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Georgia: 'Drunkorexia' combines binge drinking and not eating

June 19, 2013

 

A dangerous trend on college campuses has some people mixing two dangerous conditions. Young women are starving themselves and then binge drinking. They call it "drunkorexia."

 

The trend is intoxicatingly simple:  you cut back on calories, and then let loose on alcohol.

 

At 18, Tifani Skrezyna couldn't wait to get out on her own, but college wasn't what she expected.

 

"I didn't feel like I fit in. And it was that same feeling from when I was a kid and I didn't fit in and I was disappointed and I didn't know how to tell anyone back home that it wasn't what I expected," she said.

 

Tifani had already battled anorexia in high school. She thought she was recovered, until she stepped onto a college campus and was introduced to drinking. "All of a sudden I didn't feel so socially awkward, I felt like I could talk to people more," Skrezyna said.

 

As time went on, Tifani says she fell back into old habits, restricting her eating, to make room for alcohol.

 

"College was pretty much the perfect storm for me," she said.

 

Jennifer Harcourt, a licensed professional counselor at The Renfrew Center in Atlanta, says "drunkorexia" is not an actual diagnosis, but there's a lot of talk about it in the eating disorders community.

 

"I know our organization is seeing young women who are in fact doing this and consuming large amount of alcohol as opposed to eating.  And that's tricky.  Their treatment becomes a bit more complicated at that point," said Harcourt.

 

Harcourt continued, "You have to consider if there's detox issues, you have to consider if there are withdrawal issues.  You have to consider if there are medical issues that we have to be very mindful of,"

 

And there's the issue of safety.  

 

The National Institutes of Health estimates about 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of an alcohol-related date rape, or sexual assault every year in this country.

 

 

To read more, click this link:http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22638710/drunkorexia-mixes-binge-drinking-and-starving

 

Source: My Fox Atlanta

Ohio: Liquor-treat legalization draws fire

 

June 18, 2013

Some alcoholic treats - think Jell-O shots, alcohol-infused chocolates and margarita-flavored Popsicles - are tucked away in the voluminous state budget that lawmakers must complete by July 1.

Existing Ohio law doesn't allow the sale of food and confections containing "intoxicating liquor" of more than one-half of 1 percent alcohol by volume. However, the law is largely overlooked, and some products, such as chocolates made with various liquors, are available.

 

State Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, concerned that Ohio is falling behind other states that allow the sale of alcohol-infused products, inserted a provision into the budget. It would revise the " mixed beverages" definition to include solids and confections "obtained by mixing any type of whiskey, neutral spirits, brandy, gin, or other distilled spirits with water, juice, or other flavorings and that contain between one-half percent and 21 percent of alcohol by volume."

 

A fiscal analysis accompanying the bill said the state could reap undetermined additional tax revenue because more products would fall under the mixed-beverage excise tax of $1.20 per gallon of alcohol purchased.

 

But the Columbus chapter of the Drug-Free Action Alliance opposes the budget provision, arguing that it would "legalize and legitimize" products generally unavailable in Ohio that appeal to young people.

 

To read more, click this link: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/06/18/liquor-treat-legalization-draws-fire.html

 

Source: The Columbus Dispatch 

Washington: How Wash. fared when state stores died

June 19, 2013

 

Lisa Jones, a bank teller, received a rude awakening after she and other Washingtonians voted to dismantle their state's liquor system. The first bottle of gin she bought at a supermarket had a cheap shelf price - until taxes at the register added $7.

But, a year later, the appeal of one-stop shopping has her hooked.

"I actually think I end up buying liquor more often," said Jones, putting a bottle of Burnett's gin in her basket with the cat food, cereal, and frozen fries as she and her 13-year-old son wandered the aisles of a cavernous Fred Meyer superstore. "It's so easy when you know it's going to be right there with the rest of your groceries. I don't love the prices, but I love the convenience."

As Pennsylvania mulls liquor privatization, with many legislators trying to get a bill to Gov. Corbett by June 30, people here say the Keystone State would do well to look at how a year-old private system has fared in Washington:

Access to spirits exploded, with the number of liquor licensees going from under 400 to almost 1,500. Liquor sales rose.

Prices went up, too - thanks to new taxes that were part of the referendum. Some voters grumbled that they missed the fine print.

While the state is struggling with billion-dollar budget deficits, its revenue from post-privatization liquor sales has climbed at a pace that exceeded projections.

Customers have flocked to stores across the border in Oregon and Idaho, where liquor always cost less but is now even cheaper by comparison.

Fears that privatization would cause a spike in alcoholism and alcohol-related crimes have not been realized - aside from an uptick in shoplifting. Even so, Julia Dilley, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, said, "We think alcohol consumption has increased." She is collecting data to see if alcohol-related hospitalizations and traffic crash rates have changed.

More than 700 state liquor store clerks lost their jobs when privatization came. Most were still out of work as of February.

 

To read more, click this link: http://articles.philly.com/2013-06-19/news/40050596_1_liquor-privatization-liquor-system-post-privatization

 

Source: Philly.com

Nine ways alcohol can destroy your skin

June 19, 2013

 

People have a love affair with their looks and each year spend thousands on skincare products to keep their skin soft and younger looking. Most people use at least seven skincare products every day to keep skin young and glowing. Did you know one way to help your skin is to go easy on the alcohol?

 

Skin is much more than just an indicator of youth and beauty. The skin is your body's largest organ and serves as nature's warning system. You probably know long-term alcohol use damages your body. Some of those changes first show up on your skin.

 

Do you drink heavily or often? You need to consider how drinking affects your skin. Your life may depend on it. Much of the focus of alcohol is centered on the liver, but the skin is left out of the medical picture when it should not be. 

 

Alcohol definitely increases your risk for melanoma. It may also indirectly raise your risk for non-melanoma skin cancer. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and may make you disregard precautions for being in the sun. Another effect of alcohol, drying out your skin, makes it more susceptible to sun damage, which then increases the risk of skin cancer.

 

To read more, click this link: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/understanding-health-addiction/2013/jun/19/nine-ways-alcohol-can-destroy-your-skin/

 

Source: The Washington Times

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