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| 08 09 2008 - 09.33 GMT |
I came across an interesting, pretty balanced but not too detailed, analysis of the drug issue in the Independent: could it be that the "war on drugs" is really making the problem worse? Government officials are of course quick to highlight the great rise in drug seizures (the number of Class A drug seizures in England and Wales more than doubled between 1996 and 2005, according to recent UK Drug Policy Commission report) - but it's estimated that up to 80% of drugs would need to be seized regularly to put major traffickers out of business, and seizure rates on this scale have never been achieved in the UK or elsewhere. (My last entry featured an incorrect external link, it's been taken care of now, sorry.) |
| 15 08 2008 - 08.40 GMT |
2m Britons take illegal drugs each month. 1 in 3 adults has tried banned substances. 1 in 4 school-aged children has used drugs. Hospital admissions in England for drugs poisoning increased by 43 per cent in 10 years. Admissions for mental health and behavioural problems caused by drug abuse, more than doubled the figure of 10 years ago. Cocaine use trebles in a decade (btw. Transform note on their blog that DoH spokeswoman is not right when she says drug deaths are down). Former drugs policy director says legalisation would be less harmful than the current strategy. "Enforcement and supply-side interventions are largely pointless. They have no significant, lasting impact on the availability, affordability or use of drugs". |
| 30 07 2008 - 09.31 GMT |
More cheerful stories about Brits enjoy the holiday season: Two drunken British women went on a rampage on a charter plane, hitting one flight attendant with a bottle of vodka and trying to open a cabin door mid-flight. They were on their way back from Greece, where a mayor of Faliraki seaside resort says he's relieved to see fewer visitors from UK: "Mercifully our clientele this summer is a wonderful mix of people from all over Europe who know how to peacefully enjoy their time in the sun. There are far fewer Britons, which means no rapes, no accidents, no drunken debauchery, no going on the rampage." Good thing David Cameron, leader of the opposition in UK parliament, found the solution to all this - he says parents should introduce their children to alcohol at home in order to avoid it causing trouble when they are older. This idea has got "hypocrisy" written all over it in bright flashing toxic-waste shade of green! It may seem like it says "people abuse substances because they are forbidden fruit". This is, of course, true to some extent, but if this is what Mr. Cameron is aiming at, then why stop at alcohol? What about tobacco, cocaine and heroin? Surely, there's a hole somewhere in his logic, and seems to me like it's the size of a small lorry! |
| 28 07 2008 - 09.10 GMT |
The number of drug users being admitted to hospital with cocaine overdoses is four times higher than it was eight years ago. Up to 25% of heart attacks occurring in people under 30 may be due to regular cocaine use. But then - what do you expect, when cocaine is used in 95% of bars and clubs in London? |
| 25 07 2008 - 09.02 GMT |
Couple of months ago I wrote about the rising rates of alcohol related hospital admissions. The upward trend was evident and the numbers were pretty staggering. But hey - guess what! The latest NHS admissions data reveal that past assessments had vastly underestimated the impact alcohol abuse has on society and it turns out that more than 800,000 people are admitted to hospital with alcohol-related illnesses and injuries every year – that's four times the previous official figure! Adding insult to injury, drinks industry is flouting its own "voluntary code" on "responsible sales". Wow, the layers of absurd are pretty damn thick here! It's a little bit like the tobacco companies and menthol cigarettes - you know, the lighter, healthier smokes... that actually are just a more addictive way to target young people. |
| 24 07 2008 - 08.43 GMT |
It's middle of the summer and the holiday season is in full swing. It can be so much fun - go somewhere nice, chill out, maybe learn how to surf or just work on your tan, right? Or, if that sounds kind of boring, you can always overdose drugs or drink yourself to death. |
| 23 07 2008 - 12.17 GMT |
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness, disability and premature death in Canada. Each year, at least 40,000 deaths are caused by smoking - that's more than 20% of all deaths among Canadians. Tobacco kills three times more Canadians than alcohol, AIDS, illicit drugs, car accidents, suicide and murder - all combined. Let's break it down. Of every 1,000 Canadians who smoke and are now 20 years old, about half will die from smoking if they continue to use tobacco. That's 500 people. And approximatively 250 of them will not live pass the age of 70 (on average, deaths from smoking result in 15 years loss of expected life). In contrast, out of that 1,000 people, only nine will die in traffic accidents, and only one will be murdered. No wonder Canada is sick of smoke. |
| 09 07 2008 - 11.20 GMT |
