Markham's Behavioral Health

Drunk driving has killed 29 times the number of people killed in the World Trade Center attacks so far since 09/11/01

I am preparing a talk I am to give next Thursday, April 26, 2007 dealing with the ripple effects of DWI on communities in conjunction with National Crime Victim's Rights Week.

It has been 14 years since Brigd and Ryan were killed on March 10, 1993. Brigid was 5 and Ryan was 8. If they were alive today, Brigid would be 20 and Ryan would be 22. Not a day goes by that I don't think about them.

I thought I would post some of the data which I am reviewing for my talk. There will be several articles on my blog over the next few days.

17,000 Americans are killed very year in DWIs in the United States. Since the World Trade Center tragedy in which 2,973 people were killed, 85,833 have been killed in DWI crashes which is 29 times the number killed in the World Trade Center.

We are entering prom season, a time of celebrating with alcohol for many young people. Here is a very graphic image produced by MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Candy, the film

Candy is an Australian film released in 2006 about two heroin addicts in love. They are both in their mid 20s, she an aspiring artist, and he a would be poet who is content to allow her to prostitute herself to support them and finance their habit.

The film depicts a downward spiral amid a torrid love story which seems to imply that succumbing to the disease of addiction is a beautiful thing as long as two people in love do it together, and then it becomes powerfully ugly.

I didn't particularly like this film. I am not sure what the intended message is other than that infatuation can occur in problematic situations and be mistaken for love.

I recommend this film with reservations.

Link: Candy (2006).

Half Nelson, the film

Half Nelson was distributed in 2006 and is the story about Dan Dunne, a Middle School inner city White Social Studies teacher who abuses cocaine and crack and gets discovered by one of his students, a 13 year old African American female, Drey.

Mr. Dunne seems quite charismatic, and Drey becomes somewhat infatuated with him, and the relationship deepens when, mature beyond her years, she colludes with him to keep his secret.

The creative tension in the movie is created by the character study of Dan Dunne who seems like a very good teacher, and girls basketball coach, but whose drug addiction goes undealt with by colleagues, family, girlfriends. He seems to go through the motions of life depressed, discheveled, engaging in dysfunctional behavior like trying to rape his colleague girl friend, but bright and caring. The only person in his life that seems to actually see what is going on and cares about it is his 13 year old student. At times she is brought to tears over her sadness of what she witnesses. The film is poignant and moving because of the shame and helplessness of "Teach" in the grips of addiction but still functioning, in the eyes of a child.

I have been interested for some time in the idea of how children care for their dusfunctional parents, and other adult authority figures. Children are significantly marginalized in our contemporary society being segregated in schools, and treated as objects of our educational, entertainment, child care, human service, and health care industries. They are rarely asked for their opinions, genuine help, and are treated in a consumer oriented, materialistic culture, as creatures of consumption rather than creativity and production. To see a film which depicts a 13 year old African American 8th grader, mature beyond her years, care for her 30 something Male White Social Studies teacher turns our cultural expectations and models upside down. The role reversal is subtle and nuanced, and also stunning.

Like good art, this film raises far more questions than it answers, and probably will mean quite different things to different people. I highly recommend this film.

Radio Flyer, the film

Radio Flyer, distributed in 1992, starring Tom Hanks, is the story about two young boys, 9 and 7, who grow up in an abusive household where their step dad is an alcoholic who beats the 7 year old Bobby. To get Bobby out of the situation, Bobby's older brother, Michael, helps Bobby build an airplane out of their Radio Flyer wagon so Bobby can fly away from the abusive family situation.

This film falls flat and I was disappointed. It was recommended to me by clients when I asked if they had ever seen a film depicting what it is like for children to grow up in a family where a parent is suffering from chemical dependency problems. I would have found this film more satisfying if there had been a real resolution to the family problems rather than Bobby flying off in his wagon like E.T.

I don't recommend this film.

Link: Radio Flyer (1992).

Once Were Warriors, the film

Once Were Warriors is a film from New Zealand distributed in 1994 which depicts the urban life of a Maori family which is frought with domestic violence, alcoholism, rape, and suicide. This film is very disturbing to watch and is for a mature audience only. It also may be especially disturbing for people who have been victims of domestic violence and abuse in the past.

The film accurately displays the dynamics and ambivalence often present in families which suffer from domestic violence and alcoholism. I understand that it has been used in professional training programs to sensitize students to the problems which they may be asked to help with.

I highly recommend this film but with significant concerns that the viewing audience be prepared to handle the content.

Link: Once Were Warriors (1994).

