Gary Reisfield, M.D., University of Florida College of Medicine, said in a Medical News Today report that a person’s body can’t really tell the difference between the alcohol found in hand sanitizers and that of alcoholic drinks, so people who use sanitizers and other types of mouthwash or cosmetics should be aware of the products’ alcohol content.

According to the study, the overuse of certain hand sanitizers that have alcohol as their base can show a positive result for some kinds of alcohol tests. Furthermore, people who are sensitive to alcohol – and those trying to recover from addiction — should be aware that the alcohol found in hand sanitizers and other household products can be the same as the alcohol type found in alcoholic beverages.

The type of alcohol test most vulnerable to false positive results from hand sanitizers or other formulas is the EtG, which detects substances remaining once the body has processed the alcohol. This type of test can also pick up on alcohol that has been in the body for a duration of time. However, researchers may have also located a biomarker that could help alcohol tests to know the difference between hand exposure to alcohol and the type of exposure found from consuming it.

When the urine was tested from study participants who used alcohol-based sanitizers on their hands about every five minutes during a work shift, typically ten hours, a three-day span showed levels of alcohol in their urine that was similar to levels found in people who consume alcohol. Examining more closely the levels of the biomarker ethyl sulfate may help researchers to know for sure whether a person’s alcohol levels are coming from hand products or actual consumption, and can help to prevent the serious consequences of someone receiving a false positive test for alcohol use.

Hand Sanitizers, Household Products Contain Same Alcohol as Beverages; May Skew Tests, Says Study is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The study was conducted by researchers at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), and is available at www.camy.org. It found that although 325 alcohol brands advertised in magazines in 2008, only 16 brands accounted for half the advertising in publications with more youth readership. These brands included Patron Silver Tequila, Absolut Vodka, Kahlua, Ketel One Vodka, and Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey.

Despite the 2003 pledge, youth are still exposed to alcohol-related ads in magazines. A previous CAMY report found that from 2001 to 2005, 80 percent of youth exposure came from alcohol ads in publications read by more people ages 12 to 20 than those over age 21. As of 2008, 78 percent of youth exposure to alcohol ads came from these same types of magazines.

David H. Jernigan, CAMY director, said that although it doesn’t make sense to advertise to people who cannot purchase alcohol, a small amount of brands continue to do so, despite efforts to reduce youth exposure.

For the study, researchers at CAMY and Virtual Media Resources looked at 29,026 alcohol-related advertisements in national magazines from 2001 to 2008, measuring exposure to alcohol ads. They found that the number of ads placed by distilled spirits companies (the largest alcohol advertisers in magazines) decreased by 34 percent, and ads placed by brewers increased by 158 percent. Youth exposure to distilled spirits ads fell by 62 percent and exposure to beer ads increased by 57 percent during this time period.

The study also found that overall advertising exposure declined for all age groups as distillers removed their advertising from magazines—exposure for those over age 21 decreased by 29 percent and exposure for those under 21 fell by 31 percent. By 2008, there were almost no alcohol ads placed in publications with more than 30 percent of readers being under age 21. However, the 30 percent standard affected ads in only nine of the 160 magazines that featured alcohol advertising between 2001 and 2008.

Jernigan said that beer ads seem to be filling the gap left by distilled spirits brands, which defeats the purpose of decreasing alcohol advertisements in magazines with youth readership.

Sources: Science Daily, Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads in Magazines Declining, August 10, 2010

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Prevalence of Underage Drinking Fact Sheet
 

Fewer Young People Exposed to Alcohol Ads in Magazines, but Beer Ads Have Increased is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Alcohol consumption increases the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine into the brain, which creates a pleasurable feeling. The dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) seems to be involved in reward-seeking behavior, and previous research suggests that people who carry a variant of this gene (one that includes seven or more repeats of a certain section of the gene) may be more prone to experiencing cravings caused by drinking cues.

In the study, participants were brought into a makeshift pub and were asked to rate a series of commercials. After rating some commercials, participants were told there would be a 30-minute break and that they could have any alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks at the bar. Those who knew what the study was about (confederates) were told to order alcoholic drinks immediately, and the researchers looked at which participants followed their lead. Saliva samples were also taken from participants for DNA analysis.

The researchers found that when the confederate was seen having three to four alcoholic beverages, participants with the 7-repeat form of the gene drank twice as much alcohol as those without the gene. But when the confederate had only one drink, there was no difference in consumption between those with the gene variant and those without. This suggests that people with the DRD4 variant gene may be more influenced by social drinking cues, which would increase the risk of developing an alcohol-use disorder.

The authors noted that the risk is especially higher for those with the variant gene when spending time with peers who drink heavily.

