Buddy T’s Blog at About Alcoholism reported today that “Alcoholism advocates are up in arms about proposed new USDA dietary guidelines for alcohol consumption that they say will redefine moderate drinking and encourage drinking at a risky level. Moreover, some critics of the proposed guidelines say there is no evidence that moderate drinking is beneficial in the first place.”

The advocates are encouraging public comments on the proposed guidelines before the deadline this Thursday, July 15, 2010. You can read the full story by clicking here.

If you are trying to maintain a clean and sober life and you have a tendency to deal with stressful situations by avoiding them, you could be setting yourself up for a relapse. Researchers have found that addicts who deal with problems by avoiding them experience twice the number of cravings for drugs during a stressful day than those who use coping skills to work through their problems.
Recovering addicts who avoid coping with stress give in more easily to cravings and therefore are more likely to relapse during recovery.

Researchers studied 55 college students who were in recovery from substance abuse – alcohol, cocaine or club drugs. Each student was given a PDA device and asked to record their daily cravings and the intensity of any negative social experiences, as well as their strategies for coping with stress.

Stress Linked to Cravings

First, the researchers found that the number of stressful experiences the recovering addicts had during the day was directly related to the number of cravings they experienced on a daily basis.

They also found that link between experiencing stress and the level of the cravings they experienced was related to the students’ reliance on “avoidance coping.”

“We found that addicts who deal with stress by avoiding it have twice the number of cravings in a stressful day compared to persons who use problem solving strategies to understand and deal with the stress,” said Penn State’s H. Harrington Cleveland in a news release. “Avoidance coping appears to undercut a person’s ability to deal with stress and exposes that person to variations in craving that could impact recovery from addiction.”

Avoiding Stress Doesn’t Work

The authors of the study concluded that trying to avoid stress does not work for addicts, simply because it is impossible to completely avoid all stressful experiences. Avoiding problems end up just multiplying those problems, causing even more stress.

Those in the student who were more likely to remain in recovery without relapse were those who used coping skills to work through a problem head on, rather than trying to avoid it.

The study was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

The NSDUH sample includes a subsample of parents and children who live in the same household. The survey annually collects data on the use of alcohol and illicit drugs,1 including questions about symptoms of dependence or abuse. Dependence or abuse is defined using criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),2 which include symptoms such as withdrawal, tolerance, use in dangerous situations, trouble with the law, and interference in major obligations at work, school, or home during the past year.

This issue of The NSDUH Report examines rates of adolescent substance use and substance use disorders (i.e., dependence on or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs) by level of alcohol use in the past year among fathers (i.e., no alcohol use, alcohol use but no alcohol use disorder, and alcohol use disorder). It focuses on biological, step-, adoptive, and foster children aged 12 to 17 who were living with their fathers at the time of the survey interview.3 All findings are based on annual averages from combined 2002 to 2007 NSDUH data.

Conversely, young people 19 or 20 years old who are not in a relationship are 40% more likely to use marijuana.

Many studies have shown that marriage among older people reduces the chance that people will drink heavily or smoke pot frequently, but the new study showed that just dating can have the same effect for young people.

Catching Up With Their Peers

The University of Washington study followed 909 young people from first and second grade through two years after high school. There were some surprises in the research findings:

• Those who were not in a relationship at age 19 and 20 smoked and drank less than their peers when they were in high school.
• After high school, however, those not in relationships catch up or surpass their peers in substance abuse.

Spending Less Times in the Bar

The authors of the study speculate that the reason that young people in relationships are less likely to drink and smoke less is because they are happier and get social support from their partners. They spend less time at parties and bars and less time with their drinking friends.
The researchers found that there was an exception to their findings about dating and substance abuse. If a person is dating someone who is a heavy drinker or drug user, it raises the odds that the person will smoke and drink.

Source: Alcoholism Blog of Buddy T.

(H.A.L.T. is an independent 12-Step Substance Abuse Meeting for Alcoholics and Addicts following the format of Alcoholics Anonymous that meets daily at Noon at the Spring Valley Club, 2400 South Jones, Unit 10, Las Vegas, NV 89146.)

