Alcohol
Awareness Month 2006
 Alcohol
Awareness Month (AAM) is an annual observance that encourages
the public at large and local communities to focus on alcoholism
and alcohol-related issues. AAM began as a way to inform
the American public that alcoholism is a treatable disease,
not a moral weakness, and that people who are addicted to
alcohol can and do recover.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA) defines alcoholism (or alcohol dependence) as
a chronic disease with four symptoms:
- a strong
need to drink (craving);
- an inability
to limit the number of drinks (loss of control);
- signs of
withdrawal, such as sweating, shaking, and nausea, once
drinking has stopped (physical dependence); and
- a need
to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high"
(tolerance).
People who crave alcohol have an uncontrollable need
to drink that is stronger than their desire to stop drinking.
These cravings for alcohol last for a lifetime and can
be as strong as the need for food or water. The risk for
developing alcoholism is influenced by a person's genes
and by a person’s lifestyle.
To read this month’s APA Expert Opinion on Alcohol
Awareness Information, click here.
More information on the impact of alcohol and drug abuse
can be found in the APA brochure, Alcohol,
Drug Abuse and Mental Disorders - Reducing the Economic
and Human Costs.
 National
Alcohol Screening Day - April 6th, 2006
National Alcohol Screening Day® (NASD) held April
6th as part of National Alcohol Awareness Month, is a
program of the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health,
Inc. NASD is a program offering colleges, community organizations,
hospitals and clinicians the opportunity to educate the
public about alcohol’s impact on health. Registered
sites receive materials, including screening forms as
well as educational information designed to educate the
public about the effects of alcohol on overall health,
a message relevant to anyone who drinks. An estimated
221,000 people attended an NASD in-person event in 2005
and 156,571 people were screened through the online and
in-person program. For more information, or to register
for the program, call (781) 239-0071 or visit www.NationalAlcoholScreeningDay.org.
Find
an alcohol screening site near you
 College
Students and Alcohol Abuse
For most students, college is a time of learning and
growth. It is also a time for making new friends and enjoying
the social atmosphere that thrives on campuses. But for
some college students, partying and drinking can present
a real threat to their academic careers and their overall
health and well-being. Pressure to participate in binge
drinking, drinking large quantities of alcohol most nights
during the week, and drinking to feel like the part of
the crowd, are all common occurrences.
Did you know…
- Approximately
1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24
die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries,
including motor vehicle crashes
- More than
97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims
of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape
- About 25
percent of college students report academic consequences
of their drinking including missing class, falling behind,
doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower
grades overall
Find
out more about College Alcohol Abuse and how to get help
For more information on Alcohol Abuse and Addiction,
visit the following sites:
American
Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
American
Society of Addiction Medicine
National
Alliance on Mental Illness
National
Mental Health Association
National
Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
National
Institute on Drug Abuse
National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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