Sources: Science Daily, Can I Buy You a Drink? Genetics May Determine Sensitivity to Other People’s Drinking Behavior, July 23, 2010

Psych Central, Rick Nauert, PhD, Genetics Influence Drinking Decisions, July 23, 2010

Genes May Determine Susceptibility to Social Drinking Cues is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Astrid Milde-Busch, Ph.D. and colleagues at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, were the first to examine modifiable risk factors for different types of headaches among adolescents. Their study appears online in Headache, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell.

While modifiable risk factors such as alcohol consumption, coffee drinking, and cigarette smoking, have been associated with headaches in adults, they haven’t been thoroughly examined among youths. Previous studies have found that adolescents frequently complain of headaches: 5 to 15 percent of adolescents suffer from migraines, and 15 to 25 percent experience tension headaches.

The researchers surveyed 1,260 students from ages 14-20, asking them questions about headaches and lifestyle. If they said they had headaches during the last seven days, three months, or six months, they were classified as headache sufferers. They differentiated between migraine and tension headaches through reported symptoms, and they also asked about diet and lifestyle, including questions about coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol.

The results found that 83.1% had headaches at least during the last six months, with 10.2% suffering from migraine, 48.7% suffering tension headaches, and 19.8% with both migraine and tension headaches. As for diet, 28.4% of students never ate breakfast, 16.5% didn’t eat a daily snack, and only 24.0% had lunch daily. It was found that 22.3% drank less than 1 liter of non-alcoholic beverages per day. However, alcohol consumption was prevalent: 38.5%, 18.6%, and 25.3% drank beer, wine, and cocktails at least once per week (respectively). Of the students, 73.3% said they didn’t smoke and 43.4% students said they didn’t drink coffee.

The authors found a strong association between drinking alcohol and coffee, smoking, and lack of physical activity and migraines plus tension headaches. Those who drank caffeine and had little physical activity were far more likely to experience migraines.

The study suggests that adolescents who suffer from headaches could benefit from regular exercise and abstaining from alcohol. Teens who experience migraines should keep coffee drinking to a minimum.

Source: Science Daily, Alcohol Use and Smoking Are Associated with Headaches in High Schoolers, June 9, 2010. 

Drinking and Smoking Linked to Migraines in High-School Students is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

In an annually commissioned survey conducted by Australia’s Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER), 1,014 participants were polled on their attitudes regarding alcohol consumption and behaviors. Approximately one of out every three women surveyed (30%) admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages while pregnant or breastfeeding. Most surprisingly, these women still choose to engage in alcohol consumption even though 90% of the survey’s participants agree that drinking while pregnant should be avoided, and 87% agree that drinking should be avoided while breastfeeding.

In response to this new data, Australian health experts are prompting the renewal of health warning labels on the country’s alcoholic beverages. By integrating more informative health advisory statements on all alcohol products, health experts are hoping that this alarming statistic of drinking mothers can be reduced. Prenatal alcohol exposure has the potential to cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) which create irreversible mental, physical, and developmental damage to the baby. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and FASD can cause such alcohol-related birth defects as facial deformities, growth deficiencies, lung, heart, and kidney abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, impaired cognitive development, and behavioral disorders. All of these effects are permanent, yet are completely preventable if the woman abstains from alcohol while pregnant. According to AER’s survey, 8% of Australians still find it acceptable to drink in moderation during pregnancy, and 9% believe it is acceptable to drink while breastfeeding. Even though alcohol products are exceptionally hazardous to one’s health, their product information still remains drastically less informative than such average food products as a carton of milk. AER believes that educating the public on the dangers of alcohol consumption should be a priority health concern for Australia.

In the U.S., the Surgeon General advises that pregnant women or women who may become pregnant should completely abstain from alcohol consumption due to the severe potential risks to the fetus. According to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), alcohol consumption remains the leading cause of mental retardation and birth defects in the U.S., where 50% of births are unplanned. The U.S. is one of 43 countries worldwide that mandate health warning labels on alcohol products, and one of 14 countries that require a product statement regarding the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Even though knowledge of alcohol’s health risks are publicly well known, the inclusion of warning labels directly on alcohol products will provide this crucial information to potential consumers at that critical moment of decision-making. Currently in Australia, alcohol manufacturers are not required to include a health advisory statement on alcohol’s risk of disease or illness on their products, nor are they mandated to list their products’ ingredients. Health officials and the community at large in Australia would prefer to have health warning labels required for such a hazardous product as alcohol, and some are supporting legislation in government to implement mandatory product regulation.

