alcohol alters the brain permanently.

The North Country is seeing a reduction in youth alcohol abuse overall, but rates of lifetime use, current use, and binge use of alcohol among North Country students are still higher than state and national averages. According to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 41.1% of high school students in the North Country admitted to drinking in the past 30 days, where the state average was only 37.6%.

Postponing alcohol use until the minimum legal drinking age of 21 has been proven to keep youth healthy. According to the 2009 YRBS, 21.1% of North Country high school students had their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13 whereas the state average was only 15.5%. Drinking harms learning, judgment and memory more in youth than it does in adults. The adolescent brain is more sensitive to the "reward chemicals" that are released by alcohol. Because alcohol impairs judgment, about 1,000 traffic fatalities a year have been prevented since the drinking age was raised to 21.
            Social access is a significant problem in the North Country as siblings and friends over 21 are the most commonly cited source of alcohol for youth as indicated by youth themselves.

North Country Coalitions have found that youth drinking is considered a 'rite of passage' by many adults in the North Country, even those who strongly disapprove of youth drinking.  Most youth and adults believe that underage drinking is more common than the data indicates, contributing to a social norm that encourages youth to experiment with alcohol. To change this perception, prevention activities must have a focus on raising awareness of the dangers associated with underage drinking among adults and youth alike.

It's crucial that parents talk to their children about alcohol. In 2009, 80.7% of North Country students reported that their parents thought it was wrong or very wrong for someone their age to drink regularly which increased from 79.5% in 2007. Parental disapproval has a positive effect in preventing young people from experimenting with alcohol, and the earlier parents address the topic, the less likely their children will be to experiment with alcohol.

Adopted from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (http://www.cspinet.org/):

Did you know...  

• The alcoholic-beverage industry relies on heavy and addicted drinking for the largest share of its profits. Binge drinking (5 or more drinks at one sitting) accounts for more than half of the alcohol industry's $155 billion market, and more than 75% of the beer industry's market.
• Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined.More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year-about 4.65 a day-as a result of alcohol-related injuries.
• Underage drinking spawns the future heavy and addicted drinking on which the industry depends for most of its sales. People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared with those who have their first drink at age 21 or older.
• Nearly 14 million Americans - one in every 13 adults -- abuse alcohol or are alcoholic.Fewer than 25% of those who need treatment get it in a given year.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable cause of birth defects in the U.S., affecting as many as 40,000 babies per year and costing upwards of $5.4 billion per year.
• Some 75 percent of husbands or wives who abuse their spouses have been drinking prior to or at the time of the abuse.
• Health risks of drinking include increased incidence of cancers of the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box), as well as liver cirrhosis, immune system problems, brain damage, and heart problems.
• To avoid health risks associated with alcohol, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advice those who drink to do so in moderation - defined as consuming no more than one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
• Alcohol is implicated in the deaths of some 85,000 Americans every year, making it the nation's third leading cause of preventable death after smoking and obesity.
• Drunk driving accounts for about 16,000 alcohol-related deaths per year, only about 25% of all alcohol-related deaths. One-quarter of all emergency room admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.
• Alcohol-related problems cost the U.S. economy an estimated $185 billion per year in lost productivity and earnings due to alcohol-related illness, premature death, and crime.
• Television ads for alcohol products outnumber "responsibility" messages by 32 to one. From 2001 to 2003 the industry spent $2.5 billion on television product advertising, and only $27 million on "responsibility" programs.
• The alcoholic-beverage industry so far contributed nearly $4 million to federal candidates and parties in the 2006 election cycle alone.Contributions from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) account for nearly 40% of this amount. In the 2005-2006 election cycle, the NBWA's political action committee (PAC) is the second largest of all PACs, next to the National Association of Realtors.

For references, visit the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Alcohol Awareness Month Fact Sheet at http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/alcaware.pdf.

Originally Compiled by the North Country Prevention Youth Council 

• Including subways, billboards, buses, and stadium signs, youth are exposed to 45% more beer ads and 27% more liquor ads than adults.


