The 40 Year War on LSD

This writer of this article criticizes the 40 year war on LSD and other psychedelic drugs by the U. S. government. He asserts that LSD and other psychedelic compounds can have a “profound life-altering affect on the user that serves t o connect them to the universal compassion and love for life that is inherent in our species. It invariably causes them to question the validity of the status quo and what surrounds them in terms of beliefs and values. The article asserts that psychedelic drugs are needed by our society to treat certain disorders such as addiction, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder,, migraine and as palliatives for the sick and dying. Recently the U. S. government has approved clinical trials for use of MDMA theropy for returning veterans and victims of violence and abuse. The writer further asserts that technology and the structure of contemporary life have taken us away from our emotions as to create pathological conditions and that systemic violence, selfishness and greed in our society need treatement.

Shaw, Charles, “Emerging from the Drug War Dark age: LSD and Other Psychedelic Medicines Make a Comeback” Alternet July 11, 2008

Post By Alexandra Chunn

Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 Billion a Year..

This article cites statistics about the cost of incarcerating and prosecuting people on marijuana charges. The article cites that in 2004 12.7% of state inmates (33,655) and 12.4% of federal inmates (10,785) are incarcerated for marijuana offences. The cost of housing these prisoners is about $1 Billion per year. The article further cites that in 2005 786,545 people were arrested on marijuana charges, double the number 12 years previously. Another $8 Billion annually is the additional criminal justice cost of handling these arrests. It is pointed out that about 88% of those arrested (696,074) were charged with possession only. The article claims that 40% of the U. S. population over the age of 12 has used marijuana at some point in their lives and further claims that few acknowledged having suffered significant adverse health effects due to their use. The article concludes with the proposition that it makes no sense to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals.


Armentano, Paul, “Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 Billion a Year”, Alternet, February 10, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/rights/47815/

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

92 YEAR OLD WOMAN A DRUG RAID?

This is a story about three policemen in Atlanta, Georgia who planted marijuana near an informant and threatened him to tell them information otherwise they would arrest him but if he told them what they wanted to know, they would let him go. The informant told them that he sow a drug deal at a house that he pointed out. The police raided the house and shot the 92 year resident and planted pot in her house to justify their entry. The article reveals that some of the law enforcement officers in the War on Drugs are corrupt and cause more harm than good in their activities.


Cook, Rhonda, “Documents Reveal: Cops Planted Pot on 92-Year Old Woman They Killed in Botched Drug Raid”, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 30, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/51151/

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

Is the War on Drugs Worth Our Time?

This article reveals new thinking by police officers, prosecutors and judges who now question whether the war on drugs is worth the cost of ruined American lives and the lives of police officers over a costly and possibly unwinnable war. There is now a debate on the decriminalizing of minor possession of marijuana which could result in the U. S. gaining $77 billion in revenue a year by legalizing and taxing marijuana, cocaine and heroin. However “legalization” is not in the presidents vocabulary. Also legalization may send the wrong message that it is ok to take drugs. Also, if legalized, drug use may increase and cause an increase in other crimes.

Jonsson, Patrik, “Is war on drugs worth it? Maybe not, new FBI data suggest.”, The Christian Science Monitor, September 15, 2009
http://csmonitor.com/2009/0916/p02s01-usgn.html

Post By Alexandra Chunn

They Are Controlled Because They Are Harmful

This article reports on a meeting in Vienna by European Union countries to discuss a draft policy
declaration of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs at which they are expected to sign up to 10 more years of the “war on drugs”. The policy did not mention “harm reduction” strategies such as needle exchange programs that had been advocated. A European Commission report stated that the strategy had not made any progress in cutting supply or demand. Although the declaration is expected to be signed, some countries were going to file reservations, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Finland and Slovenia.


Green, Toby, “War on drugs ‘has enriched cartels’”, The Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/war-on-drugs-has-enriched-cartels-1643097.html

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

Bring Marijuana Under Responsible Controls and End the Monopoly We've Handed to Gangsters.

This article presents the argument that Prohibition of alcohol did not work and ended with a system that regulates the production, taxes the sale of, and treats the abuse of alcohol, all with benefits to government and society and that Prohibition of marijuana is not working and a similar change in policy should be adopted with regard to drugs.

Kampia, Rob, “Prohibition ended 75 years Ago, But What have We learned?”, Alternet, December 5, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/110318/

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

The Growing of Coca in Bolivia

This article points out that without the growing of coca in Bolivia, there would be much more unemployment and hunger. The sale of coca there is legal and controlled by union markets.
This is excerpted from Dangl's new book,"The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia."-->

"When Zurita had finished spraying a section of the crop, she sat down in the shade. Between gulps of water, she told me of the mobilizations she participated in as a union leader. She saw her life shaped by her struggle against militarization and coca eradication. In a women's march from Cochabamba to La Paz from December 1995 to January 1996, she told me, coca farmers demanded an end to the violence in the Chapare. They also demanded a meeting with President Sánchez de Lozada's wife, who refused. "They didn't understand our situation, and so we began a hunger strike, which lasted 12 days," she said.

Through coca unions, numerous blockades and protests have been organized to defend the farmers' right to grow coca. A highway that goes through the Chapare links the economically booming city of Santa Cruz to Cochabamba and La Paz. Blocking this important route puts pressure on the government to meet cocalero demands. Blockades constructed out of dirt, rocks, logs and tires are sometimes sustained for weeks, or are spontaneous and mobile, harder for security forces to break up. Blockade committees are developed by coca unions with a structure and leadership in place that allows blockaders to coordinate their work and activities.

Yet coca unions have done much more than protest. Zurita said that a goal of her work is "to bring the women ahead, by organizing, empowering and orienting them and setting up seminars. [Many] women in the Chapare don't know how to read or write. So the best school for the women is the union. There, we have empowered people. We learn about which laws are in favor of us and which are not. This has all shown us that the union organization is important to defend mother earth, defend the coca and defend our natural resources …"

Dangl, Benjamin, “The U.S. ‘War on Drugs’ Is an Assault on South America’s Poorest”, AKPress, April 12. 2007

Post By Alexandra Chunn

ARRESTS

This article points out that 10.4 million Americans have been arrested for minor pot possession since 1990. The government erroneously reports that the war on drugs is producing successful results. This is not necessarily true and may be propaganda for political or financial reasons. These arrests leave the impression that the police are an instrument of the peoples oppression rather than there for their protection.

