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!!