Amatuer Night!!

New Years Eve! A night when the vast majority of Americans feel the irresistible need to get trashed in order to sufficiently celebrate the end of the year. The accepted, and even expected, norm in this country is that tonight is THE most appropriate night to use and abuse recreational alcohol. What will often happen is that a ton of people that do not normally drink will overdo it and end up completely wasted. The true alcoholics will look at them as amatuers and scoff.

I have never been one to imbibe and even I feel the pressure to do something "special" to commemorate the event. Of course, the problem is finding something worthy to do on such a night. The easy and unimaginative answer is to consume alcohol along with millions of others in the country. Kind of pathetic that we, as Americans, cannot come up with something more original and interesting than getting trashed to celebrate the changing of the calendar.

My challenge to everyone is to be original. Find something better to do.

Scary People Out There!

I think that there is one obvious thing that criminals have in common: they are all lazy. They do not want to work for a living and are always looking for the easy way. Muggers tend to look for the weak and unprotected to attack. Burglars look for the house with no alarm system. When you are impaired by alcohol you are weak and often easy prey. Unfortunately, there are those in our world who will specifically look to find and take advantage of someone in a weakened state. Clearly, this is no secret. So why would anyone intentionally make themselves a potential target of the bad people that are out there?

Another huge part of this notion is that there are unscrupulous men who cruise bars for especially drunk women. Tragically, this is not at all uncommon and is almost condoned in a lot of ways by our society. Even worse, it is very common practice by some guys to take women out to specifically get them drunk for the purpose of taking advantage of them. Why in the world would a woman want to be seduced in that manner? Ladies, protect yourselves better and avoid the alcohol in social situations. You will make better decisions and less of a likely victim if you do.

Liquor before beer, in the clear? Beer before liquor, Never sicker?

OK. So there is this catchy phrase to help you remember whether to start drinking beer before or after you start the "hard liquor". The thing is that if you drink enough you will most likely get sick. Some claim to "never"get sick when they play the recreational alcohol game but there is always the first time for everybody I have ever known personally to drink too much. Very perplexing decision to consume something that has a very good chance of making you sick.

My thought is, of course, why bother in the first place. If and when you do get sick you will certainly regret being so foolish. Nothing sadder or more of a turn off than seeing what would normally be a very attractive person yacking their guts up behind the bar. Or even worse, IN THE BAR. I can assure you that a soft drink has never impacted me that way.

41% of accidents are alcohol related

According to the the ads I keep seeing from the Tennessee Governor's Highway Safety Office, 41% of all automobile accidents are alcohol related. Even more frightening the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 32 percent of all traffic deaths from 2007 occurred in crashes in which at least one driver had a BAC at or above 0.08 percent and that some alcohol was present in 37 percent of drivers involved in all traffic fatalities. Thirty-five percent of pedestrians killed in crashes also had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Such statistics do not mean that a third or more of all fatal crashes are caused solely by alcohol, because alcohol may be only one of several factors that contribute to a crash involving drinking drivers.

Impossible to ignore the data that indicates that alcohol truly impairs your driving ability and makes it a very risky activity. Why bother to drink and drive? Why bother to drink at all?

Drunks are NOT attractive!

"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others." - Samuel Johnson

This certainly works both ways for men and women. Alcohol may make you think you look great and give you some false confidence. At the end of the day/night, someone that has slurred speech, beer breath, cannot walk straight or even say their ABC's is just plain unattractive. The only people that would be attracted to a drunk are predators or other drunks. Why would you want to get involved with either of those options?

Students Against Destructive Decisions!!

Looking around for something to post and ran across SADD (http://www.sadd.org/mission.htm). I am pretty sure I had heard of them previously but their mission is very solid. They started as a group against drunk driving, like MADD. Now they have expanded to cover any and all destructive behavior from a peer support perspective.

This appears to be an organization worth supporting.

Alcohol kills brain cells!! .... not really.

Well, the impact of too much alcohol, or other drugs, it is often described as killing brain cells even though research tends to disagree. The truth is that alcohol interrupts the communications between the brain cells while one is under the influence. Most of the time the connectivity is restored over time but there can be a longer lasting impact. When the communication is restored, it does not always connect things exactly as they were originally. Also, research has shown that it can take weeks for the impact of binge drinking to be completely overcome. Reaction times of someone that was intoxicated will be slowed weeks later.