Armentano, Paul, “10 Million Americans Busted for Pot: Eough is Enough”, Alternet, October 1, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/63988/

Post by Alexandra Chunn

Weed... Insane...?

This article asserts that the War on Drugs, especially marijuana, is insane. The fact is that our governmental officials keep sacrificing tax dollars, lives, civil liberties and their own credibility in this misguided and losing effort. The writer makes an analogy by showing that Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson, confessed in his book that he was wrong about the war in Vietnam bring winnable and that similar confessions should be made by politicians about the War on Drugs.

Hightower, Jim, “The War on Weed: Marijuana Is Basically Harmless – The Monumentally Stupid Drug War Is Not”, Hightower Lowdown, November 23, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/144115

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

Our Economic Situation..

This article shows how the current economic recession is influencing the thinking about the war on drugs. The State of California is effectively broke. It spends about $10 billion a year on its prison system housing about 150,000 inmates, many convicted of mere possession of marijuana. There is a move to release inmates to lower the current cost and also a movement to change the penalty of some crimes to fines only to lower the prison population. Some push is on to decriminalize marijuana possession in small amounts. California has already made legal medicinal marijuana.

Abramsky, Sasha, “the War Against the ‘War on Drugs’”, The Nation, June 17, 2009
http://www.thenation.com

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

Jack Cafferty says America's effort to prohibit illegal drugs doesn't work and should be rethought.

This article points out that the U. S. spends about $44 billion a year fighting the war on drugs. If they were legal, governments would realize about $33 billion a year in tax revenue. The net difference is $77 billion that could be used more effectively. Also, with legalization, the drug cartels would be put out of business.

Cafferty, Jack, “Commentary: War on drugs is insane”, CNNPolitics.com, Tuesday, March 31, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/31/cafferty.legal.drugs/index.html [46]

Post By Alexandra Chunn

Discarding.

This article reports that the Obama administration was ready to discard the existing policy of prohibition of drugs and “war on drugs” inherited from former presidents and steer policy toward prevention and “harm reduction” strategies such as federally funded needle exchanges. Other policy changes implemented by states and local governments include legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes and the making marijuana offences a low priority for law enforcement.

Glaister, Dan, “Obama drops ‘war on drugs’ rhetoric for needle exchanges”, Guardian.co.uk Monday, March 16, 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/16/drug-policy-obama-needle-exchange [45]

Post By Alexandra Chunn

War on Drugs has failed

This is a report by a former president of Brazil, a former president of Columbia and a former president of Mexico. This report by these distinguished men was made to the American Commission on Drugs and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro. The report declares that the War on Drugs has failed; that the policies based on eradication and criminalization of consumption have not worked; that organized crime and violence remain associated with drugs; that the benefits have not been proportional to the resources invested; and that a revision of the US-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption. They recommend a three point agenda:1. Reduce the harm caused by drugs; 2. Decrease drug consumption through education and 3. Aggressively combat organized crime. They also propose the decriminalization of the use of marijuana for personal use.

Cardoso, Fernando Henrique; Gaviria, Cesar and Zedillo, Ernesto, “The War on Drugs is a Failure”, The Wall Street Journal,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123535114271444981.html [44]

Post By Alexandra Chunn

Experimentation?

This article points out that 74% of the persons arrested for marijuana crimes are under 30 years of age and that 25% are 18 years old or younger. Youth is a time of experimentation. Use is more apt to be in cars or public places like parks rather than at home where parents may discover their transgressions. It is argued that incarceration, should not be the penalty for such behavior. Instead, rules similar to those governing cigarettes and alcohol should be implemented.

Armentano, Paul, “The War on Pot Is a War on Young People”, Alternet, October 17, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/103513/ [43]

Pst By Alexandra Chunn

More Police Ineraction- Helping Stop the Drug War

This is a web site that reports many articles about the war on drugs. The most alarming fact is that over 6000 people have been killed in Mexico this year (2009) over drugs. Most of those killed were drug dealers themselves. The first inclination is that with this kind of violence that more police interaction is needed. But it is argued that the opposite is true because with legalizing drugs, the sale, location of the sale and the people involved would be regulated thereby removing the motive for the many killings.

StoptheDrugWar.org, November 30, 2009
http://stopthedrugwar.org/home [42]

Pst by Alexandra Chunn

"Drug War's unfair toll on people of color?"

This article points out the inequities in sentencing for crimes involving drugs. Some statistics cited in the article are that African Americans make up only 15% of the drug users, they account for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 54% of those convicted and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison. 70% of the people in state prisons on nonviolent drug charges are black or Latino. An interesting statistic is that 1.4 million African American men, 13% of the total black male population, were unable to vote in the 2000 election because of state laws prohibiting felons from voting. These facts show that minorities are at a disadvantage.

Huffington, Arianna, “The War on Drugs Is Really a War on Minorities”, Los Angeles Times,
March 27, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/rights/49782 [40]

Pst by Alexandra Chunn

The Status of Our War

This article sums up the status of the war on drugs. The government claims big wins in the war on drugs because cocaine seizures are up, but while seizures are up, so are shipments. This means that the drug traffic is expanding. The war on drugs has concentrated on eliminating supply and for the money and effort expended, has not been successful. The new thinking is that the government ought to put more effort on curbing demand by spending more on treating drug addicts and less on putting them in jail. Drug abuse should be seen as a public health concern and not as a law enforcement problem. Until demand is curbed at home, there is no chance of winning the war on drugs.

Editorial, “Not Winning the War on Drugs”, The New York Times, Published July 2, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/opinion/02wed1.html [3]

Post by Alexandra Chunn

Some Research and Experience

This is an article written by a drug reporter journalist and former drug addict. Included as “drugs” are cigarettes, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, Viagra and Prozac. He lists 11 points in summation of his research and experience. They are as follows:
1. Drugs are everywhere and they are not going away.
2. Different people have different relationships with different drugs.
3. People use drugs for joy and for pain.
4. Drug abuse does not discriminate, but our drug policies do.
5. Relapse happens.
6. Smoking five cigarettes is better than smoking 20. Using marijuana is better than using heroin.
7. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.
8. Prohibition doesn’t work. Prohibition is responsible for most of the violence associated with drugs.
9. Drugs and the drug war touch most families.
10. We have to learn to live with drugs, because they aren’t going anywhere.
11. The public, supporting treatment, is ahead of the politicians, supporting incarsation.