Another predictable story, another avoidable disaster, another wasted chance. Jenna Foellmi, a 20-year-old biochemistry major at Winona State University, died of alcohol poisoning, one day after she had finished her last exam of the semester. Here's an interesting bit, as CNN reports: Analysis of hundreds of news articles about alcohol-poisoning deaths in the past decade found that not only the victims drank themselves well past the point of oblivion (an average blood-alcohol level of 0.40 percent, or five times the legal limit for driving). In nearly every case, friends knew the victim was drunk and put him or her to bed to "sleep it off". And that was the case with Jenna, too. Her mother, Kate Foellmi said: "Her friends were with her. It's not like they just left her alone". Now, just think about it. What kind of sick denial state are you in. You call people who let you die "friends"? You call them friends because, well let's see, they let you get all drugged up to the point of successfully putting your life at risk? Friendship is not about having a companion to get drunk and do drugs with, to go through your poison fueled pathetic rituals of passage. Screw that and screw your friends. Where are they when you really need them? |
| 07 07 2008 - 13.26 GMT |
A survey by the Local Government Association found the relaxation of the licensing laws has failed to reduce drunken violence - around seven in ten police authorities, primary care trusts and councils had seen either no change or an increase in alcohol-related disorder. The new licensing laws have stretched resources, with 86% of health authorities and 94% of councils reporting increased pressure. |
| 30 06 2008 - 15.44 GMT |
The largest fall in the number of smokers on record? The numbers don't lie, baby. More than 400,000 people quit smoking as a result of the smoking ban. Smoking in UK fell by 5.5% in the nine months after the ban, compared with 1.6% in the previous nine months. |
| 30 06 2008 - 07.12 GMT |
Tomorrow evening BBC will show a report about how British American Tobacco is targeting youth in Africa - it certainly looks quite promising. |
| 23 06 2008 - 20.47 GMT |
Hey, I don't know if you've noticed, but smokers have been getting a bit of a rough ride recently, now haven't they? You know, there's the smoking ban, there's that talk about branding restrictions, and so forth. Everyday is a struggle, you know what I mean?! And do you remember couple of weeks ago when it was announced that some heroin addicts will get free gym? That must have been a real blow to the smokers out there. I feel for these guys. Think about it. They're addicted to some deadly stuff, there's a lot more of them than the junkies, they cost the NHS way more than the illegal drug users - and all for what? For nothing. They get nothing. Nothing. No thing. Until, that is, two days ago, when their miserable fortunes have finally turned! Now (at least in some parts of Scotland) they can get free money! Ok, jokes aside. I don't know what to think about this one. I mean, yes, these people are poor. And yes, poor people will smoke more than the rich ones. But is this a viable solution? And if it is, what kind of message is it sending? Well, forget about the message, this is probably not the focus here. Is this going to work? Because if it will, than it's a pity this can't be done on a larger scale. By "this" I mean "bribing people into not being stupid", because this is kind of what it boils down to. |
| 17 06 2008 - 09.48 GMT |
Yesterday, as I was leaving my local food shop, I saw a group of 5 or 6 teenagers (I'd say 14 to 17 years old) causing some serious commotion across the road from where I was. It looked like one of them was struggling a bit with two other guys. Suddenly he collapsed, I wasn't sure what happened and suspected maybe he got stabbed or knocked out, but they picked him up and rushed to the nearest car - I realised that the boy was high on drugs and maybe booze and his mates were trying to help him. Which they did, by hijacking the car together with the driver and rushing off toward a hospital that's just around the corner. Shortly after, two cop cars came, but by then it was all over, and the guy that got jacked was actually back and reunited with his family. In the meantime, the government launches a new multimillion-pound anti-binge campaign, aimed at 18-24 year olds. I have this feeling that by the time these guys I saw on the street are in their 20s it will be way too late to reach them, but still it seems like a pretty good effort - the add is seriously dumbed down ("don't get drunk, because you will look unattractive"), which is great, and you can check it out here. |
| 16 06 2008 - 12.39 GMT |
Couple of nights ago I was returning home on a night bus full of drunk party people. This girl sat next to me and tried to start a conversation - she was so drunk she couldn't really build a coherent sentence. She stumbled off the bus at some random bus stop, barely avoiding falling over as she stepped onto the sidewalk. She looked around, appeared really confused, and a little bit angry, as she tried to find her way to wherever she wanted to go. The bus moved on and I found myself wondering: who's to blame if she gets her bag stolen tonight, or if she gets assaulted, or if she ends up strolling onto the road and getting hit by a car? Here's what I think. When you're getting all fucked up (swearing you're having the time of your life but tomorrow you won't even be able to recall what happened last night) and getting into trouble for no better reason than being stupid - someone, somewhere needs real help, and the resources used to baby-sit your sorry ass are not available to people who need them. By all means, I should look at you as a victim of the process the society is shaped today by alcohol and drugs. But my pity for you will not change your ways, and I would be lying to myself if I believed that my compassion could be a worthy substitute for your responsibility. So go out there, learn your lessons the hard way. This is about living, this is about choosing, and you're failing to prove me wrong each and every time. (Sorry kids, I can't always keep my guard up and stay positive no matter what. It just doesn't work like that. Now, please go and read this.) |
