Dubbo residents knocking back booze because of anger, stress or sleeplessness are among the targets of a Salvation Army campaign that is highlighting the links between alcohol misuse and mental health.

The Christian social welfare organisation, affectionately known as the Salvos, wants them to review their use of alcohol and make it a topic of conversation with family and friends.

The annual alcohol awareness campaign running across this week highlights new research showing 81 per cent of Australians believe drinking alcohol can worsen a person’s state of mental health.

Major Glenn Whittaker, clinical director of recovery services in the eastern territory of the Salvation Army, thinks “some of the messages are getting through”, but more work is required.

Read more of Major Whittaker’s comments in tomorrow’s Daily Liberal.

November 08, 2011, 5:34 AM EST

By Nicole Ostrow

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) — Black and Asian teenagers in the U.S. are less likely to use alcohol or drugs than adolescents of other races, a study found.

The survey of 72,561 teens found that American Indian youth had the highest level of drug or alcohol use, with 48 percent reporting they had used the substances in the past year. That was followed by 39 percent of whites, 37 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent mixed-race teens, 32 percent of blacks and 24 percent of Asians, according to the research published today in Archives of General Psychiatry.

The findings that black teens are less likely to drink or use drugs than whites may refute stereotypes and help programs “focus on the subgroups of adolescents who are at greater risk,” said study author Dan Blazer, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Overall, 37 percent, or 27,705, of the teens in the study said they used alcohol or drugs in the past year, researchers said.

“This is a very real public health problem and all of us need to be concerned about it,” said Blazer, in a Nov. 4 telephone interview. “We need to be looking for it and we need to be trying to jump in to do what we can to get these kids into treatment and turn them around while they’re still adolescents.”

About 90 percent of all adults with alcohol and drug problems started using before the age of 18 and half started before the age of 15, according to the website of the Partnership at Drugfree.org, a nonprofit that helps parents find information on drug abuse prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery for their children.

National Survey

Researchers used information from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2005 to 2008, the only survey designed to provide ongoing estimates of substance use in the U.S. The survey asks about use of alcohol and nine drug classes, including marijuana, inhalants, heroin and prescription painkillers. The study included youth ages 12 to 17.

About 37 percent of American Indian teens reported using alcohol in the past year, followed by 35 percent of whites and 32 percent of Hispanics, 31 percent of mixed race, 25 percent of blacks and 19 percent of Asians.

For drug use, about 31 percent of American Indians used in the past year, compared with 23 percent of those who considered themselves mixed race and 20 percent of whites, the research found. About 19 percent of black, 18 percent of Hispanic teens and 12 percent of Asian teens said they used drugs in the past year. Blazer said there was no way to tease out which American Indian teens by tribe were using drugs and alcohol. Use isn’t equal across all tribes, he said.

Public Perception

“What surprised us the most was the relatively lower rate of use among African Americans,” said Blazer. “The public perception is that that’s not the case.”

Prescription painkillers like Purdue Pharma LP’s OxyContin and Abbott Laboratories Vicodin have replaced inhalants as the second most commonly used drug behind marijuana, according to the study.

The research also showed that about 8 percent of teens in the study met the criteria for substance abuse disorder, which means their use escalated, caused legal problems or interfered with other activities.

Teens who used heroin were most likely to develop addiction or abuse, the research found. Marijuana use, which was used twice that of most other drugs in the study, also results in addiction or abuse.

Stopping Addiction

“Experimentation is going to happen. The interesting part of this analysis is where they looked at the people who had used a substance and then who went on to have a problem,” said Elizabeth D’Amico, a psychologist who works primarily on teen substance abuse issues and a senior behavioral scientist at Rand Corp., a policy institute in Santa Monica, California.

“Those are the teens we want to help,” said D’Amico, who was not an author on today’s paper, in a Nov. 4 telephone interview. “Really working with those kids who are already starting to use is where we can put more of our dollars.”

Blazer said more studies are needed to determine which treatments work best for kids who have drug and alcohol problems.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

–Editors: Angela Zimm, Chris Staiti

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at nostrow1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

Black and Asian teenagers in the U.S. are less likely to use alcohol or drugs than adolescents of other races, a study found.

The survey of 72,561 teens found that American Indian youth had the highest level of drug or alcohol use, with 48 percent reporting they had used the substances in the past year. That was followed by 39 percent of whites, 37 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent mixed-race teens, 32 percent of blacks and 24 percent of Asians, according to the research published today in Archives of General Psychiatry.

