Fresh Outlook on Addiction

For most, January represents not simply a new year, but a time to start a fresh or new outlook on life. For those with drug or alcohol addiction, the start of a new year can mean so much more, the chance to ultimately get clean before it is too late. Participating in a detoxification or rehab clinic treatment program is often the first step on the path to recovery from addiction.

Alcohol, Drug Rehab

Since setup, thousands have taken that journey with RehabClinics.Org.uk part of Panacea UK group of websites, Advanced Clinics for Addiction Treatment and assessments, recognized as working with best of the most successful and innovative private rehab clinics for addiction and rehabilitation in the country.

With Rehab Clinics in Bournemouth, as well as locations in Bedfordshire and Luton, Kingston upon Thames, Warrington, Chelmsford and Scotland, also further afield Countries like Spain, Cyprus, South Africa and Thailand.

The RehabClinic.Org.uk Institute is known as a leader in Drugs, Opiate, Alcohol, and Benzodiazepine detoxification treatments, as well as eating disorders therapy.

More specifically, The RehabClinics.Org.uk group has helped to free patients of substance abuse and addiction to Prescription Drugs, Heroin, Methadone, Cocaine, and other Drugs.

It’s noted for its use of the great Detox Clinics in combination with a number of therapies to treat addiction, including CBT and NLP with one to one counselling and group which is safer, more effective and less costly than other treatments.

More than 99% of its patients have been successfully and comfortably detoxed through this method. And being placed into the right drug rehab or alcohol treatment clinic makes all the difference.

People who depend on drugs or alcohol know full well how daunting it can be to pick and make a commitment to sobriety and for good. But they don’t have to face another year fighting with addiction alone. In the able and merciful hands of the treatment consultants and counselling staff at RehabClinic.org.uk, 2010 can signify the first day of the remainder of their healthy new drug or alcohol free lives.

If you or someone in your family has a Alcohol or Drug Addiction problem, RehabClinic.Org.uk will help finding a successful alcohol drug rehab program can be a life-saver. Just talking to someone who really understands what you are going through can make a difference. Call 0800 118 2982 now for free expert advice.

The RehabClinic.Org.uk has helped thousands of clients recover and get over the consequences of alcohol, heroin use and other drugs like Methadone, Cocaine and Prescription Drugs.

The mixture of the Rehab Detox Clinics Strategy with a counselling care program is what makes it unique among addiction treatment clinics and its success rate so high.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

After the Nutt affair: the future of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

GUEST POST FROM LESLIE IVERSEN AND RICHARD PHILLIPS

The government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been a focus for media attention in recent weeks. With the dismissal of its Chairman David Nutt and resignation of a further five members, the group faces a difficult few months – but remains as important as ever.

We are gravely concerned about the rapid rise of new and potentially harmful drugs often coined “legal highs”, many of which are inexpensive and readily available to young people. In this field of emerging risks, the ACMD can greatly assist the government in formulating a timely and proportionate response.

For example, before much of the recent press coverage of its dangers, the ACMD recognised the growing trend in abuse of the anaesthetic drug ketamine. The ACMD’s advice subsequently led to the recommendation that ketamine be made illegal — which the Home Secretary and parliament accepted and acted upon. In the current parliamentary session there is a proposal to classify a further five drugs or drug classes, including GBL, BZP and various forms of synthetic cannabis often sold under the name “spice”. All were recommended for classification by the ACMD as a result of a careful analysis of the scientific evidence for physical and social harms.

The Council also has serious concerns about the increasing use of other synthetic drugs such as mephedone, and is proposing a more rapid system of appraising such drugs before they get a foothold on our streets.