| 11 06 2008 - 13.45 GMT |
More crazy news from the War On Drugs frontlines. Gym membership vouchers for drug users! Drug addicts are going to be offered bonus vouchers, allowing them to get a gym membership or pay their utility bills, as a reward for staying in treatment. This is bonkers. I've been drug free for more than a decade, where's my free gym tickets, huh? Ok, it's easy to dismiss this as a completely stupid idea, but on a serious note - do they really think someone who is, let's say, trying to give up heroin and just signed up on methadone treatment will decide to stick with it because of freaking gym membership? |
| 02 06 2008 - 10.19 GMT |
Check this out - as part of a government effort to tackle teenage drinking, parents in England are going to be told how much alcohol to give their children. And, that they're going to be prosecuted if the kids drink in public. (Local governments have an even better idea: let's just tell drinkers booze makes them fat). Bringing this to the ground level, some parents say it's all nonsense, because they can't stop their son drinking. It's always sad to see someone you love or care for come to any harm, but the real issue here is - this guy is quite likely to end up in a bad way, but he's an adult and he's refusing help, so there's no way to tackle this, is there? (I mean, what's the cure for being stupid in the first place?) It's not drinking that's the problem. It's drunkenness that we should be worried about. Some people like to drink, and there's not much we can do about it. It actually is problematic, it terms of health impact, family relations, self-esteem, etc. But then, some people like to get drunk. And there's little we can about it. And the best excuse after whatever stupid shit they do is always: "Oh yeah, I'm sorry I was drunk. I'm sorry I run over your child, I'm sorry I raped your daughter, I'm sorry I stabbed your brother, I'm sorry I slept with that girl, I'm sorry your house went up in flames, I'm sorry... I was drunk! I'm sorry, ok?". This bullshit approach really winds me up. |
| 26 05 2008 - 09.32 GMT |
Here's a big question: is changing our diet the key to resolving the global food crisis? The Independent ran this piece about how what we eat affects the planet's food resources and it was refreshing to see the issue tackled from this angle. Usually, when you read about diet links to global warming (guess what's worse for the planet - methane or CO2? and how does that link to millions of animals you keep for food?) or world hunger, it's on a leaflet at your local veggie health food shop, not at a national paper. So I give credit to the Independent for venturing into this territory, but I'm disappointed to conclude that, ultimately, their piece smells of hypocrisy. The article explains how eating meat causes hunger: "It is a very inefficient way of producing food. It takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, and large tracts of forest have been cleared for grazing land that might have been used to grow crops. Chicken is more efficient to produce – it takes 2kg of feed to produce 1kg of meat. To maximise food production it is best to be vegan. According to Simon Fairlie, in his magazine The Land, it would take just 3 million hectares of arable land to meet Britain's food needs, half the current total, if the population were vegan". Very well indeed, what would the logical conclusion be then? Apparently, that we should not go vegan! And why? "It is not realistic to expect people to switch to a diet of vegetables, pulses, fruit and nuts". Please...! What you're saying is here's a way to stop hunger, save lives and resources, it's pretty straightforward and would have massive impact on those issues.... but, "it's not realistic" to expect people to "change their diet"?! |
| 25 05 2008 - 21.50 GMT |
You know drinking is a factor when it comes to all kinds of ailments, right? I just learned that medical experts who gave us Foetal Alcohol Syndrome now say that women who drink alcohol during pregnancy may be putting their babies at risk of developing autism. According to the Department of Health data, more than half of all mothers drink alcohol while pregnant. A recent survey showed 8% of women aged 18 to 24 had consumed at least 35 units of alcohol, the equivalent of about 15 glasses of wine, during the previous week. Binge drinking among young women has resulted in the number of alcohol-related deaths in women aged 35 to 54 doubling between 1991 and 2005. And, once again, NHS says hospital admissions linked to alcohol use are on the rise. Alcohol was the main or secondary cause of 207,800 NHS admissions in 2006/7, compared to 93,500 in 1995/96. There has also been a 20% rise in the number of GP prescriptions for treating alcohol dependency in the past four years. Of hospital admissions in 2006/7 specifically due to an alcohol-related diagnosis, almost one in 10 were in under 18 year olds. In 2006 there were 6,500 deaths related to alcohol, of which two thirds were men - a 19% rise from 2001 figures. 