Friday, April 19, 2013
Almost 70% of Underage Drinking Deaths Not Traffic-Related, MADD Finds
An analysis of deaths related to underage alcohol use finds 68 percent are not traffic-related, USA Today
reports. The study, by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), found 32
percent of these deaths are traffic-related, 30 percent are homicides,
14 percent are suicides, 9 percent are alcohol poisonings and 15 percent
are from other causes.
“These data show that taking away the keys truly does not take away
all of the risks when it comes to underage drinking,” MADD National
President Jan Withers said in a news release.
“MADD hopes this information will inspire parents to have ongoing
conversations with their kids about the dangers of drinking alcohol
before age 21, especially since we know that a majority of kids say
their parents are the biggest influence on their decisions about
alcohol.”
MADD released the report in advance of PowerTalk 21 Day on Sunday,
April 21, a national day for parents to start talking with their
children about alcohol.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Eight New Addiction Medicine Fellowship Programs Accredited
Eight new addiction medicine fellowship programs have been
accredited by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM)
Foundation, bringing the total number of programs to 18, Newswise reports.
Doctors who complete one of these fellowships are eligible to sit for
the ABAM exam to become certified in addiction medicine. There are 47
addiction medicine fellowship slots available, although some slots are
not yet funded, according to the article.
“These new fellowships will help insure that trained addiction
medicine physicians join other addiction professionals in the
interdisciplinary care of patients with addictive disorders,” said
Jeffrey H. Samet, MD, MA, MPH, President of ABAM
and the ABAM Foundation Board of Directors. “This clinical training,
coupled with passage of our rigorous examination, will help to provide
evidence-based addiction treatment to those who need it.”
The new fellowship programs are located at the Betty Ford
Center/Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage, California; Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Hartford
Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor,
Ypsilanti, Michigan; St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada; St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Stanford
Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, California; and Yale-New Haven Hospital,
New Haven, Connecticut.
“Our workforce projections suggest that, by 2020, we will need 50
addiction medicine fellowship training programs with 200 physician
slots,” said Richard Blondell, MD, Chair of the Foundation’s Training
and Accreditation Committee. “One of the main obstacles to establishing
these programs is funding.”
Demand for addiction treatment will expand as the Affordable Care Act adds millions of new patients to the system. Addiction medicine courses are rarely offered in medical school, the article notes.
Millions of New Patients Could Receive Addiction Treatment Under Health Law
Between 3 million and 5 million new patients could soon
receive addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act, according to
the Associated Press. The change will have a major impact on treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
Currently only 1 cent of every health care dollar in the United
States is dedicated to addiction treatment, the AP reports.
Approximately 10 percent of the 23 million Americans with drug and
alcohol problems receive treatment, government figures indicate. Until
now, a major reason for the large number of people not receiving
treatment has been a lack of health insurance.
Under healthcare reform, millions of people will become eligible for
insurance coverage starting in January. The number of people seeking
addiction treatment could double, the article notes.
“There is no illness currently being treated that will be more
affected by the Affordable Care Act than addiction,” Tom McLellan, CEO
of the nonprofit Treatment Research Institute, told the AP. “That’s
because we have a system of treatment that was built for a time when
they didn’t understand that addiction was an illness.”
The change may overwhelm many treatment facilities. In more than
two-thirds of states, treatment clinics are at 100 percent capacity or
will reach that mark soon. The arrival of many new patients could lead
to waiting lists of months or longer, according to treatment agencies.
Many of them have been shrinking in recent years due to government
budget cuts.
The federal government is urging states to expand their Medicaid
programs. If 20 states do so, an additional 3.8 million patients with
addiction problems would receive insurance, the AP notes. If almost all
of the states expanded their Medicaid program, that number could reach
5.5 million. The law also designates addiction treatment as an
“essential health benefit” for most commercial health plans.
FDA Will Not Approve Generic Versions of Original OxyContin
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday it
will not approve any generic versions of the original form of
OxyContin. The move is aimed at preventing prescription drug abuse, Reuters reports. The original version of OxyContin could be crushed and then snorted or injected. Its patent was set to expire on Tuesday.
The FDA also approved new labeling for a reformulated version of the
drug, which will indicate it is more difficult to crush, and thus harder
to abuse than the original version. OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue
Pharma, introduced the tamper-resistant formula in 2010.
“The development of abuse-deterrent opioid analgesics is a public
health priority for the FDA,” Douglas Throckmorton, MD, Deputy Director
for Regulatory Programs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research, said in a statement.