The findings that black teens are less likely to drink or use drugs than whites may refute stereotypes and help programs “focus on the subgroups of adolescents who are at greater risk,” said study author Dan Blazer, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Overall, 37 percent, or 27,705, of the teens in the study said they used alcohol or drugs in the past year, researchers said.

“This is a very real public health problem and all of us need to be concerned about it,” said Blazer, in a Nov. 4 telephone interview. “We need to be looking for it and we need to be trying to jump in to do what we can to get these kids into treatment and turn them around while they’re still adolescents.”

About 90 percent of all adults with alcohol and drug problems started using before the age of 18 and half started before the age of 15, according to the website of the Partnership at Drugfree.org, a nonprofit that helps parents find information on drug abuse prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery for their children.

National Survey

Researchers used information from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2005 to 2008, the only survey designed to provide ongoing estimates of substance use in the U.S. The survey asks about use of alcohol and nine drug classes, including marijuana, inhalants, heroin and prescription painkillers. The study included youth ages 12 to 17.

About 37 percent of American Indian teens reported using alcohol in the past year, followed by 35 percent of whites and 32 percent of Hispanics, 31 percent of mixed race, 25 percent of blacks and 19 percent of Asians.

For drug use, about 31 percent of American Indians used in the past year, compared with 23 percent of those who considered themselves mixed race and 20 percent of whites, the research found. About 19 percent of black, 18 percent of Hispanic teens and 12 percent of Asian teens said they used drugs in the past year. Blazer said there was no way to tease out which American Indian teens by tribe were using drugs and alcohol. Use isn’t equal across all tribes, he said.

Public Perception

“What surprised us the most was the relatively lower rate of use among African Americans,” said Blazer. “The public perception is that that’s not the case.”

Prescription painkillers like Purdue Pharma LP’s OxyContin and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Vicodin have replaced inhalants as the second most commonly used drug behind marijuana, according to the study.

The research also showed that about 8 percent of teens in the study met the criteria for substance abuse disorder, which means their use escalated, caused legal problems or interfered with other activities.

Teens who used heroin were most likely to develop addiction or abuse, the research found. Marijuana use, which was used twice that of most other drugs in the study, also results in addiction or abuse.

Stopping Addiction

“Experimentation is going to happen. The interesting part of this analysis is where they looked at the people who had used a substance and then who went on to have a problem,” said Elizabeth D’Amico, a psychologist who works primarily on teen substance abuse issues and a senior behavioral scientist at Rand Corp., a policy institute in Santa Monica, California.

“Those are the teens we want to help,” said D’Amico, who was not an author on today’s paper, in a Nov. 4 telephone interview. “Really working with those kids who are already starting to use is where we can put more of our dollars.”

Blazer said more studies are needed to determine which treatments work best for kids who have drug and alcohol problems.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at nostrow1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

Finding good help

There’s no reason to feel ashamed if you’re not up to planning your financial future on your own. There are lots of people out there who can help you. There’ll be a cost, but well worth it. Here are a dozen pointers.

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) What would a saffron-clad, social activist, Arya Samaj leader do in the big, bad world of ‘Bigg Boss’? ‘Relax,’ says Swami Agnivesh, who is geared up to reach out to India’s youth with issues like casteism, alcoholism and corruption through his entry into the controversial reality show Tuesday.

The 72-year-old is ‘excited’ about entering the secluded Karjat house, where 11 young, celebrity contestants are already fighting it out for survival. The inhabitants have no connect with the outside world and are under 24×7 camera surveillance.

‘I have seen three to four episodes of the show, and it is quite exciting. There are a lot of young people in it. My supporters told me if I have a message for the youth, I must go to the show, maintain my integrity and spread the social messages I want to through the show,’ Agnivesh told IANS over phone from Mumbai, sounding upbeat.

Agnivesh promises viewers will get to see his ‘lighter’ side.

Far from his fight against bonded labour, alcoholism, female foeticide and child labour, Agnivesh will be amid celebrities like model Shraddha Sharma, former Miss Afghanistan Vida Samadzai, VJ Pooja Missra, Pooja Bedi, Juhi Parmar, Shonali Nagrani, Mahek Chahal, transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Amar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Saigal and Siddharth Bharadwaj – who have been calling each other names lately.

A misfit in the show, isn’t he?