MADD launches The Power of Parents, It's Your Influence www.thepowerofparents.org

From their Twitter Page:

MADD launches The Power of Parents, It's Your Influence www.thepowerofparents.org

The premise is that parents need to be prepared about how they will talk to their children about alcohol use. Of course, our theory is "Why bother with alcohol?".

From www.jointogether.org:

A GfK Roper Youth Report showed 74% of kids (age 8-17) said their parents are the leading influence on their decisions about drinking. Data also shows that a zero tolerance message from parents to teens is the most effective in deterring underage drinking and it also supports the lifesaving 21 drinking age law, which is in all 50 states. (View the multimedia news release)

The point here is TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN because they stand a really good chance of listening to you.

Research Shows Alcohol Increases Spread of Cancer

Wow. This is profound if it ends up being confirmed by other studies. According to a study by the Rush University Medical Center, when they applied Alcohol to colon and breast cancer cells, the cells became more aggressive in spreading.

I read the initial summary on www.jointogether.org and had to share this one. If you know somebody that has or is at a high risk or having cancer, you should let them know about this study and discourage any and all alcohol use for them.

The actual study appeared in the October 2009 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Stereotypes Can Fuel Teen Misbehavior

Interesting article from Reuters about the impact of peer pressure and parental expectations on teen behavior. The research cited is published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence. Th econlcusion is that you often get what you expect from your teenage children.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS168645+16-Oct-2009+PRN20091016

Some interesting points from the researcher article that seem to really align with what AFA believes:

"* Parents' own behavior is a powerful example. Do not suggest in your words or behavior that the only or best way to have fun is through drinking, sex or drug use.
* Let your teenager know that many adolescents resist drinking, smoking or early sexual activity.
* Draw attention to examples of teenagers who are doing positive things. Convey confidence that your child can do the same, and will not be alone in doing so.
* Communicate and support avenues for having fun without negative risk-taking. Teenagers who get into trouble are often simply seeking ways to relieve stress or have fun. Parents who understand this need can offer ideas and opportunities that are healthy and legal.
* Make your own home a fun and comfortable place for your teenager and his/her friends to socialize. Do not allow negative risk-taking such as drinking to occur in your own home under your supervision.
* Encourage and support involvement in positive extracurricular activities, such as community service, sports, music, theater, faith-based youth groups or other activities.
* Pay attention to your teenager's peer choices. Positive peer pressure exists! Encourage and support affiliation with other teens who are involved in positive activities and not getting into trouble. Get to know other parents, and encourage affiliations with families who share your values.
* Make sure your teenager knows that there will be negative consequences if he or she engages in negative risk-taking, and follow through if such risk-taking occurs. Lack of consequences implicitly communicates that parents accept such behaviors."

Alcohol is addictive!!

You ever wonder why there is a group called Alcoholics Anonymous and other alcohol treatment programs? Well, here is the shocker, ALCOHOL IS ADDICTIVE!! Yes, hard to believe it when you look at how most of America looks at alcohol but alcohol is something that has the potential to get hold of you just like other mind altering drugs. The acceptance of recreational alcohol use by Americans tends to give cover to the addictive nature of adult beverages. In fact, this cover works so well that many people who are textbook examples of an alcholic can continue to fool themselves and others that they do not have a problem. This is a truly dangerous situation and consistently ruins many many lives. Why would you bother with such a drug?

No, alcohol does not actually taste good.

Contrary to what some people tell me when I ask them why they drink alcohol, Alcoholic drinks do NOT taste good. Some taste better than others but I will never accept the concept that they actually taste good. If you like fruity drinks it is because of the fruit, not the alcohol. If you like dark beer it is an acquired taste as you probably tried to find a beer you liked to fit in. Here is my favorite test. Does it taste better than a milkshake? If the answer is "no" then why do you bother.

Alcohol is a drug.

According to all credible sources, the Alcohol in "adult beverages' is Ethyl Alcohol or Ethanol. Yes, that is the same stuff they use for fuel. Of course, you cannot drink gasoline. So most of what you can legally buy is 40 percent ethanol with some REALLY strong stuff being 75-9o according to "How Stuff Works". Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and one of the most abused DRUGS in America. ALCOHOL IS A DRUG and should be treated as such. Its impact is a direct and destructuve result of impairing the central nervous system. Why would anybody want to deal with that? I know I choose not to.

National Gordie Day

9/24/2009 was National GORDIEday across the United States, Canada and the WORLD!

