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Substance Use and Harm

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Substance Use and Harm

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  1. National Addiction Awareness WeekNovember 20th to 27th, 2005Each of us – parents, grandparents, educators, friends, coaches, community members, healthcare providers and others - has a vital role to play in supporting our families, friends, clients and patients to feel good about themselves and to carefully consider their choices. Addiction Awareness Week gives us the opportunity to increase our own knowledge about these important issues and to renew our commitment to promote prevention of substance misuse and problem gambling in our communities.

  2. Why spend money for addictions treatment when the overwhelming majority of those who receive it don’t get better? • “Addiction is a chronic disease, like diabetes, asthma or hypertension. Just like these diseases, one course of treatment is unlikely to result in a complete “cure”. Ongoing treatment may be required before an addict achieves the final stage of recovery”. • “…Because some persons view addiction as an acute illness requiring only one treatment episode, they often do not know that relapse rates for addiction treatment are lower than relapse rates for hypertension and asthma treatment”. • “…Finally, relapse from addictions treatment for opiods and cocaine is less than 50%. This means that most of the persons who receive treatment for these addictions recover. These facts also suggest that paying for addictions treatment would yield as good a return as paying for other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension”. O’Brien CP, McLellan At. `Myths about the Treatment of Addiction’ [1996]

  3. Substance Use and Harm • More than 90% of suicide victims have a diagnosable psychiatric illness or substance use disorder. • About 66% of homeless persons had a lifetime diagnosis of substance abuse [of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in particular], 4-5 times the rate in the general population. • The most commonly reported drug-related harm involves physicalhealth. Following physical health, a cluster of harms, represented somewhat equally, include: • - friendship and social life • home and marriage • work • financial

  4. Many medications can interact with alcohol, leading to increased risk of illness, injury or death. For example, it is estimated that alcohol-medication interactions may be a factor in at least 25% of all emergency room admissions. How Common Are Alcohol-DrugInteractions? More than 5,000 prescription drugs are available in Canada, and physicians write about 250 million prescriptions annually. In addition, approximately 17,000 medications are available without prescription. About 60% of men and 30% of women have had one or more adverse alcohol-related life events. Together with the data on medication use, these statistics suggest that some concurrent use of alcohol and medication is inevitable. The elderly may be especially likely to mix drugs and alcohol and are at particular risk for the adverse consequences of such combinations. The elderly are more likely to suffer medication side effects compared with younger persons, and these effects tend to be more severe with advancing age. Alcohol – Medication Interactions

  5. Alcohol and Cancer • Alcohol is causally related to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, colon, rectum and liver. It is also causally linked to breast cancer in women. “Alcohol, being recognized as a risk factor for cancer, goes back many, many years,” notes John Garcia, director of cancer prevention at Cancer Care Ontario. “… Cancer Care Ontario has taken the position that alcohol consumption is a significant cause of cancer”. [2003] Did you know… • More than 75% of cancers of the upper digestive and respiratory tract in developed countries are attributable to alcohol and tobacco use. • The most important risk factor for liver cancer is heavy and persistent use of alcohol. • Approximately 25% of men and 1% of women in Ontario drink in a manner representing some level of increased risk of cancer.

  6. Tobacco: Even light smoking triples disease death rate • In Ontario, one quarter of cancer deaths – more than 5,000 deaths each year – are due to tobacco. Studies from the mid 1990’s indicate that smoking costs the Province of Ontario $3.7 billion, or almost 1% of the GDP, including $1.1 billion in direct health care costs. [Cancer Care Ontario Tobacco Facts] • Smokers who believe a few cigarettes a day won’t do any harm will need to think again. Norwegian scientists who studied the health records of 43,000 men and women have shown that even light smoking – less than five cigarettes daily – triples the risk of dying of heart disease or lung cancer. • “In both sexes, smoking 1-4 cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease and from all causes, and from lung cancer in women,” said Dr. Aage Tverdal of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo. The study was published in the journal Tobacco Control.