Newman, Tony, “The Top 10 Things I Know About Drugs”, Alternet,June 2, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/36942 [61]

Post by: Alexandra Chunn

A Change In Government Policy

This article points to several facts concerning statements people in high office in the Obama administration that indicate that there may be a change in government policy regarding the U.S. Government’s “War on Drugs”. First Gil Kerlikomeske, Obama’s new drug czar, has commented that we need to stop looking at the drug problem as a war because people see war as a war on them. He said that it was time to focus on treatment and less on incarceration. Wecond, Eric Holder, Attorney General, announced that the federal government will no longer raid and prosecute distributors of medical marijuana who operate in the 13 states that have made medical marijuana legal. Holder also announced that his department intends to eliminate the outrageous and prejudicial sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. In his campaign, Obama proposed reinstating th anti-AIDS program that supplies clean needles to drug users. However, despite these speeches and rhetoric, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has since raided medical marijuana dispensers in California.

Huffington, Arianna, “Will Obama End the War on Drugs?”, Huffington Post,May 18, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/140074/will_obama_end_the_war_on_drugs/ [59]

Post By: Alexandra Chunn

City Seeks Ban on Smoking in Parks and Beaches

The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, announced on Monday that the Bloomberg administration would seek to ban smoking in city parks and beaches. (See the updated article in Tuesday’s print edition.)

Such bans are still rare, though growing in number. A number of municipalities — particularly in California — have banned smoking in outdoor parks, playgrounds and beaches. In 2007, Los Angeles extended its smoking ban, which already covered beaches and playgrounds, to include municipal parks. Later that year, Chicago banned smoking at its beaches and playgrounds, though smoking is still allowed in many parks. This year, California lawmakers took up a measure to prohibit smoking in all state parks and parts of state beaches.

The New York City proposal would affect more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, as well as the city’s seven beaches, which span 14 miles of shoreline.

Dr. Farley said the ban — which officials said may require the approval of the City Council, but could possibly be done through administrative rule-making by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation — was part of a broader strategy to further curb smoking rates, which have fallen in recent years. The strategy would include, among other things, increasing local, state and federal taxes on tobacco and urging organizations and businesses in the city to reject financing and sponsorship from the tobacco industry.

Sources:http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/city-seeks-ban-on-smoking-in-parks-and-beaches/

I agree with banning in bars and enclosed areas, but banning it from the beach and parks not so much. However, I wish smokers would be more aware of those around them. Just because it's outdoors doesn';t make the smoke less offensive.

Tatarov Anton

Food for cigarettes

Scientists from the Californian university (USA) again confirmed the old statistics: over 90 % of cases of disease by a cancer of lungs are caused by smoking. On protection are capable to come Flavonids – natural pigments, soluble in water. Their properties are prevent damage of fabrics of DNA. The big doses Flavonids are capable to slow down and even to stop growth of cancer cages in lungs.

Where to take them? Most all of them contains in vegetables, fruit and tea. Therefore the minimum daily set of the smoker – three vegetable or fruit. It is necessary to eat them down with tea of any kind.


Tatarov Anton

Philip Morris has caused a record damage to health of the smoker

The American tobacco company Philip Morris USA should pay $300 million as indemnification for illness of the smoker, who used their products for 25 years.

On Thursday, on November, 19th, the jury has decided that the tobacco company Philip Morris USA belonging to concern Altria Group Inc., should pay $300 million as the penalty for illness of the smoker for many years smoking their cigarettes

The court has decided that 61-year-old Sindi Nogl who have earned an emphysema of lungs because of smoking, will receive from the company $56 million and Other $244 million Philip Morris USA should pay as the so-called penal losses, called to punish the respondent for their actions


Tatarov Anton

Claims to the American manufacturers of tobacco can ruin the industry

Manufacturers of tobacco products made a mistake, using in advertising the term "light cigarettes" – this verdict has taken at the Supreme court of the USA. 40 claims for charge in a deceit of consumers are already shown to the tobacco companies. Claimants demand indemnification in billions of dollars, this can make the tobacco industry completely bankrupt.

Validity of complaints was confirmed with the decision of the Federal commission on trade. They have forbidden to companies specify the exact maintenance of nicotine on a pack of cigarettes. According to experts, these figures misinformed smokers who believed that the smaller quantity of nicotine make cigarettes less harmful. However, to gain the same effect, as at smoking of usual cigarettes, it is necessary to be tightened by "lungs" more deeply. As a result the person receives the same dose of nicotine, as before.

Tatarov Anton

Obama tries to give up smoking

The selected US president the Barrack Obama has confirmed that he tries to give up smoking, and he has made the promise not to break that for a long time.

«I has done tremendous work, having made myself more healthy, and I think that you will not see any infringement of these rules», – Obama in interview of a broadcasting company of En-bi-si has declared. The leader of interview has asked Obama to confirm , whether really he has given up smoking. «I have made it, but there are moments when I cant do that», – the selected president admitted. «It means you dont give up with it?», – has asked Brokou. «It seems so», – Obama has answered


Tatarov Anton

Hookah smoking is injurious to health same as usual tobacco.

Hookah smoking is injurious to health sameas usual tobacco.
Such conclusions of the research spent by Ministry of Health of Great Britain and the Center under the control over consumption of tobacco. The results of test: monooxide level increase in blood of people who smoke a Hookah, also it increase carbon level more known under the name carbonic oxide Moreover, for one "session" the smoker of a hookah inhales approximately in four-five times more carbonic oxide, than at smoking of one cigarette. According to research, - smoking of the flavoured tobacco in Hookah (around 10 mg) for half an hour - the smoker receives a carbonic oxide dose for one "session" comparable with smoking at least 4-5, or worst 400-500 cigarettes.

As the British physicians mark, the high maintenance carbon monooxide in an organism leads to damage of brain cages and can cause consciousness loss. Meanwhile, many people do not consider a hookah as smoking and consider its more safe alternative to usual cigarettes.

Tatarov Anton

The hookah - the adaptation for smoking in which the smoke of the flavoured tobacco passes through a vessel with water, milk or wine and is inhaled through a long tube.