• 2 billion dollars a year is spent on alcohol advertising.


• Studies show that alcohol advertisements typically reach teens and, in many cases, are specifically targeted at teens on billboards or signs of the like.


• The typical 18 year old will have already been exposed to 100,000 alcoholic beverage ads in their lifetime.


• If a person starts drinking before the age of 15, then they will be 4 times more likely to develop an alcohol addiction.


• In 1996, Budweiser used a frog as an advertising plot. In that year, it was then found that the Budweiser frog was more recognizable to children ages 9-11 than the Power Rangers and Tony the Tiger.


• The typical 8-12 year old can name more beer brands than U.S. Presidents.


• 25% percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States is said to be consumed by underage drinkers.


• Young people who drink are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior that can result in illness, injury, and death.


• Acute consequences of underage drinking include unintentional death and injury associated with driving or engaging in other risky tasks after drinking; homicide and violence; suicide attempts; sexual assault; risky sexual behavior; as well as vandalism and property damage.

DEA to hold the 2nd  

National Prescription Drug Take Back Event  

on April 30th, 2011

All Take Back Locations will run from 10am to 2pm! 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

In an effort to address this problem, DEA, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, conducted the first ever National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 25, 2010.  The purpose of this National Take Back Day was to provide a venue for persons who wanted to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.  This effort was a huge success in removing potentially dangerous prescription drugs, particularly controlled substances, from our nation's medicine cabinets.  There were approximately 3,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation that participated in the event.  All told, the American Public turned in more than 121 tons of pills on this first National Take Back Day.

Due to the overwhelming success of the first event, DEA is planning a second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2011.  This will be a great opportunity for those who missed the first event or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of them. 

Coos County and Northern Grafton County took in over 225 pounds of medication at the first National Take Back Event held on September 25th, 2010. We would like to see the 2nd Take Back Event be even more successful than the first event as awareness is raised as more people understand the importance of ridding their homes of these dangerous and potentially abusable drugs.   

For a list of the North Country collection sites, please click on the following link:

http://www.nchcnh.org/images/NCHCuplds/files/2nd%20annual%20take%20back%20flyer.pdf  

Further information about the second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, including a link to locate a collection site near you, will be posted on this website:

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html  

Adopted from the a Press Release put out by the New England Division of the DEA 

• In 2009, there were 7 million Americans aged 12 years and older who abused prescription drugs for non-medical purposes within the past month, up from 6.2 million in 2008.  This represents a 13 percent increase in just one year.
•  In 2009, on average, 6,027 persons per day abused prescription pain relievers for the first time.  The total number of individuals that initiated drug use with prescription drugs exceeds the number of individuals that initiated drug use with marijuana.
• Every day, on average, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time.
• 1 in 7 teens admit to abusing prescription drugs to get high in the past year.  Sixty percent of teens who abused prescription pain relievers did so before the age of 15.
• Fifty-six percent of teens believe that prescription drugs are easier to get than illicit drugs.
• 2 in 5 teens believe that prescription drugs are "much safer" than illegal drugs.  And 3 in 10 teens believe that prescription pain relievers are not addictive.
• Sixty-three percent of teens believe that prescription drugs are easy to get from friends' and family's medicine cabinet.
• According to the Center for Disease Control, prescription drugs, including opioids and antidepressants, are responsible for more overdose deaths than "street drugs" such as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines.
• The number of emergency room visits attributable to pharmaceuticals alone is up 97% between 2004 and 2008.
• The number of persons seeking treatment for pain reliever abuse is up more than fourfold between 1998 and 2008.
• DEA works closely with the medical community to help them recognize drug abuse and signs of diversion, and relies on their input and due diligence to combat diversion.  Unfortunately, egregious drug violations by practitioners do sometimes occur - fortunately doctor involvement in illegal drug activity is rare.  When violations do occur, DEA will pursue criminal, civil, and administrative actions against such practitioners as warranted.