‘I will try to spread some peace. But it won’t be just that. I will try and bring them closer to the social realities of the country and challenge them to think about them. I want to be able to bring about positive thinking and motivate powerful thinking about country’s issues.

‘For me it’s not about the dozen people who are in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. I want to send my message across to the millions of viewers who watch the show everyday,’ he said.

Three pertinent issues that Agnivesh wants to talk about during his stay are casteism, alcoholism and corruption.

‘Casteism is a deep-rooted problem in India and the youth needs to understand the importance of eradicating it from the society. Also, today’s youth is quite into alcoholism and tobacco chewing, which are not good for the health. And of course, corruption is a big issue,’ said the activist, who was in the news recently for his utterances against Team Anna.

‘I want the young people to dream of a corruption-free India. The Lokpal bill is just one little aspect of it…the problem is much bigger. I hope for peaceful times in this country, which is not free from corruption even after over 60 years of its independence,’ he added.

That’s not all! Agnivesh also plans to tell viewers that he isn’t a strict disciplinarian after all.

‘I will be in a relaxed mood in the show and treat all contestants like my friends. People will see a lighter side of me,’ he said, and maintained secrecy about the duration of his stay in ‘Bigg Boss 5’.

According to the grapevine, Agnivesh will enter the show only as a guest, and not as a permanent contestant. When asked, he said: ‘I can’t say anything right now. Let me start the show at least.’

Junior Kari Schwarnkert rides along with Katie Cason as she drives with beer goggles. / Dustin Stuart, Photography EditorUNC Asheville’s annual “Think Before You Drink” campaign encourages students to make responsible decisions involving the use of alcohol, program coordinators said.

“This year’s approach was, if you choose to drink, do so responsibly. I think students were very receptive,” said Barbara Galloway, a substance abuse counselor at UNCA.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism College Task Force estimates that drinking by college students aged 18 to 24 contributes to 1,825 student deaths, 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year.

“We had tabling events in Highsmith on Thursday, Friday and Monday,” said Galloway. “Each day focused on a different theme relating to alcohol awareness. On Thursday, we talked about safety issues and educated students about the dangerous combination of sex and alcohol.”

Campus police contributed to the campaign by providing students with the opportunity to use beer goggles and the Intoxiclock, a device that shows how quickly a few drinks can lead to a high blood alcohol content.

“Campus police did interactive exercises where they were able to calculate a person’s BAC based on body weight and a certain amount of drinks over a certain period of time. They also let students wear beer goggles and attempt to drive golf carts, in an effort to demonstrate the effects of alcohol on one’s motor skills,” said Galloway.

Friday night, the Health and Counseling Center in partnership with Residential Education and Housing and the UNCA Dance Club, sponsored a decades dance in the Highsmith Student Union.

“The Dance Club taught dances from different decades, and there was a belly dancing demonstration. The purpose of the dance was to show students that they can go to a party and have a good time without the aid of alcohol,” said Galloway.

On Monday, preceding an on-campus screening of “Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story,” a guest speaker spoke to students about alcohol abuse and addiction.

“We had a dialogue session called ‘Re-thinking Drinking’ on Monday night. Someone with a powerful story about addiction talked to students and showed how it is possible to overcome alcoholism and successfully change your habits,” said Galloway.

According to Galloway, one of the key aspects to responsible alcohol use is portion control.

“One normal-sized drink per hour is the safest thing to do,” said Galloway. “We gave students a lot of information on portions, and most of them were pretty shocked to see what a normal serving size looks like.”

With 10 local breweries, a handful of specialty beer and wine stores and the title of ‘Beer City USA’ for three years in a row, Asheville certainly promotes appreciation of alcohol, which requires drinkers to be knowledgeable about safety and dependency issues, locals say.

“We do live in ‘Beer City USA.’ There are so many great craft brews around, and a lot of them have high alcohol contents. You’ve got to be careful and know your limits,” said Taylor McClerin, a bartender at the Asheville Civic Center.

The line between responsible and irresponsible drinking can be difficult to distinguish, especially when one has little or no prior experience with alcohol.

“Remember to drink water and stay hydrated. Know who you’re going to be hanging out with, and how you’re going to get home,” said Elizabeth Flickinger, a senior at UNCA.

On Nov. 13, 2011, the recovery community is invited to a free parenting workshop featuring addiction specialists Dr. David Sack and Dr. Shari Corbitt.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 07, 2011

Raising healthy children is a challenge for even the most resolute parent. When a parent is dependent on drugs or alcohol, or is in recovery from addiction, the task can be even more daunting.