12% of men and 7% of women reported drinking on every single day in the previous week in recent "Statistics on Alcohol: England 2008" survey (download pdf version here). It also brings some interesting numbers regarding teenage drinking: more pupils aged 11 to 15 years say they have never had an alcoholic drink increased from 39% in 2001 to 45% in 2006, but those who admit to drinking are drinking more - out of 8,000 teens questioned, 30% of 15 year olds said it was fine to get drunk at least once a week. |
| 23 05 2008 - 16.44 GMT |
Are you ready for this? I don't think you are, so hold tight. Avocado Anonymous proudly brings you a massive food pictures update, it's pretty insane in terms of the amount of new images and the quality / diversity of food photographed this time, so do yourselves a favor and check out the foodpix section now! |
| 22 05 2008 - 07.56 GMT |
In UK, the government launched a £10m advertising campaign targeting older drinkers, "warning wine lovers who consume two or three glasses a night that they may be failing to recognise the risks they face". In one advertisement, three martini glasses will be shown, each containing an olive, with each olive larger than the last, to illustrate how heavy alcohol consumption over time can cause liver cirrhosis. In another, a pair of large glasses full of red wine, which resemble breasts, are used to remind women of the link between excess alcohol intake and breast cancer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't euphemisms most often used by those who feel guilty about what they're describing? Hey, it's not rocket science. Alcohol is bad for you. It terms of your health, moderate drinking is better than heavy drinking and not drinking is better than moderate drinking. End of story. How come no one tells it like it is, eh? "We hope that the campaign will bring about a shift in attitude to alcohol, gently steering, guiding and educating people, but without wagging a finger at them" - yeah I know, scare tactics don't work, but it seems to me like the main concern here is not to step on anyone's toe! It's a bit like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. We apologise for the inconvenience of your pending demise, and in the meantime - please grab a seat and enjoy the ride! 160 people die in India after drinking contaminated alcohol. Now, it can be argued, that this is an unfortunate incident. You know, the booze was contaminated, right? After all, if it was ok, most of them should be still alive today. This brings me back to the story of 5 prostitutes recently killed by a serial killer in UK. All the girls were drug addicts and worked in their field to support their habits. They were, by all means, killing themselves every single day. You can argue they didn't die because of drugs. It's not overdose that killed them, it's some psycho dude, right? But - do you think that they would find themselves in this unfortunate position in the first place, if it wasn't for the drugs? It's like killing somebody's kid while driving under influence. It's not the booze that killed the child, but surely it wasn't just poor driving and bad judgment, was it? I hope my logic is not flawed and I hope I'm not coming through like I know it all, it's just that it looks to me like people are content with looking at (and tackling) the outcomes, without ever investigating the reasons. |
| 21 05 2008 - 13.34 GMT |
Research from the University of Bath found that the government's constant emphasis on the dangers of drunkenness had failed to change people's behaviour and suggests that ministers should accept that people enjoy getting drunk from time to time and stop labelling Britain a 'nation of binge drinkers'. According to the study, public health messages instructing people to stick to moderate drinking were widely ignored, especially among young people who thought the number of units recommended were "unrealistically low". It seems to me like everyone's just going along with what they find to be the easiest way to deal with the issue. Drinkers say "limits are too low!" - like they are the ones to know. Government says "you're bing drinkers!" - like it's going to change anything. Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University warned that the culture of binge drinking and drug use among young people in Europe is increasing the risk of a sexual health crisis. Young people are drinking alcohol to increase the likelihood of having sex, using drugs to enhance their sexual pleasure, their study found, and this behaviour is linked to practising unsafe sex. This is, basically, nothing new. You lack confidence. You get drunk. (Suddenly, the world belongs to you and you're life and soul of the party!) You go to bed with someone. You wake up. "Oh shit, who's this guy/girl?". The cycle of regret and self loathing continues. And there's of course a fair chance for an unwanted bonus couple of weeks down the road. Pregnancy. Sexually transmitted disease. Who knows, maybe even both - if it's your lucky day. |