In keeping the wider picture of substance misuse under review, the Council periodically publishes in-depth thematic reports. These generally receive less media attention than classification decisions; though often have a more profound impact. As a historical benchmark, the ACMD report in 1988 on AIDS and Substance Misuse led directly to a public health response that today leaves us with one of the lowest rates of HIV amongst injecting drug users in Europe. In recent years, the Council has published reports on the impact on children of drug using parents; the patterns of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use by young people; and a proposed strategy to tackle the epidemic of Hepatitis C amongst injecting drug-users. If any of these reports has even a fraction of the long-term impact of the 1988 AIDS and Substance misuse report, the Council will be continuing to prove its worth over and above its input on classification.

Much of the recent comment and news coverage has misunderstood the composition of the Council. Of the total ACMD membership of thirty (prior to the recent resignations), eight are research scientists, covering the fields of pharmacology, chemistry, epidemiology, psychology and social sciences. The majority of members are physicians, psychiatrists and other professionals who deal directly with drug-users and the problems that drugs cause in society. These members have expertise spanning mental health and addiction; drug policy, criminology, forensic medicine, and drug treatment. In addition there are two senior police officers, a judge and a member of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. This diverse group, contributing its time without compensation, is well-placed to offer advice to government on all aspects of illicit drug use.

After recent problems, the Council will have to embark on a period of reconstruction. However, it is important to note the quality of work carried out by the ACMD and the positive impact if has made to drugs policy in this country. Over the 38 years since inception, the vast majority of recommendations made by the group have been accepted by government. This also is true of the present government, notwithstanding the problematic handling of the reports on Cannabis and Ecstasy.

The ACMD and government are working to revise working practices. Part of the approach will focus on the Principles for the Treatment of Independent Scientific Advice put forward by the Royal Society, and currently under review by the Chief Scientist, John Beddington. This should help clarify existing guidelines and allow for the distinction between advice and decision making – but treat the evidence and advisors with the respect and transparency they deserve.

We sincerely believe that the relationship between the Council and government can and must be repaired. It is in the wider interests of society that this process be supported and encouraged.

Source: Timesonline

Alcohol Related Deaths

The alcohol -related death rate in the UK continued to increase in 2006, rising from 12.9 deaths per 100,000 population in 2005 to 13.4 in 2006. Rates almost doubled from 6.9 per 100,000 in 1991. The number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled from 4,144 in 1991 to 8,758 in 2006.

In 2006 the male death rate (18.3 deaths per 100,000 population) was more than twice the rate for females (8.8 deaths per 100,000) and males accounted for two thirds of the total number of deaths.

For men, the death rates in all age groups increased between 1991 and 2006. The biggest increase was for men aged 35-54. Rates in this age group more than doubled, from 13.4 to 31.1 deaths per 100,000 over the period. However the highest rates in each year were for men aged 55-74.

Death rates by age group for females were consistently lower than rates for males, however trends showed a broadly similar pattern by age. The death rate for women aged 35 -54 doubled between 1991 and 2006, from 7.2 to 14.8 per 100,000 population, a larger increase than the rate for women in any other age group. As for men, the highest rates in each year were for the 55-74 age group.

Between 2005 and 2006, for both sexes, rates remained the same for those aged 15-34 and increased for those aged 35-54 and 55-74. There were small falls in the rates for those aged over 75, down 8 per cent for men and 6 per cent for women.

Current medical evidence shows that men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day and women not more than two to three. “Regularly” means drinking every day or most days of the week. Consistently drinking more than these amounts can risk damaging your health, with the danger increasing the longer you continue and the more you drink.

Did you know?

There are around 10 million people drinking above the Government’s recommended limits.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 premature deaths in England and Wales each year are associated with alcohol misuse.

Alcohol Abuse – The Facts!

An alcohol fact sheet published by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) reports that in developed countries, alcohol is the third leading cause of disease and injury, alcohol causing nearly 10 percent of all ill health and premature deaths in Europe. This is ahead of obesity, diabetes and asthma and second only to smoking and blood pressure conditions.

In addition to the large-scale problems of intoxication, addiction and a multitude of alcohol related social problems, alcohol on a worldwide level causes an estimated 20 – 30 percent of cancer of the oesophagus, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, homicide / murder and motor vehicle accidents.

