Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Stop Medicine Abuse
.
 
Stop Medicine Abuse
January 22, 2013 Facebook Twitter YouTube Share

New Study Results Shine a Light on
Teen Behaviors

When it comes to teen risky behaviors, the best information comes straight from the source - we'll never know what's going on in their world unless we ask. That's why the National institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) surveys teens about their drug, medicine, and alcohol abuse for its Monitoring the Future study every year. The results for 2012 are in, and over-the-counter cough medicine abuse remains around 5%. Every parent should read the survey findings to learn about the influences and pressures their teen might be facing. Read the Five Moms' summary of the report findings and check out Becky's take on how parents can use the report results for talking to their teens on our blog.

 FROM THE FIVE MOMS BLOG

Get Informed During Drug Facts Week

If your New Year's Resolution was to educate your teens about the dangers of drugs, National Drug Facts Week is the perfect opportunity! This year, the week kicks off on January 28, and there are lots of ways to get your teen involved. You can visit the official site to test your drug IQ, plan your own event, or participate in Drug Facts Chat Day on January 31. If you're hosting or participating in an event, make sure to visit our Facebook page and tell us all about it! 

You Asked,
We Answered!


In our Facebook poll, you asked for more tips and advice from prevention specialists, and we listened! Check out our guest posts from community coalitions such as the GRAAB Coalition and the Beachway Therapy Center to hear about the steps these groups are taking to prevent medicine abuse. Don't forget to visit the comments and let us know about great work happening in your community as well! 

In 2013, we'll be bringing you the best resources and information on preventing teen drug abuse every quarter. Your next email newsletter from Stop Medicine Abuse will be coming in April, so make sure you add admin@stopmedicineabuse.org to your contacts so it goes straight to your inbox.


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StopMedicineAbuse.org
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Washington, D.C. 20006

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Hospital Tech Who Stole Needles | The Fix

The Hospital Tech Who Stole Needles | The Fix

HIS MANSION MINISTRIES NH

About

Christian counseling and long-term care for those dealing with addiction and other harmful habitual behaviors. We also offer volunteer and intern opportunities.
Company Overview
His Mansion is a Christ-centered residential recovery program. We help men and women between 18 and 35 years of age that have difficult life situations.

We provide help for adults dealing with Alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual addiction, pornography, eating disorders, depression, abuse, and other harmful habitual habits.

The program is approximately one year long.

We believe that true and ultimate healing comes by God the Father, through the work of Jesus Christ's atonement, by the agency of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, emphasis is placed upon the importance of becoming a new person in Christ.

From the day a new "resident" arrives, he or she is a member of His Mansion’s Healing in the Context of Community process. Their day consists of early rising, quiet time, breakfast, work assignment, Scripture-based classes and counseling, lunch, work assignments, supper, and evening routines.

During this daily time stream, Long Term Staff and Mentors serve beside the "residents," coaching and encouraging them. One-on-one counseling with a trained counselor is available as appropriate and necessary.

This process of mentoring, encouragement, intake of God’s Word, meaningful employment, and healthy lifestyle are regularly bathed in prayer. When all is said and done, if God’s Spirit doesn’t energize the process, no amount of counseling, coaching or encouraging will get the job accomplished. At His Mansion, we believe in miracles — and witness them!

Phone(603) 464-5555
Websitehttp://www.hismansion.com

Monday, January 21, 2013


Tell Your Story      JANUARY 21 2013
Today's Scripture
"Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." -  Matthew 5:16 MSG
Thoughts for Today
Appropriate self-disclosure can be a useful tool in a helping relationship. Sharing your own personal experiences and insight may help your friend understand how to deal with a life-controlling problem. Keep the conversation positive, telling about your mistakes but focusing on how God helped you and the things you learned through the process. A word of caution—don't overuse self-disclosure by talking too much, shifting the focus of the conversation toward you and away from the person you want to help.
It is also important that while sharing with others, you do not talk down to them, making them feel as though you are treating them like a child or an inferior person. Your self-disclosure should have a clear goal of providing insight your friend does not appear to have and moving him or her toward healing. Try to stay at the level of insight relevant to the person's need.
Consider this … 
Freedom from a life-controlling problem is a process. Pray that God will help you disclose all that will assist your friend in that process, but not so much as to produce confusion. And pray that God will use what you say to help set your loved one free.
Prayer
Father, help me be generous with my life and share with my friend those things that will hasten deliverance and healing. I pray that my self-disclosure will be an encouragement to my friend to open up to you. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from …

Understanding the Times and Knowing What to Do
 by Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee. This book offers biblical strategies for ministry to our family and friends. Contemporary issues and needs faced by society are addressed with biblical principles that are timeless. Ideal for small group leaders and Sunday school teachers who want a better understanding of ministry in an addictive culture.
Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More
 
 
PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to
info@LivingFree.org.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

    

COA Needs You!