Chinese ‘herbal’ cigarettes no healthier than regular cigarettes

Despite popular belief and some marketing claims, researchers have found that Chinese “herbal” cigarettes that Chinese 'herbal' cigarettescombine medicinal herbs with tobacco are just as addictive and no safer than regular cigarettes.

“The public needs to be aware that herbal cigarettes do not deliver fewer carcinogens,” said lead researcher Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco. “We hope our findings will help to dispel the myth that they are a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes; they are not.”

Results of this study are published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, which has a special focus on tobacco.

Tatarov Anton

Movies promote smoking

"The more movie scenes of smoking people watch, the more likely you will want to experiment with smoking", researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Dartmouth College report in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

The three-year prospective study of 1,286 american teens showed the percentage of new experimenters increased from about 5 percent among those with little or no exposure to nearly 30 percent for those who saw up to 600 smoking scenes. The effect was dose-dependent, with experimentation linearly correlated with movie exposure.

“Parents need to limit their adolescents’ access to R-rated movies, which research has shown have the most depictions of smoking,” said lead author Anna Wilkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Epidemiology in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences.

Menthol will kill more people

Menthol cigarettes make up about a quarter of the $70 billion market for cigarettes. Big producers of menthol cigarettes include Newport maker Lorillard Inc. and Kool manufacturer Reynolds American Inc. Menthol is an additive that scientists say may mask the harshness of tobacco and in turn lure people to start smoking, concerns the Food and Drug Administration will grapple with over the next year as it considers whether to ban the flavoring.

In 2008, the rate of smokers 12 to 17 years old using menthol cigarettes rose to 48% from 44% in 2004, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. Among 18 to 25 year olds, the rate jumped to 41% in 2008 from 34% in 2004. The report doesn’t break down the figures by number of users, but about 4.2 billion menthol cigarette packs are sold annually, according to government statistics.

Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said this study adds “to the evidence that menthol plays a role in smoking initiation among kids.”

He said it sets off “alarm bells” because most cigarette smokers start as teenagers. “If menthol is increasing the number of kids who start, it’s increasing the number of people who will eventually die from tobacco.”

Tatarov Anton

Obama start war against tobacco

Citing his own experience as a teenage smoker, President Obama predicted that a new law giving the Food and Drug Administration sweeping power to regulate tobacco will help young people avoid the smoking habit he has struggled with for years.

The measure, which Obama signed into law Monday, will ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes and prohibit use of tobacco-product logos and brand names in sponsoring athletic and entertainment events.


Tatarov Anton

Smoking the whales. Why not?

I think many people dont know about additives used in cigarettes. More commonly referred to as whale vomit, ambergris is one of the hundreds of possible additives used in cigarettes. Ambergris is a fatty, waxy substance that forms in the intestines of the sperm whale. Lumps of ambergris often have the hard beaks of squid and cuttlefish buried within, so it's suspected that it acts as a vehicle for the expulsion of undigestible bits of what these whales eat.

Fresh ambergris is foul smelling and floats on the ocean surface, but with years of exposure to the elements, it takes on a sweet, pleasant smell. Ambergris has become prized in perfume manufacturing because it has the unique ability to "fix" a fragrance, keeping it from fading too fast. It's also used as a food additive.

Used in:

* non-alcoholic beverages
* ice cream
* candy

Bon appetit :)

Sources: http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/g/term_19add.htm
Tatarov Anton

Big Tobacco gian will help people to quit smoking?

Big Tobacco giant, Reynolds American, Inc just sealed a deal to buy a Swedish company that manufactures nicotine replacement products designed to help people quit smoking.

This deal will allow Reynolds to offer products that can "reduce the risks of diseases and death caused by tobacco use,"

This is mean that Reynolds will start to produce things which helps people to stop smoking? I dont think so. Products which reduce the risks is not the same thing as products that reduce dependence, or help people quit from it. It is not hard to see that Reynolds found new market for their products like dissolvable tobacco and snus sold under Reynold's Camel brand, and it has nothing to do with health care.

Tatarov Anton

Diseases Caused by Smoking will be Graphically Depicted on Packs

Smoking is a habit associated with numerous diseases, and the labels on cigarettes will soon more accurately reflect this. Obama recently signed a measure that might update warnings on cigarette packs to stronger and more accurate messages, like Smoking Causes Cancer and Smoking Kills. Graphic images of cancers and other diseases caused by smoking will be on the packages as well; they will be required to be on half of the pack when the measure takes effect.

Sources:
http://www.naturalnews.com/027015_smoking_disease_chemicals.html

But this is old news in Australia and New Zealand. They have had this for a number of years now, hasn't stopped people smoking. I think this measure wont help american people quit smoking, but doing something better then doing nothing :)

Tatarov Anton

Smoking Products

Smoking cessation products such as nicotine gum, lozenges and inhalers may contribute to the development of mouth cancer, according to a study conducted by the Medical Research Council and published in the journal PLoS One.

The researchers emphasized that it is far more important to quit smoking than to avoid nicotine gum, and that the point of the study is to use cessation products just long enough to quit smoking, and not longer.

"Smoking is of course far more dangerous [than nicotine gum]," Teh said, "and people who are using nicotine replacement to give up should continue to use it and consult their [doctors] if they are concerned. The important message is not to overuse it, and to follow advice on the packet."

Sources:

http://www.naturalnews.com/027219_nicotine_nicotine_gum_smoking.html


Tatarov Anton

College drinking problems, deaths on the rise

15-Jun-2009

Alcohol-related deaths, heavy drinking episodes and drunk driving have all been on the rise on college campuses over the past decade, a new government study shows.

Using figures from government databases and national surveys on alcohol use, researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students have been creeping upward -- from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005.

At the same time, the proportion of students who reported recent heavy episodic drinking (sometimes called "binge drinking") rose from roughly 42 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.

"The fact that we're not making progress is very concerning," says lead researcher Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., director of the NIAAA's division of epidemiology and prevention research.

"The irony," he adds, "is that during this same time period, our knowledge of what works as far as intervention in this age group has increased. That knowledge isn't yet being put into place."

Hingson and his colleagues report the findings in a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs devoted to college drinking problems. Fourteen studies in the issue report the results of projects funded by the NIAAA's Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems initiative -- which, between 2004 and 2005, selected 15 college campuses with serious student-drinking issues to work with the agency and other experts in developing programs to combat the problem.