  7. Addiction is a complex issue. It affects every member of the family and can have a lasting impact on their lives. The effect on family members varies from person to person and family to family. Addiction is a process rather than an event. In the beginning, people often don’t experience any difficulties. As their use continues, they may begin to focus more on the alcohol, drugs or gambling than they do on the other areas of their lives. This process is often influenced by a number factors, including the culture they live in, life events, their biological makeup and their relationships with family and friends. Members of an addicted family often experience loneliness, frustration, fear, anger and shame. They may also feel a sense of hopelessness about their situation. It is important for them to realize that the addiction is not their fault. Often, seeking outside help from a support group or from a professional counsellor can help them cope with what is going on in their family. Addiction in the Family

  8. Children of Alcoholics/Addicts:Some Important Facts • Children of alcoholics/addicts exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety more than children of non-alcoholics/addicts. • Children of alcoholics/addicts experience greater physical and mental health problems and higher health care costs than children from non-alcoholic/addict families. • Children of alcoholics/addicts often have difficulties in school. • Children of alcoholics/addicts have greater difficulty with abstraction and conceptual reasoning. • Children of alcoholics/addicts may benefit from intervention and programming specific to their needs/concerns.

  9. Problem Gambling • Many people gamble without ever encountering a problem. They buy a lottery or raffle ticket, go to the racetrack or an evening of bingo, drop an occasional loonie into a machine. When the draw or the game is over, they go to other non-gambling activities. • For some people, gambling takes on more importance in their lives and becomes a problem. Gambling problems can range from minor to quite serious. The gambling may cause only occasional problems in the gambler’s life – for example, making it difficult to pay the utility bill or rent the same month. Or it may progress and have an ongoing negative impact on the gambler and his or her family – causing excessive debt, marriage problems, and even illegal activity. • Recently-released research findings have revealed that 449,000 people in Ontario are problematically involved in gambling. As well, 4.8% of the population that experience gambling problems contribute 35% [$1.41 billion] of the gambling revenues generated in Ontario.

  10. What if my child asks about alcohol, other drugs or gambling? Talking to your child about alcohol, other drugs and gambling can be challenging. It is hard to know where to start. You might worry that if you raise the topic, it will somehow encourage your child to experiment. You might feel unsure about the subject. QUICK TIPS: Educate Yourself Take time to learn about the substances you think may be a part of our child’s life. It’s important to know the facts and speak to your child truthfully. Encourage Questions Think of ways to begin a conversation about the topic. Try asking what they think of kids who use alcohol, drugs or who gamble. By responding to questions in a non-judgmental and reasonable way, you will encourage your child to get into the habit of talking with you, and relying upon you as a source of accurate information. Listen This may be the single most important thing you can do for your child. By really listening to what they have to say, you will learn more about your child’s needs, and about what worries them and what’s important to them.

  11. Everyone likes to share good news and good times with friends. But when an occasion calls for a party, it also calls for a responsible host. If you decide to serve alcohol, here are a few tips to ensure guests have a good time and get home safely. Serve high protein foods. Minimize salty foods because they make people thirsty. Have non-alcoholic beverages available for guests. Measure drinks. If possible, tend bar yourself or assign a responsible bartender. Don’t force drinks on your guests. Don’t rush to refill guests’ glasses the minute they are empty. Plan activities. Stop serving alcohol about an hour before the party is to end. If a guest drinks to excess… either drive the guest home, arrange for a sober person to drive them, call a cab or offer them the spare room or sofa. Here is a good non-alcoholic punch recipe: 1 can frozen cranberry juice, 2 cans water, 2 cups orange juice, 2 oz. of lemon juice, 4 litres of ginger ale. Combine juices and chill. Pour into a punch bowl over a block of ice and add ginger ale. Being a Responsible Host…

  12. Top Addiction Resource Web Sites • Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse [http://www.ccsa.ca/] • Substance Abuse Network of Ontario or SANO [http:/sano.arf.org/] • Canadian Health Network (Health Canada) [http://www.hwc.ca/ • National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health [http://www.ccsh.ca/ncth/] • Lindesmith Center [http://www.lindesmith.org] • American Psychological Association, Division of Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse [HTTP://charlotte.med.nyu.edu/woodr/div28.html] • Online AA Resources [http://www.recovery.org/aa] • Parents. The Anti-Drug. U.S. [www.theantidrug.com] • Centre For Addiction and Mental Health [www.camh.net] • Virtual Party Ontario [www.virtual-party.org] • Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Wellness [www.stats.can.ca] • Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology: Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction In Canada [www.parl.gc.ca]

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