City of Angels NJ, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that runs entirely on volunteers. All COA Board members, Directors and helpers volunteer their time to a cause they believe in....do you have a few extra hours you could spare?
  
At 6:30 pm on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Dwier Center (392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ), COA holds volunteer meetings to discuss volunteer opportunities and match people with those opportunities. Volunteers are particularly needed to help with Rockfest in June 2013 and a major new event in September. This informal get-together is also a great way to meet new people, learn more about COA and enjoy a pleasant pizza dinner with friends. 

The next volunteer meeting will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2013. Pizza will be provided by Family Nest Italian Restaurant. For directions to the Dwier Center, click here.
  
If you are interested in volunteering with COA but can't attend the dinner, please contact Volunteer Director Lynn Cranstoun at lcwolflady@optonline.net.
Recovery Coach Training - There's Still Room!
As of today, 25 people are registered for the Recovery Coach Training Academy at City of Angels. This training was developed by the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) and has been provided to more than 2,000 people worldwide. There are still a few spots open but we are filling up quickly...
If you would like to register for this groundbreaking program - or just learn more about it - click here.

This training is invaluable for anyone who lives or works with people in recovery from drug addiction - including counselors, healthcare professionals, group leaders, teachers, parents, spouses and other family members.
Speakers at Tonight's Spirituality Meeting

Tonight's Spirituality Meeting will include speakers from U-Turn for Christ in Tennessee. U-Turn for Christ is a faith-based facility for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. It offers a highly structured, no-frills program that is incredibly affordable and effective. Over the past 18 months, COA has sent more than three dozen young men and women to U-Turn - don't miss this opportunity to learn more about how and why it works so well.
 
The Spirituality Meeting begins at 7:00 pm at the Dwier Center (392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ).

 Tidbits 
 COA hosts support group meetings for both addiction sufferers and their families every day of the week at the Dwier Center (392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ). This includes 12-step meetings, a Sunday night Spirituality Meeting and the popular Sunday morning family support group, The Breakfast Club. To check out our online calendar, click here.
 
 
For directions to the Dwier Center, click here. 
 
 
The COA website now offers an Addiction News Feed with the latest studies, reports, new and other info on addiction. It's updated in real time with top 30 articles. To read the feed, click here. 
New videos are up on the COA YouTube channel. To watch, click here.
    


Join COA's Pinterest community! To visit the boards, click here.
 
   
  
Keep current on COA activites - join the COA group on Facebook!  COA news is posted first on Facebook, and this page often has photos not available elsewhere. Click here to visit.
 

City of Angels NJ, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides many services to addicts and their families including interventions, recovery support, Family Program, counseling services and more. All of our services are provided at no charge.

  

Recovery Connections: We Will Recover Photos By: Katie Satorius

Recovery Connections: We Will Recover Photos By: Katie Satorius

Recovery Now Episode 4

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Researchers Say MRI Could Help Predict Success of Drug Addiction Treatment

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania say MRI scans may be able to predict which patients will succeed with certain addiction treatments, and which ones will relapse, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
Researchers at the university’s Center for Studies of Addiction are watching how regions of the brain react to drug-related photos, such as pictures of a heroin needle or a crushed pill. They hope to use this research to develop more effective treatments. One day, they hope that treatment could be tailored to a person’s mental strengths and vulnerabilities. These factors are influenced by genetics, life experiences and drug use, they say.
“We’re interested in seeing if, among the people that do better, their brains are different now,” Teresa Franklin, who directs nicotine and marijuana MRI studies at the university, told the newspaper. “This is not something that gets better in 12 weeks of treatment. This is a lifelong process where the brain has to be retrained. Just as if you have diabetes or high blood pressure or a heart condition, you have to change your lifestyle and you may need medication.”
She said her group thinks if a person’s “stop” regions of the brain, which deal with consequences, are not working well, and are not communicating well with regions that say “go” and drive the motivation for rewards, then it is likely that person is going to do poorly in treatment.
The group’s research show that in a person who is addicted to drugs, the brain’s reward region will light up in an MRI scan, even in response to subliminal cues, such as an image of crack rocks that flash on-screen for a few milliseconds while the person looks at a photo of a neutral object, such as a stapler.
“If we can manipulate that response with medication or behavioral therapy, that’s our goal,” Franklin said.
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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Recovery Connections w/ Joseph D. 01/15 by halfmeasuresroom | Blog Talk Radio