Heavy Christmas drinking leads to high abortion rates in UK a month later

The BBC reports that there was a record number of abortions in the UK in January of 2005 because of all the unprotected sex that occurred during Christmas partying where the intoxicants were flowing. People often don't think of the date rape and poor judgement that is used due to substance abuse as resulting in sexual consequences like unwanted pregnancy and transmission of STDs.

Heavy Christmas drinking and partying, leading to unprotected sex, could be to blame for a record number of abortions last month, says a UK charity.

A total of 5,992 abortions were carried out at Marie Stopes International's nine UK clinics in January - a rise of 13% on the 5,304 in January 2005.

This is more in a month than at any time in the charity's 32-year history.

But pregnancy advice groups said the figures probably reflected poor access to contraceptive services.

To read the BBC report published on 02/08/07 click here.

Using Nicotine Patch Before Quit Date Ups Success

According to a Reuters Health Day report published on November  19, 2006, smokers who start on a nicotine patch at least two weeks prior to their quit date will double their chances of quitting smoking as compared to people who wait to use the patch on their quit date.

Giving nicotine patches a two-week "head start" more than doubles the chances they'll help smokers kick the habit, research finds.

A U.S. team found that by applying the patch 14 days before that last cigarette, users greatly boosted their long-term success rate.

The initial study was published earlier this year in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, and a second trial has now replicated those findings, according to Jed E. Rose, medical research professor and director of Duke University's Center for Nicotine Cessation Research. He led the original study and is co-inventor of the nicotine patch.

Link: MedlinePlus: Using Nicotine Patch Before Quit Date Ups Success.

Over half of U.S. high school students drink alcohol and most of them binge drink

Nearly half of high school students in the United States drink alcohol illegally and most are binge drinkers.

Jan 2, 2007 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly half of all U.S. high-school students admit to recently drinking alcohol illegally, and most of them were binge drinkers, according to a government survey published on Tuesday. These binge drinkers — who had five or more drinks in a row — were more likely to have sex, fight, smoke or use drugs, the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. "Our study clearly shows that it's not just that students drink alcohol, but how much they drink that most strongly affects whether they experience other health and social problems," said Dr. Jacqueline Miller of the CDC's Alcohol Team, who led the study. "It also underscores the importance of implementing effective strategies to prevent underage and binge drinking, such as enforcing the minimum legal drinking age and reducing alcohol marketing to youth, which can help us change social norms regarding the acceptability of underage and binge drinking." Across the United States, the minimum drinking age is 21, while most teens leave high school by age 17, 18 or 19. Writing in the journal Pediatrics, the CDC team said they analyzed data from 15,214 high-school students (aged 14 to 18) who completed the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. They found that 45 percent of the students admitted having drunk alcohol

Link: ABC News: Teens Binge Drink: Government Study.

40% of college students 18 -20 report binge drinking in past month

According to National Survey on Drug Use and Health, No. 31, issued in 2006 by SAMSHA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 40% of college students aged 18-20 say that they have binge drank in the previous month.

Rates of past month binge alcohol use among full-time college students aged 18 to 20 also remained steady from 2002 to 2005 (Figure 1), with an annual average of 40.1 percent (2.1 million students) engaging in binge alcohol use. In this group of young adult students, males were more likely to have engaged in binge alcohol use than females (46.9 vs. 34.4 percent) (Figure 2). Rates of binge alcohol use among this group also increased with increasing age (Figure 3). Full-time college students aged 18 to 20 living with a parent, grandparent, or parent-in-law were less likely to have engaged in binge alcohol use than full-time college students aged 18 to 20 who were not living with a parental relative (34.0 vs. 48.5 percent).

To read the newletter which provides this information, click here.

Using Nicotine Patch Before Quit Date Ups Success

Reuters HealthDay reported on November 19, 2006 on a study orginally reported in the journal, Nicotine and Tobacco Research, which found that starting nicotine patches two weeks before the cessation date increases the liklihood of people quitting smoking.

Giving nicotine patches a two-week "head start" more than doubles the chances they'll help smokers kick the habit, research finds.

A U.S. team found that by applying the patch 14 days before that last cigarette, users greatly boosted their long-term success rate.

The initial study was published earlier this year in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, and a second trial has now replicated those findings, according to Jed E. Rose, medical research professor and director of Duke University's Center for Nicotine Cessation Research. He led the original study and is co-inventor of the nicotine patch.

One concern for some experts was that wearing a patch while still smoking might prove too toxic, or actually boost addiction by putting more nicotine in the body.

Not true, Rose said. "We have also found in the recent studies that the success rate is double even when smokers switched to a low nicotine or de-nicotinized cigarettes during the two week pre-cessation treatment period, and this procedure further allays any concerns about the possibility of nicotine overdose."

Link: MedlinePlus: Using Nicotine Patch Before Quit Date Ups Success.