There currently is no national data on the prevalence of FASD in Australia, which causes health experts to believe that the issue has been under-addressed to the general public as well as under-researched. According to AER, FASD is most widespread among undereducated communities, lower-socioeconomic regions, and households that have a lack of health resources. Integrating a health warning label to alcohol products would provide these targeted populations with much needed information to help them make better decisions regarding their families’ health and wellbeing. The rate of FASD costs national economies, like that of the U.S., billions of dollars each year in direct and indirect expenses. The requirement of a health warning label on alcohol products costs virtually nothing extra to manufacture, and the result of healthier families pays itself off. 

One in Three Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women Drink Alcohol in Australia is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

“Several studies have shown that specific health behaviors, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, higher alcohol intake and, to a lesser extent, diets low in fruits and vegetables, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature mortality [death]," the authors write as background information in the article. Most studies that examine the effects of these behaviors control for other unhealthy behaviors to identify independent effects. However, several poor lifestyle choices may coexist in the same individual.

"To fully understand the public health impact of these behaviors, it is necessary to examine both their individual and combined impact on health outcomes," write Elisabeth Kvaavik, Ph.D., of University of Oslo, Norway, and colleagues. The researchers interviewed 4,886 individuals age 18 or older in 1984 to 1985. "A health behavior score was calculated, allocating one point for each poor behavior: smoking; fruits and vegetables consumed less than three times daily; less than two hours physical activity per week; and weekly consumption of more than 14 units [one unit equals 8 grams, or about 0.3 ounces] of alcohol (in women) and more than 21 units (in men)."

During an average of 20 years of follow-up, 1,080 participants died — 431 from cardiovascular disease, 318 from cancer and 331 from other causes. When compared with participants who had no poor health behaviors, the risk of death from all causes and from each cause increased with each additional behavior.

Individuals with four compared with zero poor health behaviors had about three times the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease or cancer, four times the risk of dying from other causes and an overall death risk equivalent to being 12 years older.

"Modest but achievable adjustments to lifestyle behaviors are likely to have a considerable impact at both the individual and population level," the authors conclude. "Developing more efficacious methods by which to promote healthy diets and lifestyles across the population should be an important priority of public health policy."

Smoking and Alcohol Consumption Contribute to Increase Risk of Death is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The BBC reports that the commission said many young people are negatively affected, not by their own drinking choices, but by those of others. Their report identifies a gap in existing research into the impact of passive drinking on young people and adults.

The Youth Commission said adults should be encouraged into alcohol-free lifestyle choices which created a positive leisure time culture. They also said a complete ban of alcohol advertising in public places should be a long-term goal.

Members of the commission questioned their friends and fellow students, as well as talking to the drinks industry and doctors. Their findings will be handed to the minister for public health, Shona Robison, on Tuesday.

Youth Commissioner Ryan Leitch, 22, from Glasgow, said: "We based our recommendations on the evidence we received from alcohol experts and the Scottish people. There isn’t one answer so we have come up with a number of key approaches to improve Scotland’s relationship with alcohol."

Leitch said the Scottish government’s plan to introduce a minimum price for each unit of alcohol in a drink was not the only way of tackling the issue. He said the youth commission supported minimum pricing but a "multi-pronged" approach was need to tackle alcohol abuse.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: "Tackling alcohol misuse is a key priority for the Scottish government and we recognize both the need to protect young people from this potential harm and the role they can play in tackling Scotland’s reputation as a nation of heavy drinkers. The Youth Commission on Alcohol has been a unique piece of work, and engaging with these young people will provide further input to our ongoing action."

Young Scots Recommend Ban on Alcohol Advertising is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Shantee Woodards of HometownAnnapolis.com writes that Acme began using the decals about a month ago. “(The reactions) tend to change week to week,” said Kevin Epley, the bar’s owner. “The customers are usually surprised to scared to relieved when they come in. They say, ‘Oh my God!’ and then ‘Wow!’”

The Maryland Impaired Driving Coalition oversees the website, which offers state statistics and video interviews with Marylanders who have lost loved ones to accidents with drunk drivers. The site also provides a links and contact information to anyone who might need a designated driver in the state or in Washington, D.C.

The group worked with Annapolis-based Idle Time Advertising Company, which began distributing the cutouts the week before the Super Bowl; they went to 24 bars in the state. Acme and The Whiskey on West Street are the only county establishments to have them.

Another launch will begin in time for St. Patrick’s Day, said Jeremy Gunderson, project coordinator for the program. The group’s next step also includes a plan to illuminate a sign on Madison Street in Baltimore that will announce vacancies for drunken drivers at nearby Central Booking in the city.