The resulting programs ranged from the individual level -- like counseling for students found to have drinking problems -- to community-level efforts that involved law enforcement and residents of neighborhoods surrounding college campuses. All showed their own benefits.

It's likely, according to Hingson, that a mix of programs at these different levels is needed to best address problem drinking on college campuses.

"There's no silver bullet for this," he says, "but the more levels at which we try to intervene, the more effective we'll be. Colleges and communities need to work together, because neither can do it alone."

Broader legislation may also make a difference. Hingson and his colleagues found that although drinking and driving was more common among college students in 2005 than in 1998, the trend actually began to reverse course during that time: in 2002, just over 31 percent of students had driven under the influence in previous year; in 2005, that figure was 29 percent.

Hingson points out that in 2000, only 17 U.S. states had made it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher; by 2005, all had adopted that limit. That, he says, may at least partially account for the dip in college students' drinking and driving.

Similarly, state laws that set the legal drinking age at 21 have been credited with reducing alcohol-related road deaths. An "interesting" finding from this study, Hingson notes, is that the increases in heavy episodic drinking, drinking and driving, and alcohol-related deaths were seen among 21- to 24-year-olds, and not 18- to 20-year-olds.


Juraj Filip

As college drinking problems rise, new studies identify effective prevention strategies

Monday, June 15, 2009

Alcohol-related deaths among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, along with increases in heavy drinking and drunk driving, according to an article in the July supplement of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The special issue describes the results of a broad array of research-based programs to reduce and prevent alcohol-related problems at campuses across the country. These studies resulted from the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems Initiative, a grant program supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

"This supplement is a valuable resource that underscores the growing number of research-driven strategies that college administrators and health officials can put in place to address serious student drinking problems," says Acting NIAAA Director Kenneth Warren, Ph.D.

Reviewing the magnitude of the college alcohol problem, Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D, M.P.H., director of NIAAA's Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, and colleagues analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government sources. They found that serious problems persist, as indicated by the increase in drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students, which resulted mainly from traffic-related incidents. In addition, the researchers found the proportion of students who reported recent heavy episodic drinking -- sometimes called binge drinking, defined as five or more alcoholic drinks on any occasion in the past 30 days -- rose from roughly 42 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.

"These are tragically and unacceptably high figures that indicate an urgent need for colleges and surrounding communities to implement evidence-based prevention and counseling programs," says Dr. Hingson. The results of NIAAA's rapid response grants, he says, demonstrate the wide range of individual, group, and community-level approaches that can influence student behavior and challenge the culture of college drinking.

Juraj Filip

Internet Can Help Curb Drinking Among College Students

Sep 16th 2009

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy drinking is a growing problem among university students, but an Internet-based intervention may help them control their alcohol use, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from a Web-based alcohol-use screening test taken by more than 7,200 undergraduate university students, aged 17 to 24, in Australia, and found that more than 2,400 qualified as hazardous/harmful drinkers. Of these students, about half were placed in a Web-based intervention group and received motivational assessments and personalized feedback, while the other half were placed in a control group that received no feedback.

The intervention included information about reducing alcohol-associated health risks, an estimated blood alcohol concentration for each student's heaviest drinking episode, an estimate of the money spent on drinking, comparison to other students' drinking, and links to resources to help people with alcohol problems.

The researchers followed-up with the participants at one and six months after initial screening.

"After one month, participants receiving intervention drank less often, smaller quantities per occasion and less alcohol overall than did controls," wrote Kypros Kypri of the University of Newcastle in Australia and the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues. "Differences in alcohol-related harms were nonsignificant. At six months, intervention effects persisted for drinking frequency and overall volume but not for other variables."

Noting that university students drink more heavily and exhibit more clinically significant alcohol-related problems than their non-student peers, the researchers suggested that there could be great potential in alcohol counseling over the Internet.

"Given the scale on which proactive Web-based electronic screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) can be delivered and its acceptability to student drinkers, we can be optimistic that a widespread application of this intervention would produce a benefit in this population group," they concluded. "The e-SBI, a program that is available free for nonprofit purposes, could be extended to other settings, including high schools, general practices, and hospitals."

Juraj Filip

Drinking age debate just one part of college alcohol problem, Gonzalez says

School of Education dean a noted researcher on college alcohol and drug abuse

October 21, 2009

The call to consider reducing the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 could spur some valuable discussion, but alone won't solve the college student alcohol problem, according to University Dean of the IU School of Education Gerardo Gonzalez, an internationally recognized expert on alcohol and drug education. More than 100 college and university chancellors and presidents have signed a public statement stating that the current legal drinking age of 21 hasn't worked.

Gerardo Gonzalez

Print-Quality Photo
"I think that what we're seeing in this letter is a level of frustration that college presidents feel about the problem of drinking on campus," Gonzalez said.

The higher education leaders are part of the Amethyst Initiative, an organization started last month (July 2008). On the organization's Web site, a welcome message reads that the current drinking age "has created a culture of dangerous binge drinking" on college campuses. While not specifically recommending lowering the drinking age, the organization "supports informed and unimpeded debate on the 21-year-old drinking age."

Gonzalez founded the BACCHUS Network (BACCHUS stands for "Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students") at the University of Florida in 1975. It has grown to be the largest collegiate organization focused on preventing alcohol abuse, with more than 32,000 student leaders and advisers working with peers on more than 900 campuses worldwide. Gonzalez continues to serve on the BACCHUS board of trustees and consults with other organizations on issues surrounding campus alcohol abuse.

Gonzalez said he understands the desire for administrators to speak more candidly with students about alcohol abuse. Some campuses struggle with addressing students not of drinking age about the issues of alcohol.

"There's no evidence that reducing the drinking age would make it better," Gonzalez said. "It might make it easier for the colleges to be able to take a consistent approach to the population. But what we have on college campuses is a culture of drinking that leads to the very high level of binge drinking and related problems that we see. So no single approach or policy is going to impact that at the level that it needs to be impacted. It's going to require a comprehensive and sustained effort."

Gonzalez said that there is some research evidence suggesting such a change would have little impact on college students. He said that when a 1984 law required states to make the legal drinking age 21 or lose federal highway money, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related traffic crashes dropped for the 18 to 21 age group as a whole. But for college students, no relationship was found between minimum legal drinking age and either consumption levels or crashes.