“For advice about addiction, call the Rehab Clinic on 0800 118 2892″

In the 2002 World Health Report, the World Health Organisation estimated that globally 1.8 million people’s deaths every year are directly attributable to alcohol consumption. Moreover, it has been proven that a country’s drinking levels directly parallel the level of harm caused, ie the more a country drinks, the more alcohol-related harm occurs.

The UK is one of the top ten in the world for alcohol consumption per head of population and alcohol abuse is clearly escalating. The Office for National Statistics reported in November 2006 that the alcohol related death rate in the UK doubled from 4,144 deaths in 1991 to 8,386 deaths in 2005.

The death rate may be broken down by gender, with studies indicating that alcohol related death rates are much higher in males. The gap between female and male death rates is increasing and in 2005 the rate was more than twice that of females with males accounting for more than two thirds of the total alcohol related deaths.

Alcohol abuse as a cause of death in the UK has been estimated at 8000 – 40,000 according to the IAS. The lower figure constitutes deaths caused by alcohol defined causes such as chronic liver disease. The upper figure is an estimate of all other deaths in which alcohol has contributed but is not alcohol defined, such as falls, suicide and motor vehicle accidents.

Alcohol misuse within the UK is highest in Scotland. Whilst the population in England drink more frequently, the Scottish population are more likely to exceed recommended daily limits of alcohol with males consuming more than double female alcohol intake. A quarter of women and two in five men in Scotland exceed their daily limit. There were 41,651 alcohol related discharges from hospitals in Scotland alone in 2006/7 which is an increase from the previous year’s statistic of 39,061. According to the Chief Executive of the national charity Alcohol Focus Scotland, ‘the number of people in Scotland hospitalised through drink has soared by 270% in only 15 years.’

Alcohol Related Deaths on the Increase

A recent report from the Office for National Statistics has shown that alcohol related diseases in the UK are killing nearly twice as many women as at the start of the 1990s.

Approximately 30 years ago, alcohol related death rates for men and women in the UK were around two per 100,000, which was the lowest in western Europe. Now, the rate for men is 18 per 100,000, although this is still less than the European average.

For women, particularly In the 35 – 54 year old age group, around 14 women per 100,000 die from conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver and liver failure – and this is well above the European average.
How long does alcohol stay in your system?

Alcohol is broken down by the liver at the rate of approximately one unit per hour (a pint of normal strength beer being two units). Consequently, it is possible to still be under the influence the following morning if you have drunk excessively the night before. In fact, every year in Britain over 25,000 people lose their driving licences the morning after a night\’s drinking.

To exercise caution, the following alcohol calculation can be used to estimate your level of risk after having drunk the night before.

1 Unit of alcohol = ½ Pint ordinary strength beer or…
1 standard glass of table wine or…
1 standard glass of sherry or…
1 single measure of spirits.

It is advised that you allow a minimum of 1 hour per 1 unit of alcohol consumed before driving or operating heavy machinery or electrical equipment in order to ensure that you are not under the influence of alcohol.
In the longer term, regular alcohol consumption increases your risks of: liver damage, cancer (of the liver, mouth, throat, and breast), mental health problems, weight gain, heart disease, stroke, shrunken genitals and reduced fertility. Alcohol reduces your body\’s ability to absorb nutrition, and the weight gain can also contribute to other conditions such as diabetes.

Drugs

Other notable recent statistics include the number of younger teenagers using drink or drugs. Last year one in seven people admitted to Accident and Emergency departments across the UK for alcohol related health issues were under 14 years old – a total of over 2239 cases.

Drug and alcohol abuse in teens is becoming more of a problem each year as our culture changes. A key statistic is that the average starting age of Heroin use in many towns and cities in the UK is just 15 years of age – so we have an obvious duty to prevent young people from getting inadvertently caught up in addiction through misguided experimentation.