To support recovering parents in their efforts to break the cycle of addiction, Elements Behavioral Health is hosting a free parenting workshop on November 13, 2011, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Promises intensive outpatient treatment center in Los Angeles. Titled “Three Great Things Every Recovering Parent Can Do to Raise Happy & Resilient Children,” the workshop is open to the recovery community.

Attendees will get firsthand parenting tips from two prominent experts in the field of addiction treatment: Dr. David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers, and Dr. Shari Corbitt, a Doctor of Psychology and former Vice President of Promises.

“Addiction runs in families as a result of both genetic and environmental factors. We are encouraging parents to capitalize on the strong protective factors they can use to lessen the impact of genetics and create a healthy home environment,” said Dr. Sack. “Preventing addictive behavior before it starts is far more effective than treating an addiction years in the making.”

Some of the key concepts that will be explored at the Nov. 13 workshop include:

“Parents always have been and always will be the most important influence in their children’s lives,” said Dr. Corbitt. “Our hope is that learning how to parent with flexibility, joy and community will dramatically decrease the number of teens finding friendship and self-soothing in a bottle. By building new skills now, parents have the opportunity to break the chain of addiction so we won’t see their kids at Promises 10 to 15 years from now.”

To attend this free parenting workshop, RSVP to jreed@promises.com or visit the Elements Behavioral Health events page.

About the Speakers

Dr. Sack is a highly respected addiction specialist who is board-certified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine. He is a sought-after media expert who has appeared on CNN, Dateline, Good Morning America and other outlets, and has been interviewed by The New York Times, the L.A. Times, Time and People, among others.

Dr. Shari Corbitt is a media expert, author and clinical psychologist with private practices in Agoura Hills and Beverly Hills. She specializes in treating the chemically dependent, eating disordered individual.

About Elements Behavioral Health

Elements Behavioral Health is a family of behavioral health care programs that includes Promises Treatment Centers, The Sexual Recovery Institute, The Ranch and The Recovery Place. Elements offers comprehensive, innovative treatment for substance abuse, sexual addiction, trauma, eating disorders and other mental health disorders. We are committed to delivering clinically sophisticated treatment that promotes permanent lifestyle change, not only for the patient but for the entire family system. For more information about Elements Behavioral Health, visit http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com.

# # #

Dr. David Sack
Elements Behavioral Health
562-741-6471
Email Information

“Let us put a smile on your face,” read the logo on the beauty assistants’ tunics. “OK, then, have a go,” I thought, tired and uncomfortable after chemotherapy, and longing to take off itchy “Ryan”, the name given to my post-chemo wig. But it soon became a struggle to stay grumpy in the face of a free cosmetic makeover for women with cancer, run by the charity Look Good… Feel Better (LGFB).

2 Concealer should be a shade lighter than the face.

3 Dark eyeshadow creates softer eyebrows than eye pencil.

4 To shape an eyebrow, start with a dot on the brow bone, a pencil distance from the nose. End on the diagonal that starts by the nostril and skims under the eye.

5 Roll a new eye-liner pencil around in the hand to soften tip. Lots of little lines look better than one continuous one.

6 Move mascara horizontally along the lashes (if you have any), not bottom to top.

7 If lashes are patchy, buy individual ones to fill the gaps.

8 If lashes are non-existent, buy fakes that don’t look too Joan Collins.

9 Blushers that initially appear over-bright can lift a face.

10 Pat blusher from apple of cheek to the cheekbone, continuing as far as the hairline.

11 Use lipliner to prevent lipstick seepage. Avoid scary darker shades.

12 Take it all off before bed to prevent a fright in the morning.

But the best lesson of the day by far was one I already knew, and am always in danger of forgetting: the joy of other people. The eight of us, some bald, some merely battered by treatment, shared a merry couple of hours and left clutching our goodie bags smiling. Thank you, Estée Lauder, Boots and other companies who chip in with both products and beauty therapists, and who currently cheer up 12,000 women every year.

Look Good… Feel Better (www.lgfb.co.uk) offers hair and beauty workshops for women undergoing cancer treatment in 63 centres throughout the UK.

www.maggiescentres.org

CRANBURY: Cranbury takes ‘proactive’ mode against bullying DATE POSTED: Thursday, October 20, 2011 5:06 PM EDT

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