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

Marijuana Education

Despite what some laws suggest, marijuana isn’t safe. Massachusetts recently passed a law that makes it legal to possess less than an ounce of marijuana. Unfortunately this is going to send the message that marijuana is safe and will probably lead to more people trying it. Advisors and peer educators should tell students the truth about marijuana:

• Marijuana does contain carcinogens
• Per puff, marijuana has 3 to 5 times more tar and carbon monoxide than a cigarette
• Small amounts of marijuana impair a person’s driving ability
• Marijuana use can become addictive and is linked with a greater risk for future illicit drug dependence

Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy: “Marijuana Myths and Facts”

-posted by Chris Miller

Great American Smokeout

Today is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, an annual tradition where smokers are encouraged to quit for 24 hours. If that is successful, they should try two days, then four, then eight, etc.

This is a day where we remember those that we have lost to tobacco-related illness. It is also a day where we honor those who are fighting for their lives to escape the grips of the most powerful addiction we know.

Congratulations to those who are working to quit and transition to a life free of tobacco. At BACCHUS, it is our honor to help you in that process.

Please visit our tobacco site: www.tobaccofreeU.org

-posted by Tad Spencer and the BACCHUS Tobacco Team