Developmental changes factor into underage drinking. For example, as a high school student transitions to college, he or she may experience greater freedom and autonomy, creating more opportunities to use alcohol. Underage drinking also can influence development, potentially affecting the course of a person’s life. For example, alcohol use can interfere with school performance and/or negatively affect peer relationships.

This Alcohol Alert examines the complex relationship between underage drinking and development: how developmental factors influence drinking, the social and physical consequences of alcohol use, and how various developmental stages can be specifically targeted to design more effective measures for preventing or treating underage drinking. For the full study fron NIAAA, Click Here.

(H.A.L.T. is an independent 12-Step Substance Abuse Meeting for Alcoholics and Addicts following the format of Alcoholics Anonymous that meets daily at Noon at the Spring Valley Club, 2400 South Jones, Unit 10, Las Vegas, NV 89146.)

After years of inaction, WHO has taken steps for the first time to address the No. 8 cause of death worldwide.

The recommendations range from community prevention efforts, to lowering legal limits for drunk driving, to raising taxes on alcoholic beverages to limiting the sales and marketing of alcohol. The policy, in the works for at least two years, has been carefully monitored by the alcohol industry, which of course does not agree with the WHO findings.

The industry contends that raising taxes and limiting alcohol advertising does not reduce harmful drinking, contrary to research used by WHO to make its recommendations.

The policies and interventions of the organization fall into 10 general areas:

1. Leadership, Awareness and Commitment – The WHO encourages member states to develop policies based on available evidence and tailored to local circumstances, with clear objectives, strategies and targets. Each country should appoint an agency to coordinate carrying out the action plan and policies.
2. Health Services’ Response – WHO recommends increasing the capacity of health and social welfare systems to deliver prevention, treatment and care for alcohol-use and alcohol-induced disorders and co-morbid conditions.
3. Community Action – Among the recommendations for community is developing plans to prevent the selling of alcohol to underage drinkers and developing alcohol-free environments for young people and other at-risk groups.
4. Drunk-driving policies and countermeasures – The WHO recommends lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit for drunk driving, using sobriety checkpoints, using breath tests and ignition interlock devices, among other steps.
5. Availability of Alcohol – Recommendations include regulating the number of retail alcohol outlets, limiting the hours of sales and eliminating sales in certain areas.
6. Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages – The policy recommends limiting the content and volume of alcohol advertising, regulating sponsorship activities involving alcoholic beverages and regulation new media/social network advertising.
7. Pricing Policies – According to the WHO report, “Increasing the price of alcoholic beverages is one of the most effective interventions to reduce harmful use of alcohol.” The policy recommends raising taxes on alcohol, prohibiting promotional pricing and establishing minimum prices for alcoholic beverages.
8. Reducing the Negative Consequences of Drinking and Alcohol Intoxication – Among the recommendats are enforcing laws against serving someone who is intoxicated, reducing the strength of alcoholic drinks, and labeling alcoholic beverages to warn of the harm of excess drinking.
9. Reducing the Public Health Impact of Illicit Alcohol and Informally Produced Alcohol – The production of “informal alcohol” is still ingrained in many cultures. The WHO recommends bringing these illegally produced beverages into the taxation system and regulating their quality, while warning the public about their dangers.
10. Monitoring and Surveillance – The policy recommends periodic national surveys on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm to determine how the new steps are affecting harmful drinking in the country.

(H.A.L.T. is an independent 12-Step Substance Abuse Meeting for Alcoholics and Addicts following the format of Alcoholics Anonymous that meets daily at Noon at the Spring Valley Club, 2400 South Jones, Unit 10, Las Vegas, NV 89146.)

As such, this is not a typical blog that invites colloquy or allows the posting comments. It engages in neither.

Its sole purpose is to help dispel the misinformation that exists relating to addiction, not to debate it. There are many venues available for that purpose. We especially recommend About.com’s About Alcoholism site, or Buddy T. at About.com,  if you want to discuss, engage or debate.