The response to the cutouts has been positive so far, with patrons posing with the faux drunkards and posting the pictures on Facebook. “We’re hoping that would-be drunk drivers see the message right before they leave the bar and make that decision,” Gunderson said. “We’re hoping the message isn’t so much fear of incarceration or injury, just to provide and make people aware of all of the alternatives that are out there to driving drunk.”

There were 8,427 accidents in Anne Arundel County in 2008, according to the latest figures available from the State Highway Administration. That includes 663 crashes in which alcohol was listed as a factor.

Both the Maryland House and Senate are reviewing a bill that would require those convicted of drunken driving to have a lock on their vehicle’s ignition that would prevent the car from starting until the driver passed a Breathalyzer test.

The Maryland Highway Safety Office also has community traffic safety coordinators in each county who aim to develop local messages about road safety.

William Meyers, the coordinator for Anne Arundel County, has been trying to get the word out about the drunken driving effort. He has distributed coasters that have messages similar to the cutouts, but hasn’t received any feedback yet.

Still, he said he believed this effort was a fresher way of sending what has become an old message. “So many people have a stake in traffic safety, and they all have a different message and they’re all trying to get the word out there,” Meyers said.

“I think that’s why we have to mix it up a little bit. You hear one thing so much that you kind of block it out. This is trying something new, so that’s why DUI is 4 Losers is out there.”

Lifelike Anti-Drunk-Driving Ads Get Message Across in Annapolis is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Sarah Netter of ABCNews.com writes that soldiers are now seeking treatment in record numbers, according to new figures put out by the Army. Nearly 9,200 soldiers sought treatment for alcohol abuse in 2009, a 56 percent increase since the war in Iraq started. Another 11,892 were required to undergo "alcohol education,” a 16-to-20-hour course for soldiers who were disciplined for an alcohol-related incident, but not found to have an actual abuse problem.

"There has always been a healthy work-hard, play-hard ethos to the military," Tom Tarantino, legislative director for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, told ABCNews.com. "It can turn very quickly over from being recreational to a problem."

Army officials say 85 percent of the soldiers who seek outpatient substance abuse treatment are there because of alcohol. The Army is now in the midst of a nationwide search for additional counselors in an effort to reduce the wait time for help from days down to hours. There is currently one counselor for every 2,000 soldiers.

"I don’t necessarily think they pay enough attention until it’s too late," said Brian, a three-tour Fort Hood area soldier who is more than two years sober and on temporary disability from the Army with traumatic brain injury and other extensive combat-related medical problems. Brian said it was the realization that his career in the military was over that prompted him to get treatment. "I realized I wasn’t ever going to have a job that was going to enable me to drink like in the military," he said.

Brian signed up for the Army nearly 12 years ago, and said he began drinking heavily after his first deployment to Iraq in 2003. Involved in four separate bomb attacks in that one tour, he “started drinking heavily to mask the pain.”

"Every night it was a minimum of a 12-pack, up to 24," he said. "I stayed at home, would sit and drink until 10 ‘o clock. I’d drink until my body shut down."

By Brian’s third tour in 2005, he was drinking the "near beers" you could buy on base that smelled like the real thing and had a very low alcohol content. He’d also get real beer in care packages from friends and family that didn’t realize he was addicted.

His soldiers would sometimes smell the alcohol on him, but Brian said he’d always have an excuse.

When a potential fourth tour raised questions about his physical ability to lead his command—he’d had multiple shoulder surgeries and had mesh implanted in his abdomen—Brian was put into the Army’s Warrior Transition Unit for injured soldiers. That’s where he realized he had to stop drinking. He called his wife and told her he was going to get treatment. He later found out she’d already been planning to take the children and leave him.

Tarantino, a retired Army captain, said stories like Brian’s drive home the need for more attention to combat-related mental health issues.

"Alcohol abuse is a symptom of the larger problem. It is not the larger problem," he said. "There is a stigma with saying ‘I need help.’ We’re all taught to be strong and macho and we can lift the world on our shoulders."

Bayas’ problems with alcohol went back years, even before he deployed to Iraq.
His attorney, Miguel Villalba, said Bayas, 36, had curbed his drinking after two DUI arrests in the 1990s, while he was in the Army.

But after pulling his best friend’s body out of an exploded tank on his first tour in Iraq in 2004 and going through a divorce after he got home, he started drinking again. And, his lawyers argued, it was no secret he had a problem. Looking at his 18-year military record, "his alcohol issue was never really addressed."

"That he had a drinking problem was known to the world," Villalba said. "And this was happening at a time when he was being given all kinds of commendations."

The drunk-driving accident that killed the 19-year-old college student happened just 10 days after Bayas got back from Iraq. He plowed through her car, which was stopped for a red light, going 60 mph without ever slowing down.

