What Do You Mean By That?

New research shows that researchers and subjects often have different definitions for drinking terms and classifications. For example, many women in the study described themselves as “tipsy,” which actually met the definition for high-risk drinking.

This is nothing new for health behavior research. For years we have known that many people who “smoke socially” do not consider themselves to be smokers. Therefore, not only is the research inaccurate, but also it is harder to provide treatment. Researchers and treatment providers should look closer at the terminology and communication used to talk about these issues.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/study-researchers-subjects.html

-posted by Tad Spencer

The importance to use prescription painkillers only as prescribed

Often when discussing campus health, we focus on tobacco use, alcohol abuse, and sexual behavior. However, a recent review of accidental overdose deaths in the state of West Virginia shows that prescription drug abuse of opioid painkillers is a grave concern. 295 people died in West Virginia from accidental prescription overdoses in 2006, and use of these drugs without a prescription was most common for 18-24 year-olds. In addition, the 2008 Monitoring the Future Survey reveals that nationwide nearly 10% of high school seniors have used Vicodin and 4.7% have used Oxycontin (both opioid painkillers) for non-medical use in the past year. Campus health centers should warn students about the dangers of prescription drug overdose to themselves and others and strongly encourage them to only use the prescribed amount.

Source: Medical News Today

-posted by Chris Miller

The More Things Change…

The Lane Medical Library at Stanford University’s School of Medicine has compiled an extensive gallery of cigarette advertising over the years. Many of these ads date back to the 1950s and earlier. For an especially disturbing experience, look through the collection marked “Then and Now.” This will show you precisely how many ad concepts have never disappeared; they simply get rehashed in the name of nostalgia.

http://lane.stanford.edu/tobacco/index.html

-posted by Tad Spencer

Educating on Sexual Assault

This article, though disconcerting in its reminders of how much work still needs to be done to eliminate sexual violence, is an excellent talking piece for how peer education programs can be effective. Specifically highlighted here is the RSVP (Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention) Peer Education group at the University of Missouri – Columbia.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131613.php

How is your campus peer education group addressing this topic? Please share your programming ideas with the rest of the Network.

-posted by Tad Spencer

News from BACCHUS HQ

From the “Rarely a Dull Moment” file:
Staff at the BACCHUS office came in on Monday morning (Dec 8) to discover a stray bullet had made its way through one of our office windows and lodged in the opposite wall. No one was in the office at the time. The shot was most likely part of an altercation in the nearby retail area. This is a very rare and rather random occurrence. Building management is replacing the broken window, and life at BACCHUS continues.

-posted by Tad Spencer