“While both original and reformulated OxyContin are subject to abuse
and misuse, the FDA has determined that reformulated OxyContin can be
expected to make abuse by injection difficult and expected to reduce
abuse by snorting compared to original OxyContin.”
Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, said in a statement,
“This is a huge win for our region and for the thousands of families
who have seen painkillers become pain makers. The FDA undoubtedly saved
our nation from another deadly tidal wave of oxycodone abuse and
overdoses.”
Heroin Use Increasingly Seen in Suburbs Across the Country
As prescription painkillers become more difficult to obtain
and abuse, a growing number of people addicted to these drugs are
switching to heroin, USA Today reports. The trend is increasingly being seen in the suburbs.
Health officials and police report a significant rise in overdoses
and crime, the newspaper notes. Last fall, the Northern New England
Poison Center reported a jump in heroin overdoses in Maine, Vermont and
New Hampshire. “When you switch to heroin, you don’t know what’s in
there from batch to batch,” said the center’s director, Karen Simone.
“It’s a big jump to go to heroin. It may be strong; it may be weak. They
don’t know what they are getting. Suddenly, the whole game changes.”
Heroin is popular in large part because it is cheap, officials say.
While an 80-milligram OxyContin costs between $60 to $100 a pill on the
black market, heroin costs $45 to $60 for a multiple-dose supply.
OxyContin abuse has also been declining because the drug has been
reformulated so it is more difficult to crush and snort.
According to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of people who were past-year heroin users in 2011 (620,000) was higher than the number in 2007 (373,000).
“Heroin is huge. We’ve never had anything like it in this state,”
said Carol Falkowski, the former drug abuse strategy officer for
Minnesota and a member of the Community Epidemiology Working Group at
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which tracks trends in drug use.
“It’s very affordable. It’s very high purity. Most people did not
believe that heroin would happen here in Lake Woebegone, but it really
has a grip, not only in the Twin Cities, but all around the state.”
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
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We are proud to announce the
Philadelphia Pre-Release Screening of
Tickets
Order HERE
Or call Kristin at
215-345-6644, ext 3114
VIP Reception
and film: $75
Film: $15
(at door $20)
(PRO-ACT would appreciate your donation of tickets that we can distribute to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity
to view this film)
By our
SILENCE
we let others
define us. . .
About The Council
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., an affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), is a private nonprofit organization serving Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County. The Council provides a wide range ofservices to families, schools, businesses, individuals and the community at large regardless of ability to pay, ethnicity, race, gender, age and/or sexual orientation.
www.councilsepa.org
About PRO-ACT
PRO-ACT is the regional nonprofit organization working to mobilize and rally individuals in recovery from addiction, as well as their families, friends and allies in a campaign to end discrimination, broaden social understanding and achieve a just response to addiction as a public health crisis.
www.proact.org
This is a screening of a feature documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery, and the emerging public recovery movement that will transform how alcohol and other drug problems are dealt with in our communities.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
at
Holy Family University
ETC Auditorium
Corner of Frankford and Grant Avenues, Philadelphia, PA
(plenty of free parking)
A catered VIP Reception will be held prior to the screening and will offer attendees the opportunity to talk with business leaders, legislators, experts in the field, the filmmaker and others
VIP Reception: 6:00 pm
Film: 7:00 pm (doors open 6:45 pm)
Panel Discussion: 8:30 pm
The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of citizens, leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, public figures, and celebrities who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement aims to transform public opinion, engage communities and elected officials, and finally shift public policy toward lasting solutions.
Help us to change the conversation from problems to solutions for America's top health problem!
Any funds raised through this event will be used to support Advocacy and Recovery
SPONSORSHIP AND EXPO OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
If interested, please send an email to Marita
by clicking here
or call her at 215-345-6644, ext. 3160
PRO-ACT is hosted by
The Council
of SoutheastPennsylvania, Inc.
252 West Swamp Road, Unit 12
Doylestown, PA 18901
215-346-6644
www.councilsepa.org
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Many Young Adults Use Parents’ Insurance to Treat Substance Abuse, Mental Illness
Young adults who receive health insurance through their
parents’ plans because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are more likely
to use the coverage to treat substance abuse, mental illness or
pregnancy, compared with their peers who already had coverage, a new
report finds.
These three conditions accounted for 60 percent of hospital claims
for young adults who were enrolled in their parents’ health plans in
2011, as a result of ACA, according to The Hill. The findings come from a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
In contrast, substance abuse, mental illness and pregnancy accounted
for about one-third of claims in a group of young people who were
already enrolled in their parents’ plan before healthcare reform took
effect. Under ACA, health plans that provide dependent coverage must let
young adults remain on their parents’ plan until they are 26.
As a result of the law, 3.1 million young adults have gained
coverage, EBRI estimates. The uninsured rate among young people ages 19
to 25 has fallen significantly over the past several years.
The EBRI study found young people enrolled in their parents’ plan
after 2011, when the provision took effect, spent an average of 15
percent more on healthcare, compared with their peers who were already
on their parents’ plan.
Countries Collaborate to Create Synthetic Drug Early Warning System
An international effort is underway to identify and ban new synthetic drugs earlier, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Last month, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which is affiliated with the United Nations (UN), called synthetic drugs “a growing threat to public health, as seen by increased emergency room admissions and calls to poison centers.”
Last month, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which is affiliated with the United Nations (UN), called synthetic drugs “a growing threat to public health, as seen by increased emergency room admissions and calls to poison centers.”
The INCB called on nations to prevent the manufacture, trafficking
and abuse of these substances. “In recent years, there has been an
unprecedented surge in the abuse of new psychoactive substances,” INCB
President Raymond Yans said in a statement.
“In Europe alone almost one new substance is appearing every week.
Previously, between 2000 and 2005 there were an average of five
notifications of new substances per year. Clear action must be taken now
by governments to prevent and deal with the abuse of these so-called
‘legal highs’ which are already a threat to public health and pose a
significant challenge to public health systems.”
After INCB released a list of more than 1,000 compounds that have
entered the market in the last five years, 55 countries voted to create
an international warning system that will be coordinated through the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime. The system will allow countries to quickly
share data when investigators first learn about compounds, such as in
online chat rooms.
By sharing information, countries with sophisticated labs, such as
the United States, can help countries without such facilities to ban
compounds more quickly.
Yans noted synthetic drugs are sold online from countries where they
are legal to nations where they are illegal. China is the main source of
chemical compounds used in these drugs, he said. Most of the
ingredients are legal there, he added. U.S. officials, after four years
of urging China to ban these substances, have only been able to get the
country to ban mephedrone, which is marketed in the United States as
bath salts.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
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Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Celebrities and Civil Rights Leaders Ask Obama to Change Drug Laws
More than 100 entertainers, civil rights leaders and other
notable citizens have signed a letter to President Obama, asking him to
change the nation’s drug laws. The group is urging him to replace jail
sentences with intervention and rehabilitation for non-violent drug
offenders, the Associated Press reports.
They asked the president to form a panel to deal with clemency
requests, and to support a measure to let judges waive mandatory minimum
sentences.
“The greatest victims of the prison industrial complex are our nation’s children,” the letter
states. “Hundreds of thousands of children have lost a parent to long
prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses, leaving these children
to fend for themselves. Many of these children end up in the criminal
justice system, which comes as no surprise as studies have shown the
link between incarceration and broken families, juvenile delinquency,
violence and poverty.”
Celebrities who signed the letter include Scarlett Johansson, Kim
Kardashian, Will Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Nicki Minaj and Susan Sarandon.
The letter was also signed by civil rights leaders and advocates such
as Harry Belafonte, Julian Bond, Dr. Benjamin Chavis and Rev. Jesse
Jackson. Hip-hop magnate Russell Simmons helped assemble the group, the
AP notes. Some religious leaders, politicians, music industry
executives, academics, business leaders and athletes also added their
names.
Majority of Americans Say Doctors Should Have Limits on Pain Medication Prescribing
A new poll finds 52 percent of Americans say doctors should
have limits on the amount and dosage of pain medication they are
allowed to prescribe. Almost half of those surveyed said prescription
drug addiction is a major U.S. health problem.
The poll
was commissioned by the advocacy group Research!America, which is using
the results to encourage better research on chronic pain, The Hill reports.
“We need to better understand addiction,” Research!America President and CEO Mary Woolley said in a statement.
“We shouldn’t shy away from research on new pain treatments based on
fears of abuse. The suffering is simply too great. More robust
investment in research and the engagement and support of policy makers
and health care providers are essential to developing effective
strategies to reduce the prevalence of addiction.”
The group found 18 percent of respondents believe chronic pain is a
major health problem, but 63 percent know someone who has taken
prescription medication for severe pain.
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