Study Shows Link Between Early Alcohol Exposure and Adult Heavy Drinking

A new study from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is described in this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7641312.stm

Excerpts from the article:

• The NIAAA found drinking before the age of 15 increased a child's risk of becoming a heavy drinker.
• A teenager's fast-developing brain becomes programmed to link alcohol with pleasure, experts believe.
• Research shows that by the age of seven most children will have tasted alcohol.
• Research also shows the likelihood of developing alcohol-use disorders in adulthood is about 50% higher for people who start drinking before the age of 15 as for those who abstain until they are 18 or older.
• "The data support the notion of delaying the onset of drinking behavior as late as possible."

Question for campuses:
How might this potentially impact your alcohol programming and interventions on campus?

-posted by Tad Spencer

GA Call for Programs Deadline Extended!

Submit a Program and Share Your Expertise!

There is still time to submit your program to present at General Assembly in Columbus, Ohio.

Call for Programs New Deadline: October 6, 2008

For information about submitting a program: http://www.bacchusnetwork.org/documents/GA08CallforProgramsFinal.pdf

To submit a program online: https://www.bacchusnetwork.org/regphp/generalAssemblyCallforPrograms.php

-post from: Ann Quinn-Zobeck

Study shows casual young-adult smokers more likely to dangerously drink

A new study conducted by the Yale University School of Medicine surveyed nearly 6,000 young-adults aged 18-25 and found that casual smokers are 16 times more likely to be hazardous drinkers and five times more likely to have alcohol-use disorders than their nonsmoking peers. This strong link between social smoking and dangerous drinking should help guide health educators on campus. When your campus health center refers a smoker to cessation services, perhaps they should also ask questions to see if providing information about the dangers of binge drinking would be appropriate.

Click here for the full article.

-posted by: Chris Miller

General Assembly - The Place to Be

Did you know that half of the U.S. population is within 550 miles of Columbus, Ohio?

The BACCHUS Network General Assembly 2008 - November 13-16 - Columbus, Ohio

It's time to hit the road on a Journey to Peer Education Success this November! Take advantage of a tremendous selection of learning opportunities during the conference at 70+ educational sessions, 2 keynotes, and 6 featured health issue presentations. If you feel like you need some specialized trainings, you can also take advantage of the pre-conference CPE (Certified Peer Educator) Training or the free Advisor's College sessions.

Call for Programs
Share your talents with our network! Submit an educational session for our General Assembly. Teach us the latest information and prevention strategies on alcohol abuse and drug education, tobacco control, eating disorders mental health issues, sexual health and sexual violence. Spotlight progams on health and wellness issues that affect the quality of life on campus. Help us to become stronger advocates in knowing resources and ways to promote a healthy lifestyle.

For more information about submitting a program click here.
To submit a program online, click here.

Register Online Now
Be a part of the premier conference focusing on student health issues and peer education programs for colleges and universities.

Registration Costs
On or Before Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Advisor/Student $290
Guest $330
Agency Exhibit $500

After Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Advisor/Student $320
Guest $360
Agency Exhibit $550

To download the conference registration booklet, click here.
To register online, click here now!

Apply for Awards and Scholarships
Awards submissions are due Monday, October 13th for
· Outstanding Students
· Outstanding Advisors
· Outstanding Alumni
· Outstanding Affiliates
· Outstanding Programs

Click here to download the Awards Submission Form

Scholarships
Eleven scholarships are available for students this year. Click here to find out more. Scholarship applications must be received in Denver no later than Monday, October 6th.
Email: scholarships@bacchusnetwork.org OR FAX: 303-871-0907

Hotel Information
Participants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations.
Hyatt Regency Columbus
350 North High Street,
Columbus, Ohio, USA 43215
PH: 614.463.1234 for block rates.

$147 Single/Double/Triple/Quad, plus applicable taxes.

Call the direct number listed to receive the conference rate! Do not use the Hyatt 800 - REFERENCE THE BACCHUS GENERAL ASSEMBLY at time of reservation.

· Check-In Time: 3 PM
· Check-Out Time: 12 Noon

-post written by: Ann Quinn-Zobeck

What are you doing for NCAAW?

By now, campuses should have received their "U Decide" campaign mailing for National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week 2008. Hopefully you have had time to go through the manual and campaign items with your peer educators.

• What programs are you planning for NCAAW?
  
• Are there particular BACCHUS items that you like this year?
• How can you sustain the impact of your NCAAW programs throughout the year?

-posted by: Tad Spencer

Smoke-Free Pennsylvania

Congratulations to Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities. In addition to the state going smoke-free, the campuses have made all their grounds completely smoke-free, as well.

Though there has been some backlash over the new policy, we encourage campuses to stay on-message about the health benefits of smoke-free/tobacco-free environments, and emphasizing that healthy behaviors are the norm.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08257/911949-85.stm

-posted by: Tad Spencer

American Lung Association Study on College Students and Tobacco

On Monday, September 8, the American Lung Association released this report, analyzing the current status of tobacco use on college campuses.

The study recommends changing the campus norm—the perception that most students use tobacco. The truth is that, nationwide, only about 20% of students use tobacco, meaning that around 80% do not. While the use rate is still higher than what we would prefer, it is much lower than the perceived norm.

The BACCHUS Network and the American Lung Association share the same belief that campuses should pursue tobacco-free campus policies. This population-based strategy has been shown to provide the largest decreases in use. BACCHUS affiliates should look for the annual collegiate tobacco mailing, arriving in early October. This year, we focus more specifically on policy change and how you can tweak your current tobacco events to work toward a tobacco-free campus.

For more tobacco-related information, please visit: www.tobaccofreeU.org

-posted by: Tad Spencer

Loud Music and Drinking Behavior

This article discusses a recent French study on the correlation between loud music and drinking levels. Subjects exposed to louder music tended to drink faster and order more drinks than those exposed to lower music volumes.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115587.php

There are two hypotheses posited: 1) loud music caused higher brain arousal, which in turn caused people to drink more, and 2) loud music made it harder for people to talk to one another, resulting in more drinking to fill the time.

Certainly, casino owners have known for years that highly arousing environments encourage compulsive behavior. It looks like the same may be true for bars and concert facilities.

-posted by: Tad Spencer