Recovery Connections w/ Joseph D. 01/15 by halfmeasuresroom | Blog Talk Radio

Access to Health Care Services for Addiction Will Improve Dramatically: Faces & Voices of Recovery

Once the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully implemented in 2014, access to effective health care services for addiction will improve dramatically, according to Faces & Voices of Recovery. In an issue brief, the advocacy group describes how the new legislation will make it possible for many in or seeking recovery to be included in the health care system for the first time.
Those who will benefit from the new law include people who were previously enrolled in Medicaid, and then were disenrolled; those who are coming out of the criminal justice system; and people who have not been able to afford insurance.
Under the ACA, a single enrollment application will determine if you are eligible for either Medicaid or the state insurance exchange, based on your reported annual income. People who do not qualify for Medicaid will be able to buy affordable health insurance through state health insurance exchanges. These are marketplaces that will be available to people who are not covered through their employer’s health plan, and those who work for small employers who provide employees with multiple health plan options.
The law guarantees that insurance companies will not be allowed to deny someone coverage or place a lifetime cap on what is deemed reimbursable because of a pre-existing condition. According to the brief, “The new policy regarding pre-existing conditions, already in place for children, has direct applications to the recovery community. Addiction to alcohol and other drugs (or a substance use disorder, as it is sometimes called) has been considered a pre-existing condition by many insurers, and used as a means to deny claims and a disqualifier for coverage. That will no longer be legal.”
Read the entire issue brief for more information on addiction treatment and the ACA.

Friday, January 18, 2013


Take Off Your Mask  JANUARY  18 2013     Today's Scripture
"You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known." - Luke 12:2 MSG
Thoughts for Today
Many of us wear a mask. We don't want other people to know the "real us." And yet, if we want to help someone we care about who is struggling with a problem, we need to take off the mask and be real. This quality of being genuine will enable us to be more effective in relationships with those we want to help—actually, in any relationship.
If people you are trying to help believe that you are a phony, they are not going to trust you with what you say and do. They need to see you living a consistent life from day to day, whether you are at church or on the job or having a good time with friends. They need to hear you be honest about your feelings—although you do need to find a balance. Don't be so transparent that you hurt or offend people with your honesty.
Consider this …
As a genuine person, you will not act superior or pretend to be someone you are not. You will honestly admit when you've been wrong.
Being openly genuine will open the door to a trusting relationship between you and those you want to help. It will encourage them to come to you and to respect what you say.
If you want to help others, be willing to be real.
Prayer
Father, teach me to set aside my pride and be willing to be real. Help me to be honest about my feelings and genuine in all I do. Help me to take off the mask. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from …

Understanding the Times and Knowing What to Do
 by Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee. This book offers biblical strategies for ministry to our family and friends. Contemporary issues and needs faced by society are addressed with biblical principles that are timeless. Ideal for small group leaders and Sunday school teachers who want a better understanding of ministry in an addictive culture.
Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More

 
PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to
info@LivingFree.org.

Prescription Drug Overdoses Number One Reason for ER Visits in Los Angeles County

Prescription drug overdoses are the number one reason for emergency room visits in Los Angeles County, according to public health officials.
A new report finds the number of people who checked into publicly funded drug rehabilitation programs for prescription pain reliever abuse doubled from 2005 to 2010, NBC Los Angeles reports. More than 60 percent of drug-related deaths in 2011 were due to prescription drugs in Los Angeles County.
The report found 11 percent of 9th graders and 14 percent of 11th graders said they had misused prescription drugs at least once.
“Prescription drug abuse has become a growing public health concern in Los Angeles County. Many people are not aware that the misuse or abuse of prescription drugs can be as dangerous as illegal drugs, and can lead to unintended injury, addiction, and even death,” Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer, said in a news release. “We need to ensure that we are addressing this growing concern by engaging and collaborating with our partners in the public and private sectors to reduce and prevent prescription drug abuse.”

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Earn continuing education credit with NAADAC Institute free educational opportunities.  Current topics, expert presenters, one hour at a time. View this email in your browser

NAADAC Institute Education Update


Don't miss these great opportunities to earn CEs, advance your professional life and enhance your practice through live seminars, independent study or online!
The Addiction Professional’s Mini Guide to Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
 
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
12pm-3pm EST (9am-12pm PST) 
 
Become a member of NAADAC to earn free CE credit for all NAADAC webinars & online courses (over 85 CEs): www.naadac.org/join

NAADAC Launches Recovery To Practice (RTP) Initiative

As a part of NAADAC's efforts to promote recovery for all Americans affected by addiction, NAADAC is launching its Recovery To Practice (RTP) Initiative, which is an educational curriculum designed to hasten awareness, acceptance, and adoption of recovery-based practices in the delivery of addiction-related services.  What is "recovery"?

NAADAC will deliver this educational experience through a multi-level approach that includes 9 webinars, 3 articles in NAADAC's magazine, a large collection of electronic print resources, inclusion of recovery-oriented test questions into certification test banks, and informational sessions at the NAADAC annual conference and other state affiliate events.  Learn more

Upcoming Recovery-Oriented Webinars:

Defining Addiction Recovery
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
3 - 4pm EST (2 C/1 M/12 P)
More Information & Registration


What Does Science Say? Reviewing Recovery Research
Thursday, February 28, 2013
12 - 1:30pm EST (11 C/10 M/9 P)
More Information & Registration


Defining Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013

3 - 4pm EST (2 C/1 M/12 P)


The History of Recovery in the United States and the Addiction Profession
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
12 - 1:30pm EST (11 C/10 M/9 P)
More Information & Registration


The Role of Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) in the Addiction Profession
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 
12 - 1:30pm EST (11 C/10 M/9 P)


Generate New Revenue by Becoming a SAP through NAADAC!
 
A Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) evaluates workers who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing and aftercare. In order to be an SAP, you need to have certain credentials, possess specific knowledge, receive training and achieve a passing score on an examination. There is also a continuing education requirement.  All of this can be accomplished through NAADAC.

Learn More
Order the Independent Study Course
Renew Your SAP Credential
NAADAC Master Calendar

Find addiction-related conferences, public policy events, regional meetings, and workshops in your area.
 
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New York Police Department to Use Decoy Pill Bottles to Track Painkiller Thieves

The New York Police Department has announced it will put decoy pill bottles with tracking devices on pharmacy shelves, in an effort to track stolen painkillers. The fake bottles will appear to contain oxycodone, The New York Times reports.
The bottles will not actually contain painkillers, but will have a GPS device. “We would anticipate the burglar and robber will take numerous bottles, and among them will be the bait bottle,” said the department’s chief spokesman, Paul J. Browne.
The fake bottles rattle when they are shaken, as if they contained pills. They sit on a special base. When the bottle is lifted from the base, it starts to send out a tracking signal.
The department hopes to have the program in place by March, and is asking all of the city’s 1,800 pharmacies to participate.
Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, developed the bottles. They are already being used in some pharmacies around the country. Around the nation, pharmacies have been robbed by armed criminals looking for narcotics, anti-anxiety drugs and other controlled medications. Some are addicted to the drugs themselves, while others sell the pills.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Body Language
Today's Scripture
"Let us have real warm affection for one another as between brothers …" - Romans 12:10 
Thoughts for Today
Yesterday we looked at the importance of developing the quality of empathy in order to more effectively help a loved one struggling with a problem. Another essential quality is warmth.
Genuine warmth is communicated more by our actions than by what we actually say. Speaking the right words will most likely be totally ineffective if our body language reflects condemnation or impatience or if we seem distracted or unfocused.
A caring tone of voice, eye contact, non-possessive touch, pleasant facial expressions, friendly gestures and a relaxed stance impart a sense of warmth and caring. A warm voice and a caring touch can bring peace and calmness to a brokenhearted person. Warmth communicates openness and lessens defensiveness.
Consider this …
When planning to meet with a hurting friend, set aside time when you can focus and not feel rushed. Pray for him or her before you meet. Ask God to make you sensitive to the need. This preparation will help you show the warmth of caring. You won't just be saying words—your heart attitude will be reflected in body language that will help create an environment for encouragement and healing.
Prayer
Father, help me help my friend. May my heart be filled with your compassion and may my body language reflect the warmth of caring. In all ways, help me to demonstrate real warm affection. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from …

Understanding the Times and Knowing What to Do
 by Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee. This book offers biblical strategies for ministry to our family and friends. Contemporary issues and needs faced by society are addressed with biblical principles that are timeless. Ideal for small group leaders and Sunday school teachers who want a better understanding of ministry in an addictive culture.
Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More
 
 
PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to
info@LivingFree.org.