When police on scene asked him where he was headed, Villalba said, Bayas responded, "I was on my way to get my men. I was in Iraq. I was on my way to get my men."

His lawyer said Bayas was not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder until after his arrest. He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.

"He accepted full responsibility for it," Villalba said. "The effects of what has happened have been ravaging" for Bayas and the victim’s family.

The majority of the soldiers seeking counseling for alcohol abuse are 18 to 25 years old.
Army spokesman Hank Minitrez told ABCNews.com that they are trying to do better with reaching the young soldiers earlier.

"For many, shipping out for the Army is the first time away from home for our young soldiers, so they are experimenting with life so to speak," Minitrez wrote in an e-mail. "We are also dealing with younger brains that have not fully developed their executive functions — that little guy on our shoulder that says, ‘Don’t do it!’"
Gary Klozenbucher, clinical director of the Army Substance Abuse Program at Fort Riley in Kansas, told ABCNews.com that most of the soldiers they see in treatment are in the early stages of their addiction.

Some come in scared after being referred by a commander, he said. Others are defiant and insist they have their drinking under control. While many come in with a mix of substance abuse issues, alcohol is "absolutely" the most prevalent.

But Klozenbucher wasn’t convinced that deployments create alcohol problems.
"The majority of the time, the soldiers that we are seeing that have identified as having alcohol and drug problems after a deployment, most of those soldiers have had some history prior to the deployment," he said. "As far as the development of a drug problem, that can play a major role in the progression of the addiction."

He did concur, however, that alcohol abuse can be a catalyst for a host of other problems seen in Fort Riley soldiers, including legal, financial and domestic issues.

"Certainly we’re seeing those problems with our soldiers," Klozenbucher said. "There are a strong relationships with drug and alcohol problems."

Experts—both current Army employees and veterans—ay the difference between today’s soldiers and previous generations is that alcohol is viewed as more of a problem rather than a bonding experience.

"Back when I was in the Army, back in the 1970s and ’80s, we assumed drinking was mandatory," joked Larry Scott, an Army veteran and founder of vawatchdog.org, which keeps tabs on programs and news about the Army and Veterans Affairs. "Really don’t recall too many people who didn’t drink."

Scott even remembered a commander in Korea once pleading with his soldiers to try and keep it to two on-duty drinks at lunch.

"Drinking was as big a problem then as it is now. It just wasn’t as highlighted," he said. "I would say they’re moving in the right direction."

More Army Soldiers Seeking Treatment for Alcoholism is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Madeline Ellis of HealthNews.com writes that the study was carried out over two evenings, a week apart. In the 24-hour period before each of these evenings, the participants were required to abstain from alcohol, illicit drugs, sleep aids, and caffeine. On one night, the participants consumed either 100 proof Absolut vodka, which contains relatively few congeners, or 101 proof Wild Turkey bourbon, which has about 37 times more congeners than vodka, until their breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) levels reflected inebriation.

Another night they drank an alcohol-free placebo beverage. Overnight their sleep was monitored and the following morning they were asked to rate their hangover in terms of severity, ranging from little or no impact to incapacitating. They were also asked to perform tasks to access speed, vigilance, and concentration skills, and their polysomnography recordings were assessed.

Bourbon drinkers reported a worse hangover than those who drank vodka, suggesting that higher congener levels increase the intensity of the hangover. Alcohol also impaired the participants’ performance on the cognitive tasks and disrupted sleep, but there was no difference between the two alcoholic drinks. Most participants did not think that their driving ability was impaired in the morning. However, they said they would be less willing to drive the morning after alcohol than after placebo.

“The most important thing for people to realize is that if you’re feeling hung-over, you’re probably impaired in terms of performing tasks that require vigilance and making quick decisions,” said study author Dr. Damaris J. Rohsenow, associate director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University.

Rohsenow added that while people who drink to inebriation will still feel hungover from vodka or white wine, they “are going to feel sicker after drinking an alcohol—such as bourbon—which is among the darker liquors, and therefore has a lot more naturally toxic poisons in it.”

Dr. Marc Galanter, a professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, agrees that overindulgence is the root cause of a hangover, regardless of alcohol choice. “What’s clearly emerged is that it’s the alcohol content that is the most salient factor in terms of damage and long-term damage and addiction,” he said. “It’s the actual amount of alcohol that counts. Nonetheless, we see emerging some interesting issues in terms of which congeners go along with which alcohol. For example, in terms of what produces more hangover.”

The study will be published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

New Study Finds that the Color of Alcohol Effects Severity of Hangover is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment