Alcohol Addiction News and Research

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LSD for alcohol addiction: Study

Hallucinogenic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s. A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. It said there was a “significant beneficial effect” on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken.

12 Mar 2012

Middle aged ignoring health messages on alcohol consumption

A new survey finds that adults aged 45 and over are more than three times as likely to drink alcohol almost every day as those under 45. This could mean that the middle aged population is ignoring the serious health risks associated with excessive drinking. The age disparity is most pronounced among women. Those aged 65 and over are 12 times more likely than those aged between 16 and 24 to drink on a near-daily basis according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

11 Mar 2012

Gaps in knowledge about alcohol limits

A Centre for Alcohol Policy Research report, released today, found 95 per cent of people surveyed were unable to correctly identify the Australian guidelines for safe drinking levels. Between 30 and 50 per cent were unable to even provide an estimate.

5 Mar 2012

Quit-smoking drug Chantix effective in cocaine and alcohol addiction

Varenicline is unique among anti-addiction medications in the way it affects the brain. Like nicotine, varenicline activates a specific receptor for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, but it does so less intensely than the active ingredient of cigarettes does. The net effect is that the drug seems to help by both cutting cravings and making the formerly desired drug less pleasant — without making non-drug pleasures less intense. Alcohol works on the same chemical receptors in the brain as nicotine, and it may enhance the pleasurable effects of smoking.

18 Feb 2012

New editorial offers clarity on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology

A new editorial released this week offers clarity and structure on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology for prescribers, users and regulators. "Through a glass darkly: can we improve clarity about mechanism and aims of medications in drug and alcohol treatments?" is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the official journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE.

4 Feb 2012

Heavy drinking may reinforce itself by stimulating endorphin release: Study

A new study has shown that drinking alcohol causes a pleasant feeling because it releases endorphins, the brain’s natural opioids. It adds that problem drinkers differ from social drinkers in the way alcohol affects one part of the brain. The report appeared Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

15 Jan 2012

At least two alcohol free days per week recommended

Those who drink regularly are advised to abstain from alcohol for at least two days a week. A committee of MPs has found current drinking guidelines are unclear and need to be revised. Currently the “sensible limits” for drinking, which were defined 25 years ago, are 21 units of alcohol a week for men and 14 for women. But the report by the Science and Technology Committee found many people do not know how much a unit is.

9 Jan 2012

David Cameron’s “big bang” approach to raising alcohol taxes and discouraging drinking

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered officials to develop a scheme in England to stop the sale of alcohol at below 40p to 50p a unit in shops and supermarkets. There could also be a more sophisticated system of taxes based on the number of alcohol units contained in the drink. Both options would cost drinkers an estimated extra £700 million a year, with any extra tax revenue potentially going to the NHS.

29 Dec 2011

Unit pricing of alcohol on the agenda in the UK

The cost of alcohol must be increased to stem the thousands of drink-related diseases diagnosed each year, a group of medical experts said on Wednesday. Debate is on the rationality of unit pricing of alcohol across Britain.

15 Dec 2011

A woman’s brain can get damaged faster with alcohol abuse: Study

A latest study has shown that female alcoholics suffer damage to the part of their brain that controls moods, impulses and sleep three times faster than their male counterparts.

10 Nov 2011

UNC professor wins 2011 PECASE award for research into alcohol addiction

During a White House ceremony next month, Thomas L. Kash, PhD, assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and the UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine will receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

30 Sep 2011

NIH-funded project to study risk factors for alcoholism in Native Americans

Scripps Research Institute Professor Cindy Ehlers has been awarded a prestigious $3.6 million MERIT Award grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the risk factors for alcoholism in Native Americans.

28 Sep 2011

Alcohol's role in sexual violence perpetration

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7 Sep 2011

Alcohol related teen hospitalizations higher in areas with more off-licenses: Study

New research shows that the more off-license stores a town boasts of, the greater the number of under-age drinkers who are likely to end up in hospital as a result of harmful drinking.

5 Sep 2011

Alcohol related hospital admissions rise in Britain

Figures reveal that 1.1 million people in England were admitted to hospital in 2009/10 because of alcohol – a rise of 879 per day compared with five years ago.

25 Aug 2011

Addiction to tanning

A new study reveals addiction of a new kind – addiction to tanning. Researchers have believed for several years that tanners exhibit similar behavior to alcoholics and drug addicts.

15 Aug 2011

Longer work hours linked to greater alcohol consumption: Study

According to new research from New Zealand, people who work longer hours can have more than triple the risk of alcohol abuse and addiction.

10 Aug 2011

Study indicates bi-directional relationships between alcohol and stress

Acute stress is thought to precipitate alcohol drinking. Yet the ways that acute stress can increase alcohol consumption are unclear. A new study investigated whether different phases of response to an acute stressor can alter the subjective effects of alcohol. Findings indicate bi-directional relationships between alcohol and stress.

16 Jul 2011

Labelling fails to address major knowledge gap on alcohol risks

The liquor industry’s decision to voluntarily include health warning labels on alcohol is a welcome move, but alone is unlikely to make a significant impact on the health and social consequences of alcohol abuse and binge drinking in Australia.

12 Jul 2011

Liquor industry body suggests warnings on bottles

The Australian liquor industry-funded organization DrinkWise is proposing the introduction of labels displaying new consumer warnings on alcoholic drinks. The warnings would include messages that alcohol should not be drunk by children, can cause self-harm and should be avoided...

12 Jul 2011