Underage drinking-related emergency department visits increase more than 250 percent on New Year’s Day

Hospital emergency department visits involving underage drinking increased more than 250 percent on New Year's Day, according to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The brief study shows that on New Year’s Day 2009, there were an estimated 1,980 emergency department visits involving underage drinking, compared to 546 such visits on an average day that year - a 263 percent increase.

The New Year’s Day underage drinking admission levels even surpassed other National holiday levels, which past SAMHSA studies have revealed often far exceed normal daily rates. For example, the 2009 New Year’s Day estimate was 191 percent higher than the Memorial Day level (676) and 110 percent higher than the Fourth of July level (942).

"This stunning increase in underage drinking related emergency room visits on New Year’s Day should be a wake up call to parents, community leaders and all caring adults about the potential risks our young people face for alcohol-related accidents, injuries and death during this time of year," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. "Parents, clergy, coaches, teachers and other role models must do everything they can to positively influence young people including talking with them early and often about the many health dangers underage drinking poses to their physical and emotional health and wellbeing."

"This very troubling finding is in line with what we already know about the increase in alcohol-related problems during the winter holidays," says Kenneth R. Warren, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health. "For example, during Christmas and New Year’s, two to three times more people die in alcohol-related crashes than during comparable periods the rest of the year. And 40 percent of traffic fatalities during these holidays involve a driver who is alcohol-impaired, compared to 28 percent for the rest of December."

The study was developed as part of SAMHSA’s strategic initiative on data, outcomes, and quality - an effort to inform policy makers and service providers on the nature and scope of behavioral health issues. It is based on SAMHSA’s 2009 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report. DAWN is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related hospital emergency department visits reported throughout the nation. A copy of the study is available at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/. For those interested in helping to prevent underage drinking, SAMHSA offers a variety of educational and other materials at: http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov/.

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Smokers' Former Homes May Pose Threat to New Residents

Residue in walls and ceilings could pose harm to new residents who move into former smokers' homes, HealthDay News reports.

Researchers at San Diego State University found that "third-hand smoke" was found on surfaces even after the homes had been vacant for two months and cleaned and repainted.

"We found that third-hand smoke is trapped on surfaces like walls and ceilings and in household dust and carpets left over by previous residents," study author Georg Matt, a psychology professor at the university said in a university news release.

Matt added that the homes of smokers become reservoirs of tobacco smoke pollutants. When new, non-smoking tenants come in contact with polluted surfaces and inhale suspended microscopic dust, they are unknowingly exposed to tobacco smoke toxins.

In the study, Matt's research team examined the homes of 50 nonsmokers and 100 smokers before and after they moved out. They measured levels of nicotine on surfaces within the homes, in the air and on participants' fingers.

The researchers found higher levels of tobacco-linked contamination in dust and surfaces of homes formerly inhabited by smokers versus nonsmoker homes. Levels of nicotine on fingers were also higher among new residents of former smokers' homes.

This study correlates to a recent one conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and the University of Rochester Medical Center that concluded children living in non-smoking apartments were exposed to smoke from neighbors' apartments that seeped through walls or traveled through building ventilation systems.

The health outcomes of “third-hand smoke” have not been assessed, the California researchers stated in their news release, but they suspect that the residues could pose risks to babies and toddlers.

New study shows dramatic shifts in substance abuse treatment admissions among the states between 1998 and 2008

Nationwide percentage of treatment admissions primarily linked to alcohol has declined, while the percentage primarily linked to illicit drugs has increased

Although the overall rate of admissions to substance abuse treatment in the U.S. remained stable between 1998 and 2008, at about 770 admissions for every 100,000 persons in the population, a new study shows striking changes and variations in admission rates by region. For example, the rate of admissions for alcohol as the primary drug has declined by 15 percent nationally. However admission rates for alcohol in West North Central states (Ark., Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., N.D., Neb. and S.D.) remained the same.

At the same time that admissions for alcohol treatment were declining, admission rates per 100,000 population for illicit drug use were increasing. In fact, one consistent pattern in every region was the increase in the admission rate for marijuana use which rose 30 percent nationally. From 1998 through 2008, marijuana treatment admission rates were highest in the West North Central and Middle Atlantic states (N.J., N.Y. and Pa.).

As indicated in an earlier SAMHSA report, Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers: 1998 and 2008: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/230/230PainRelvr2k10.cfm, the treatment admission rate for opiates other than heroin (mainly narcotic pain relievers) rose 345 percent nationwide during these 11 years. The new study shows that increased admissions for pain reliever abuse occurred in every region of the nation and were highest in the New England (Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., R.I. and Vt.) and the East South Central states (Ala., Ky., Miss. and Tenn.).

Nationwide, the admission rate for methamphetamine treatment was 53 percent higher in 2008 than in 1998, although the level has dropped significantly and consistently from its peak in 2005. Methamphetamine admission rates were highest during this period in the Pacific (Alaska, Calif., Hawaii, Ore. and Wash.), West North Central and Mountain states (Ariz., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., N.M., Utah and Wyo.).