The call for a change is also couched in an assumption, Gonzalez said, that drinking would be more open and thus more monitored. "Rather than trying to hide or do it behind closed doors, they might go to bars, go to places where there is more environmental control of the circumstances," he said. "Again, there is no research evidence to suggest that in fact that would happen."

Gonzalez says his past work in dealing with college student alcohol abuse indicates there's no single solution:

"What's needed is an institutional commitment and a social commitment to dealing with what is clearly the greatest threat that young people and college students in particular face today. So my work was geared towards getting the colleges to recognize the problem and to commit to programs and efforts that the research would suggest will give them the best chance of reducing the problem."

Juraj Filip

Study: Alcohol-related problems decreasing among IU Bloomington students, especially freshmen

Thursday, November 12, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new study conducted by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC) at Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation shows that alcohol abuse among IU Bloomington students has markedly decreased, even as alcohol abuse among college students across the nation is on the rise.

Photo by Aaron Bernstein

Dee Owens

Print-Quality Photo
"In the past, our rates have been higher than the rest of the country," said Dee Owens, director of IU's Alcohol-Drug Information Center in the Division of Student Affairs. "Now, instead of looking at our numbers going up or just staying steady -- which is considered a great success -- we saw our numbers go down in every category," she said.

The 2008-09 ICAN (Indiana Collegiate Action Network ) survey, combined with the results of the previous two years' CORE surveys, showed the following results for Indiana University Bloomington students:

The percentage of students who consumed more than five drinks in a week went from 42.8 percent in 2006 to 37.5 percent in 2009, a 12.4 percent decrease.
The percentage of students who engaged in binge drinking in the previous two weeks went from 60.3 percent in 2006 to 56.8 percent in 2009, a 5.8 percent decrease.
The percentage of students who have experienced legal troubles or received disciplinary action in the previous two weeks went from 15.3 percent in 2006 to 12.3 percent in 2009, a 19.6 percent decrease.
The percentage of students who have driven while intoxicated went from 38.4 percent in 2006 to 22.6 percent in 2009, a 41.1 percent decrease.
A meta-analysis from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/), which uses numbers from government databases and national surveys, showed that alcohol abuse on college campuses nationwide has increased over the past 10 years. The number of alcohol-related deaths among 18- to 24-year-olds rose from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, while "episodic (binge) drinking" saw a 3 percentage point increase in the same time period, from 42 percent to 45 percent.

Owens attributes the success of lower numbers at IU Bloomington while alcohol abuse is on the rise nationwide to two primary factors: a widespread "Get a ride! Just don't drink and drive" campaign created and supported by Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal, and the institution of AlcoholEdu (http://kb.iu.edu/data/avui.html), a required online course for all incoming IU Bloomington freshmen and transfer students. The 2- to 3-hour, interactive AlcoholEdu class varies by individual, depending on how questions are answered.

"We want everybody who comes to campus to receive accurate education to start. The choices students make after that are up to them, but they can no longer say 'Gosh, we didn't know that,'" Owens said.

With help from a two-year grant through IPRC/HPER, researchers conducted two CORE surveys from 2006-2008, switching to the state-funded ICAN survey in 2008 (numbers were confirmed as comparable between the two surveys).

The ICAN survey is funded through a federal block grant from the Division of Mental Health and Addiction through the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, of which Owens is president. The CORE surveys and AlcoholEdu were funded by the federal Department of Education for two years; AlcoholEdu is now funded by the IU Parents' Association.

"We do know from research that students form their behaviors in the first six weeks of class. If we can front-load information, we can help shape those behaviors," Owens said.




Print-Quality Photo
"We know that education alone can be ineffective, but it works when combined with other evidence-based practices -- the mandatory, interactive online class; the public campaign that has become ubiquitous; and now a student judicial system that sends student offenders through a screening to be certain they don't have a clinical problem with alcohol and a referral system for intervention and treatment if they do," she said.

After a four-year cohort of AlcoholEdu and the widespread campaign, a behavioral "sea change" will have already taken effect, said Owens. Among other information, the public campaign contains details about public transportation options as well as the free "Night Owl Express" (formerly "Midnight Special") that provides rides for students to prevent drinking and driving.

"That behavioral change requires four years," she said. "Now, when you talk to juniors, they go 'Oh yeah, I took AlcoholEdu when I was a freshman.' Next year, when you talk to seniors, they'll say, 'Oh yes, I took that when I was a freshman.' Then, suddenly, it's institutionalized."

The 2009 ICAN survey data will be made public at the ICAN conference Friday (Nov. 13) at the Radisson Hotel at the former Indianapolis Airport location.



Juraj Filip

Under-age buyers test drink sales

Teenagers will be sent to buy alcohol from shops around Scotland's capital city as part of a drive to halt under-age sales.

Test purchasing is to be introduced in Edinburgh following the success of a similar scheme in Fife.

It led to the suspension of several alcohol licences of shops in the area which were caught supplying drink to minors.

Lothian and Borders Police will use 16-year-olds in the initiative.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said there was clear evidence that too many children under the age of 18 were currently drinking alcohol.

'Pro-active steps'

Supt Lesley Clark, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "A good deal of the anti-social behaviour our communities face is caused by the consumption of alcohol by persons under 18 and, by utilising the approach of test purchasing, we are taking pro-active steps to reducing the supply of alcohol to young people."

Volunteers will try to buy alcohol in licensed premises across Edinburgh, with all offences being reported to prosecutors and licensing boards.

Mr MacAskill said: "We know too many under-18s are drinking alcohol - a simple walk through a park or down the street on a Friday night is evidence of that.

"Responsible licensees have nothing to fear. Adopting a 'can't tell, don't sell' policy is the best option.

"This is about protecting our young people and tackling under-age drinking."


Juraj Filip

Plan for 'minimum priced' alcohol

16 June 2009 20:18 UK
The Scottish Government is considering imposing a minimum price for alcohol based on its strength, BBC Scotland understands.

It will be one of the measures put forward by ministers on how to tackle Scotland's serious alcohol problem.

Dr Evelyn Gillan, of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, said increasing price should be welcomed.

It is believed that drink-related problems cost Scottish society £2bn each year.

The government's wide-ranging package will be made public on Tuesday.

Supermarkets have totally failed to respond to the obviously irresponsible promotions that they have within their stores

Paul Waterson
Scottish Licensed Trade Association


Send us your comments
Affluent drinkers are 'in denial'

Alcohol Focus chief executive Jack Law said making it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol would make a difference.