National GORDIEday is an alcohol and hazing awareness event held each fall. The Gordie Foundation coordinates efforts with colleges, universities and high schools, and provides educational materials to participating institutions. The Second-Annual National GORDIEday was held during National Hazing Prevention Week.

The story behind this foundation and the event is tragic. get more info at: http://www.gordie.org/Gordies-Story.aspx

Researcher find that drinking by young teens may predispose brain to addiction.

From Join Together.org:

"Brain changes caused by drinking before age 15 could predispose adolescents to a lifetime of alcohol dependency, HealthDay News reported Sept. 18.

Researcher Arpana Agrawal of the Washington University School of Medicine, who studied alcohol use among twins, said that early drinking "may induce changes in the highly sensitive adolescent brain, which may also modify an individual's subsequent genetic vulnerability" to addiction.

Agrawal found that age of first alcohol use corresponded with a greater number of alcohol dependency symptoms. Those who started drinking later in life were less likely to be dependent even if they were genetically predisposed to addiction, the study found."

I have found that not starting at all completely prevents the addiction to recreational alcohol.

Teens Who Eat Infrequent Family Dinners Likelier to Drink, Smoke, Use Drugs

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana; more than one and a half times likelier to use alcohol; and twice as likely to expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners V, a new report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The moral here is to spend time with your family to give them the best chance of making good decisions about substance abuse.

This is not at all surprising to me. A study of 14,000 binge drinkers found that 12 percent admitted driving after their most recent episode of heavy alcohol consumption, the Associated Press reported Sept. 1. I would actually bet the real percentage is more like 35-40% but not that many people would actually admit it. How many people do you know who are actually responsible enough to make travel arrangements other than driving home 100% of the time. My anecdotal sense of it is that most all binge drinkers have driven home drunk on more that one occasion. I have to ask, will they think it is worth it when the odds eventually catch up to them and they end up being a drunk driving casualty or hurt somebody else.

Study indicates Binge Drinking Leaves a Lasting Physiological Impact

Citing a study by University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, the LA Times reported 08/11/09 that young adults who indulge in "Binge" drinking have diminished memory abilities in comparison to those who do not. The subjects of the study were not showing alcoholic tendencies other than occasionally overdoing it but they still had difficulty performing in cognitive tests while sober. This tells me that alcohol has a lingering effect on your brain well after you get sober.

LA Times Article

University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain Study

Per www.jointogether.org .... "The BBC reported Aug. 1 that Nick Sheron, a University of Southampton researcher and member of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said that the daily limits of three to four units of alcohol for men and two to three units for women lacked solid scientific backing and are confusing to the public. He recommended that the U.K. return to the former practice of weekly recommended alcohol consumption limits -- 21 units for men and 14 for women."

Of course it is confusing. The better answer is to not drink recreational alcohol at all. TO say 1 or 2 drinks is OK is like saying half a spoon of rat poison is OK. Why not recommend zero?

Harry Potter movies too!!

Per www.jointogether.org:
"Alcohol use is highly prevalent in the latest Harry Potter movie, with characters frequently quaffing mead and other forms of alcoholic beverages in key scenes, the New York Times reported July 28.

Key figures in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" are shown drinking, including a scene where Harry himself engages in celebratory imbibing with his professors. Hermoine, Neville, and Ron are also shown drinking at various points in the film. Hagrid, their mentor, gets drunk and passes out."

I have yet to see the movie but there is said to be a specific correlation to Hermoine and how alcohol seems to keep her from being so tightly wound. This is exactly the perspective that Alcohol Free America wants to combat. Hermoine would be much better served to find a less destructive means of dealing with her stress.

Maybe LenDale is on to something.

The star running back for the Tennessee Titans LenDale White was probably joking at some level. However, I think he may have been onto something when he stated that he thinks he was able to lose more weight by drinking less alcohol. It does make sense if you think about it, There is a reason they call it a beer gut. Who knows, LenDale might have been able to lose more weight faster if he had quit drinking recreational alcohol altogether.

Et Tu Obama??

Yes, even our wonderful President seems to think recreational alcohol can repair anything. This last week he invited a police officer and Harvard professor to the White House to share a beer. Somehow dulling their senses and killing a few brain cells was supposed to heal the racial divide. Whatever!!

Alchol Free America

The Alcohol Free America organization and site will be dedicated to the notion that it is totally acceptable and even preferred not to drink recreational alcohol. This blog is being set up as a test as we establish the web presence.