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MONITORING THE FUTURE SURVEY FINDS INCREASED MARIJUANA USE AMONG 8TH, 10TH, AND 12TH GRADERS

CADCA Calls for Increased Investment in Drug-Free Communities Program

Washington, D.C. – The 2010 Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan, showed an increase in marijuana use rates among all grades measured in the survey – 8^th, 10^th and 12^th graders. Particularly concerning are that more youth report smoking marijuana on a daily basis, with 6.1 percent of high school seniors, 3.3 percent of 10th graders, and 1.2 percent of 8th graders reporting daily use, compared to last year’s rates of 5.2 percent, 2.8 percent, and 1.0 percent, respectively. Among 12th graders it was at its highest point since the early 1980’s. The perceived risk of regular marijuana use also declined among 10th and 12th graders, suggesting that marijuana use among youth may continue its upward trend.

After marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for most of the top drugs abused by 12th graders in the past year. Among 12th graders, past year non-medical use of Vicodin decreased from 9.7 percent to 8 percent. However, past year abuse of OxyContin remains unchanged across the three grades and has increased in 10th graders over the past 5 years. When asked about ways to address prescription drug abuse, ONDCP Director Kerlikowske pointed to the DFC program as something that can make a real difference in tackling this and other drug problems.

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Teen Marijuana Use Up, Alcohol Use Down

Associated Press -- America's teens are using more marijuana and less alcohol, according to an annual government study of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders across the country.

Some 6.1 percent of high-school seniors reported using marijuana this year, up from 5.2 percent in 2009, according to the Monitoring the Future survey released by the National Institutes of Health.

Marijuana use by 10th-graders climbed from 2.8 percent to 3.3 percent, and for eighth-grade students it edged up from 1.0 percent to 1.2 percent.

"These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and preteen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk," said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

On the other hand, binge drinking is on the decline. While 23.2 percent of high school seniors reported having five or more drinks in a row, that's down from 25.2 percent a year earlier. The binge rate for this age group peaked at 31.5 percent in 1998.

Each Year 30 Million People Drive Drunk

A new survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that on average 13.2 percent of all persons 16 or older drove under the influence of alcohol and 4.3 percent of this age group drove under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year.

The survey’s state-by-state breakdown of drunk and drugged driving levels shows significant differences among the states. Some of the states with the highest levels of past year drunk driving were Wisconsin (23.7 percent) and North Dakota (22.4 percent). The highest rates of past year drugged driving were found in Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent).

States with the lowest rates of past year drunk driving included Utah (7.4 percent) and Mississippi (8.7 percent). Iowa and New Jersey had the lowest levels of past year drugged driving (2.9 percent and 3.2 percent respectively).

Levels of self-reported drunk and drugged driving differed dramatically among age groups. Younger drivers aged 16 to 25 had a much higher rate of drunk driving than those aged 26 or older (19.5 percent versus 11.8 percent). Similarly people aged 16 to 25 had a much higher rate of driving under the influence of illicit drugs than those aged 26 or older (11.4 percent versus 2.8 percent).

The one bright spot in the survey is that there has been a reduction in the rate of drunk and drugged driving in the past few years. Survey data from 2002 through 2005 combined when compared to data gathered from 2006 to 2009 combined indicate that the average yearly rate of drunk driving has declined from 14.6 percent to 13.2 percent, while the average yearly rate of drugged driving has decreased from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent. Twelve states have seen reductions in the levels of drunk driving and seven states have experienced lower levels of drugged driving. However according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) census, one in three motor vehicle fatalities (33 percent) with known drug test results tested positive for drugs in 2009.

“Thousands of people die each year as a result of drunk and drugged driving, and the lives of thousands of family members and friends left behind are forever scarred,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “Some progress has been made in reducing the levels of drunk and drugged driving through education, enhanced law enforcement and public outreach efforts. However, the nation must continue to work to prevent this menace and confront these dangerous drivers in an aggressive way.”

For more information or to read the entire article, please go to www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1012085048.

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month

Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.

This December, during National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month), consider what you and your community can do to make injuries and deaths from impaired driving less of a threat.

The Problem:

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.

• In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

• In one year, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This accounts for less than 1% of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol–impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.

• Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion a year.

Protect Yourself and Your Family and Friends:

During the holiday season, and year-round, take steps to make sure that you and everyone you celebrate with avoids driving under the influence of alcohol. Following these tips from NHTSA can help you stay safe:

• Plan ahead. Always designate a non-drinking driver before any holiday party or celebration begins.

• Take the keys. Do not let a friend drive if they are impaired.

• Be a helpful host. If you’re hosting a party this holiday season, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate their sober driver, always offer alcohol-free beverages, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.