"One of the problems we're trying to address is young people's binge drinking," he said.

"And one of the features of young people's binge drinking is the fact that they pre-load, that is, they buy some alcohol before they go out, and drink it before they go out for an evening.

"They tend to buy more and drink more, and drink it in the home, so this is one way of tackling that."

But retailers and student leaders said the plan, which would see 18-year-olds still being served in pubs, was "confusing" and a "blunt instrument".

The director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, Fiona Moriarty, said it was more important to educate young people to drink responsibly.

She added: "This mixed message, that it is OK to drink in pubs and clubs, but that it is not OK to buy something to drink responsibly in your own home, is extremely confusing."

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME


More from Today programme

Her call was echoed by James Alexander, president of NUS Scotland, who argued 18-year-olds were old enough to take responsibility.

He told BBC Scotland's Politics Show: "My advice is not to take the easy option - this is a very blunt instrument - but actually to do the very challenging thing, which is to change people's attitudes towards alcohol, to change the culture in this country around binge drinking, which is not going to change by simply changing the age. That's going to make no impact at all."

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association - which represents pubs and clubs - said it was time for ministers to take strong action.

"Over the last couple of years the supermarkets have totally failed to respond to the obviously irresponsible promotions that they have within their stores," he said.

"There's a total lack of understanding that the prices they are charging, which means alcohol is often cheaper than water, is exacerbating the problem in Scotland."

Anti-social behaviour

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon promised bold proposals to deal with the issue.

She told BBC Scotland: "We face a big problem. The government's not anti-alcohol. It is perfectly acceptable to enjoy alcohol responsibly, but we are concerned about alcohol misuse.

"It has an impact on crime and anti-social behaviour and it has taken a big toll on our health - we've got the fastest increasing rates of liver cirrhosis in the whole of the world, almost."

The government's plan will come after the success of a scheme in Armadale, West Lothian.

Off-licences in the town refused to sell alcohol to under-21s on Friday and Saturdays, during which assaults, vandalism and general complaints about young people decreased.

Juraj Filip

Under 21 booze ban is 'good news'

Thursday, 19 June 2009 13:19 UK


A pilot scheme banning the sale of alcohol to people under the age of 21 in Falkirk has cut anti social behaviour complaints almost by half.

Figures published by Central Scotland Police show that two months into a six month trial, 24 complaints were made.

That figure compares with 45 complaints for the same period last year.

The ban, which began on 1 April, is operating in stores in the Larbert and Stenhousemuir areas on Friday and Saturday evenings.

During the same period, the force said two stores were reported for selling to those under age and four people have been charged for purchasing alcohol for those under 18.

Local Seargent, Ian Williamson, said the pilot scheme was cutting drink related anti-social behaviour.

He added: "We have noticed there has been a marked decrease in the number of calls we have received relating to anti-social behaviour.

"This is obviously linked to the fact that it is more difficult for those under age to get alcohol from their local shops.

"That is good news for the local community."

The Scottish Government began a consultation this week on plans to increase the minimum age from 18 to 21 for those wishing to buy alcohol in off-licences.



Juraj Filip

Students attack drink sales ban

23 November 2009 18:06 UK

Plans to raise the age at which young people can buy alcohol from shops from 18 to 21 have come under further pressure at parliament.

A coalition of student and young person's groups said the Scottish Government plan would demonise young people.

They made the call before Holyrood's petitions committee.

Ministers said raising the age worked well in Scandinavia and three areas of Scotland where it was trialled.

The government's under-21s sales ban is part of a number of measures to cut alcohol-fuelled crime and health problems, including setting a minimum price for alcoholic drinks in an attempt to stop cut-price alcohol deals.

The move has been backed by members of Scotland's medical profession. Alcohol misuse is affecting our health system, our justice system and our economy

Shona Robison
Public Health Minister

MSPs on the petitions committee considered a 10,000-signature petition from the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (Cardas).

The group said the proposal was sending out a "bizarre message" that young people were responsible enough to vote, to get married, to join the Army and yet could not be trusted to buy a bottle of wine from a supermarket for a quiet dinner at home.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have all come out against raising the off-licence purchase age and the student representative on the SNP's national executive, Caroline Henderson, is against it.

Meanwhile, the number of people admitted to hospital in Lothian with alcohol poisoning has increased by half over the last 10 years - from 682 in 1998 to 934 last year, according to new figures.

Public health minister Shona Robison said those aged under 24 accounted for almost a quarter of the admissions.

"These figures are another reminder of the grip alcohol misuse has on Scotland," she said.

"Alcohol misuse costs the NHS £2.25bn each year. It's affecting our health system, our justice system and our economy."

Juraj Filip

Attitudes to alcohol questioned

Thursday, 26 March 2009

Why do teenagers get so much stick for drinking alcohol? We asked Year 9 students (13-14), at The Vyne School, to complete a questionnaire about how much they drink.

In the UK, there is a minimum age - 18 - that you can buy alcohol, but the minimum age of when you can drink alcohol is five. So it must be perfectly fine to drink when you're over five then?


Teenage drinking is not decreasing
In our questionnaire we asked: "Are you aware of the effects alcohol can have on you?"

Eighteen per cent claimed: "I don't care" about the effects," while 44% of people said: "Yes, I am aware, but I drink anyway." But because all these people are over five, how can they really be in the wrong?

Another question we asked was: "Why do you drink?"

Thirty per cent say they don't drink, 5% considered themselves to be "addicted" to drink and 15% of the participants drank for "popularity".

Many teenagers obviously think that is it "cool" to drink just so that they can get in with "The Popular Crowd".

In Europe, Britain has the third highest underage drinking rate. Is this because we are so strict on the legal age to buy alcohol?

In other European countries, lower age restrictions to purchase alcohol apply. For example, Germany's legal drinking age is 16 whereas in countries like Portugal and Poland, there is no minimum age to when you can start drinking.

How do we tackle drinking here in the UK? Well, all that seems to happen is that another law comes in here and another law comes in there but that clearly isn't having an effect.

It seems, that the more laws come in to action, the more drinking grows in appeal.

Perhaps, if we had no minimum drinking age (as do Poland) then maybe the novelty will wear off, seeing as they are no longer breaking the law.

