Archive for April, 2010
British Columbia Announces New Drunk Driving Law
British Columbia introduced on Tuesday a new drunk driving law designed to make the province’s roads the safest across Canada.
AHN reports that the law, according to BC Solicitor General Mike de Jong, will take effect in fall. De Jong said the law was made in memory of four-year old BC resident Alexa Middelaer, who was hit and killed by a drunk driver while Alexa was feeding a horse on a road in Delta in 2008.
Author Mary Karr Recalls the Shame of Being an Alcoholic Mother
Mary Karr, former Harvard professor and best-selling poet and author, knows all too well the treacherous cycle that faces every alcoholic mother. "There was a moment when I realized I was drinking every day and I couldn’t quit, and it was shocking to me, in a way," Karr told 20/20 co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas. "I was depressive, it’s a depressant drug, which is how it works. It’s insidious, because initially alcohol works for an alcoholic."
Calgary Police Pushing for Legislation to Curb Drunk Driving
Police in Calgary, Alberta, are calling for tougher measures against drunk drivers, hoping to change the law so anyone can be pulled over without reasonable grounds of suspicion. The legislation is currently before parliament.
Researcher Hopes to Find More Accurate Alcohol-Use Test
Researcher Willard M. Freeman is working on a protein project that he hopes will lead to the creation of a simple, more accurate diagnostic test to measure alcohol usage than those now available, writes Chris Sholly of Lebanon Daily News.
How Alcoholics Are Perceived
Alcoholics are not finished battling the disease when they reach sobriety. Their struggle continues with changing behaviors and social connections that might tempt them into a relapse, and often it is an ongoing, daily challenge not to relapse.
Link between Alcohol Abuse and Indigenous Violence in Australia
A new study finds that indigenous Australians are up to 20 times more likely to commit offenses of violence, due overwhelmingly to alcohol abuse.
Naltrexone Can Reduce Healthcare Costs for those with Alcohol Use Disorders
Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs), referring to both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, affect nearly 8.5 percent of the American population, are associated with numerous medical, psychiatric, family, legal, and work-related problems, and cost an estimated $185 billion in 1998. A new study has found that oral naltrexone can reduce both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related healthcare costs for patients with AUDs. Results will be published in the June 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco Disorders on Cognition in Middle Age
Many of the effects of alcohol and tobacco are seen immediately. Alcohol can lower inhibitions and cause behaviors that would not otherwise be seen in individuals, and tobacco can mediate stress in those who use it. Alcohol and cigarette disorders can show pathologically negative behavior patterns that affect many areas, from social to financial.