Lance Armstrong Offers Apology for Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, and apologized for doing so during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Associated Press reports.
The interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday on Winfrey’s network.
The winner of seven Tour de France victories, Armstrong strongly denied he used performance-enhancing drugs for many years. His admission came shortly after he apologized to the staff at Livestrong, the cancer charity he founded and was forced to surrender, the article notes. He created the charity after surviving testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.
Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles, and was forced to leave his charity in 2012 after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a report that accused him of a long-running doping scheme, according to the AP. He was also banned from competing in elite triathlon and running events. Currently, his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years, according to World Anti-Doping Code rules.

Using Bath Salts: Playing Russian Roulette With Your Brain, Expert Says


Using the designer drugs known as “bath salts” is like playing Russian roulette with your brain, according to an expert at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Michael H. Baumann, PhD, Chief of the Designer Drug Research Unit at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program, recently published a study that explains how bath salts cause dangerous effects in the brain.
“People using bath salts can’t be sure about what psychoactive chemicals are present in them, and studies have shown that ingredients on the label often are not present in the products,” he says.
The active ingredients in bath salts that have been identified thus far are structurally similar to cathinone, which is a naturally occurring stimulant found in the khat plant, explains Dr. Baumann. In a rodent study recently published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, he and his colleagues reported that synthetic cathinones disrupt the transport of the brain chemical dopamine, thereby causing large spikes in the amount of dopamine outside of nerve cells. Dopamine is implicated in the pleasurable effects of drugs, as well as their potential for abuse. “When a drug causes increases in dopamine, people will want to take that drug repeatedly,” he says. The study found a bath salt ingredient, MDPV, is 10 to 50 times more potent than cocaine in its ability to increase dopamine in the brain.
Emergency rooms around the country have reported cases of people taking bath salts who become psychotic, violent and delirious. These patients also may have a very high body temperature. Some people have died from bath salts use.
Data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers indicate that calls due to bath salts dropped from January to November 2012, though Dr. Baumann notes the data for the year are not yet complete. “If it is indeed the case that bath salts calls are declining, perhaps it is because of all the publicity about these substances being quite dangerous,” he says.
Michael H. Baumann, PhD
Dr. Baumann also notes government action may be playing an important role in the decrease in bath salts calls. In the fall of 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced a temporary ban on three synthetic stimulants sold as bath salts—mephedrone, methylone and MDPV. The ban made it illegal to possess and sell these chemicals or the products that contain them. In July 2012, President Obama signed legislation that permanently bans a number of synthetic drugs including mephedrone and MDPV.
A troubling trend is the availability of newer, similar compounds that chemists are devising to replace the banned substances, Dr. Baumann observes. “This cat-and-mouse game is likely to continue,” he says. It is possible some of these newer compounds may no longer be called bath salts, and are thus not showing up in the poison control data.
Much is still not known about bath salts, such as how they interact with alcohol and other illicit drugs. Scientists also don’t know what happens when several different cathinone products are mixed, or the long-term effect of bath salts use.
“Bath salts are dangerous,” Dr. Baumann says. “We don’t know a lot about how they affect the body, and there is no quality control in their manufacture or packaging. There’s just no way of knowing what byproducts or toxic impurities are in these products.”
For the latest information about bath salts, visit the NIDA website.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

New Ice Cubes Change Color to Track Alcohol Use

A graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has invented ice cubes that can warn drinkers when they’ve consumed too much alcohol, ABC News reports.
Dhairya Dand came up with the idea after he suffered an alcohol-induced blackout. The incident inspired him to invent ice cubes that change colors in response to the amount of alcohol a person consumes. An instrument called an accelerometer tracks how often the glass is raised to someone’s lips, while a timer helps estimate how intoxicated the person is, according to the news report.
A light encased in the waterproof ice cube will flash green to signal a first drink. When the ice cube flashes yellow, it indicates a person’s alcohol level is rising. A red flashing ice cube is a warning to stop drinking. The ice cube can send a text message to someone to let them know the person needs assistance.