Juraj Filip

Over two thirds of all ambulance call-outs in Scotland are alcohol related

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 13:28

THE AMBULANCE Service released figures last week showing that 68 percent of ambulance call-outs during weekends in Scotland are alcohol-related. The news came during what Lothians NHS has christened ‘Alcohol Awareness Week’, which took place from 4 to 10 October.


The figures from the Scottish Ambulance Service were based on records kept by ambulance crews beginning in April of this year. Data was collected Fridays, Saturdays and in the early hours of Sunday morning.


The Scottish Ambulance Service has said that these alcohol-related calls, which typically stem from injuries from alcohol-related violence or accidents, are impairing the Service’s ability to attend to other emergencies.


Statistics about the number of alcohol-related ambulance call-outs in Edinburgh were not available from Lothians NHS.


However figures released in September by the Scottish Government show that people in central Edinburgh are twice as likely to die of alcohol consumption than the rest of the country. Alcohol-related deaths in central Edinburgh are 226 per cent above the average for the whole of the UK and more than a third of people admitted to hospital in the Lothians with alcohol-related illnesses are repeat admissions.


Anne McLaughlin, an MSP for Glasgow, recently joined an ambulance crew on a Saturday night.


“Spending the night working with Glasgow’s paramedics showed me how much of their time is spent dealing with the impact of alcohol,” she told the BBC, “I want our emergency services to be dealing with people who really need them, not having to spend all their time mopping up the damage caused by alcohol.”


McLaughlin’s concern is echoed by Lothian NHS, which has just finished hosting its third annual Alcohol Awareness Week.


According to the NHS, Alcohol Awareness Week is “an initiative that brings together Scottish Government, the alcohol industry, health professionals and the voluntary sector to promote a joined-up message about drinking alcohol responsibly.”


The campaign aims to encourage the Scottish public to drink less and to drink less often by making small lifestyle changes, including eating before drinking and using ‘spacers’, soft drinks or glasses of water consumed between alcoholic drinks, to help curb instances of overconsumption.

The theme for this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week was ‘Get More Out Of Life’, which encouraged Scots to get more out of their time, relationships, work and activities by managing the amount of alcohol they consume.

Published: Tuesday 13th October

Juraj Filip

Queensland student killed in Melbourne accident

Victoria Police say the student driver of a car involved in a fatal accident in Melbourne overnight was a learner driver under the influence of alcohol.


Posted Wed Oct 1, 2009 8:33am AEST

A 19-year-old Queensland man died and and his friend was seriously injured when the car crashed into them on a footpath at Southbank early this morning.

The injured pedestrian and a passenger in the car are both in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The dead man and his friend were in Melbourne for the University Games.

Sergeant Darren Williams says the 19-year-old learner driver is being questioned by police.

He described the scene of the crash as like a bomb site.

"At this stage we're looking at speed," he said.

"We're yet to have a proper reconstruction on the speed but I can definitely say that alcohol was a factor."

He said the men were coming out of a hotel at the time.

"Well you don't expect to be killed on a holiday or some sort of event interstate," he said.

"Going by what we've seen .... it was just tragic circumstances. As I said, wrong place, wrong time."

The dead man was representing Griffith University at the University games.

The university has issued a statement expressing deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the dead man.

Juraj Filip

Pinckney college student's death called alcohol-related accident

April 28, 2009, 4:09PM
Pinckney's Linzy Duvall, a 21-year-old Grand Valley State University student found dead in her off-campus apartment last month, died from complications due to over-consumption of alcohol, university officials reported today.

The Ottawa County medical examiner ruled the death an accident caused by "aspirated pneumonia due to over-consumption of alcohol."


Duvall, a nursing student, was discovered the afternoon of March 28 by roommates.

A report on Grand Valley's Web site today said the medical report shows "it appeared she vomited and breathed in the material, causing fluid to build in her lungs."

Police earlier reported that Duvall had dinner and drinks with friends the night before her death and detectives said it was possible she was ill from drinking.


Juraj Filip

Alcohol-related accident takes life of River HIll student

November 30, 2009
Today, we report about the sad death of a River Hill High School football player over the weekend. The driver of the vehicle was a River Hill graduate and former football player. He is now facing charges of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. The accident came a day after the Howard County state championship team had lost a key game.

River Hill's principal and staff were at the school yesterday preparing for the sadness and emotional turmoil that might erupt today from students who are grieving the loss of a friend.

While we don't know whether the two teenagers in the car were drinking or not, this accident again reminds us of the issue of teenage drinking. Surveys report an increase in binge drinking, and so I would like to hear from administrators and parents on the issue of what role schools can or should play in trying to control it. Students learn about it the issue in most health classes. Should administrators do anything else? Is this a parental issue and not a school issue? What role can coaches play in trying to reduce drinking?

Juraj Filip

Students highlight alcohol danger

Friday, 30 October 2009
A group of media students from Brooksby Melton College have written a short film for teenagers aiming to underline the dangers of drinking to excess.

The film was made in partnership with Leicestershire Constabulary, the NHS, and Melton Borough Council.

Local beat police officers were keen to target issues of underage drinking after encountering it on their rounds.

Early feedback from local young people suggest the hard-hitting short film has been a success.

Hidden in the dark

PC Lou Wills is the neighbourhood beat officer in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. While carrying out routine patrols last summer she came across small groups of youths who had been drinking to the extreme.

"They normally do it hidden away in the parks in the dark.


The kids have definitely told us that they feel at times we preach to them and we don't understand

PC Lou Wills, Melton beat officer
"And then not only is their health in danger because of the amount of alcohol they drink but they then become very venerable, and that's what we're concerned about."

This spurred her to look for a new way of highlighting the dangers of alcohol to local young people aged 12 to 17, along with the borough council and NHS.

"Really we were thinking from an older person's point of view and the kids have definitely told us that they feel at times we preach to them and we don't understand."

Jacob Peneston, who wrote and directed the short piece, agrees that teenagers are more likely to respond to people of similar age who are more in touch with the underage drinking culture.

"I think it's a lot more effective, because if you watch something made by adults they think they know everything and made by us we know what's happened recently and how it's done."

The 20-year-old Brooksby student says the film does not directly discourage underage drinking, but warns them to "know their limits, when to stop".

PC Wills has received positive feedback from Melton's young people who feel they can relate the the catchy music, and local setting.

the movie can be seen on this website:




Juraj Filip

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leicester/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8331000/8331979.stm