| 08 05 2008 - 13.57 GMT |
The UK home secretary, Jacqui Smith, just upgraded cannabis from class C to class B - against the advice of drug workers and government's own panel of experts, who warned that the move would not work in curbing its widespread abuse. Strange, huh? |
| 07 05 2008 - 07.59 GMT |
According to Harvard medical school in Boston study of more than 100,000 women, carried out between 1980 and 2004, people who give up smoking begin to improve their health almost immediately. Some interesting figures emerge: If you smoke one pack a day you are 115 times more likely to develop chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and your lung cancer risk level goes up by 40 times. 64% of deaths among current smokers could be attributable to cigarettes, and 28% of deaths among former smokers. (Newsflash for those of you in the UK: According to the British Medical Association, smoking-related illnesses kill more than 90,000 people each year, and cost the NHS £1.5bn a year - Office for National Statistics said in January this year that 22% of Britons are smokers). Still with us? Here's some good news: the health benefits of stopping appear quickly. For coronary heart disease, 61% of the full potential benefit from quitting happens in the first five years; for strokes 42%; for lung cancer 21%. |
| 06 05 2008 - 09.36 GMT |
More bad news for meat eaters. A New York food company is recalling 143 tons of meat and poultry because it might be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Listeriosis can cause high fever, headache, nausea, and in some cases, death. Couple of days ago this guy was mocking me a bit for being vegan. You know, the usual, "but meat is healthy", "you need meat", blah, blah. We spent couple of days together, he was working for a professional acquaintance of mine, anyway to make the long story short: in two days time he got really upset stomach... twice. Once over a lasagna. Once over a steak. Other than that, we ate all the same food, drank the same fluids, etc. And he was giving me some more drama about how skinny I am, while he was trying to do some exercise in order to shed couple of pounds. The irony of it all was somehow lost on him, but I got the last word anyway - when we were about to part our ways he said "for a vegan, I must say you're pretty strong" as he saw me carrying some 60+ kg on my back in blistering sun. I said "for a meat eater, I must say you're pretty strong, too - but one of us didn't get two food poisonings in a row, and can exercise to stay in shape, not because he's got to lose some weight!". Don't thread on me! Haha. |
| 04 05 2008 - 12.09 GMT |
According to stats released by Police, the number of women arrested for being drunk and disorderly has risen by more than 50% in the past five years. In some areas the number has leapt tenfold - the most dramatic surge was in the West Midlands which experienced a 1138% (no, this is not a typo!) increase. Alcohol campaigners and medical experts warned that binge drinking among young women has reached epidemic proportions and females who follow the example of male binge-drinkers were creating a time-bomb of serious health problems, including soaring rates of liver disease. It's not uncommon for some in their 20s and 30s to suffer liver conditions which doctors usually expect to see among far older, hardened drinkers. (And then there's cases like Natasha Farnham, whose liver failed when she was 14). And you know what the best part is? "What goes around, comes around". There seems to be no end in sight to this cycle. |
| 29 04 2008 - 11.18 GMT |
Here's a good read: "By the time I realised that ketamine was ruining my life, I no longer cared. I didn't want to die as such, I just didn't mind if I did". Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And I also came across this short but interesting piece about the link between smoking and drinking and the development of Alzheimer's disease. After studying almost 1000 people, aged sixty or more, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, scientists found that drinkers developed the disease almost five years earlier and smokers just over two years earlier, while people who checked all risk areas (heavy drinking and smoking, history of alcohol use in family, etc.) developed Alzheimer's eight and a half years earlier than those with none of the risk factors. |
| 14 04 2008 - 19.34 GMT |
Imagine this: your girlfriend has a cocaine-induced heart attack, while taking a hot bath, and suffers 60% burns all over her body, resulting in her death... all this while you sleep in another room... after you both consumed a mixture of cocaine, sleeping pills and alcohol at your flat. I can't blame you for not being able to cope with it - but, surely, there must have been warning signs that were ignored along the way. Maybe he should have asked himself at some point, "where is this going"? Or maybe his friends and family now wish they had talked to him about it? |
| 09 04 2008 - 08.26 GMT |
It’s estimated that more than four out of every five American 21-year-olds drink alcohol to celebrate the birthday milestone, which is the the legal drinking age in the United States. A new study from University of Missouri shows just how extreme the celebrations can be for some of those involved. NY Times looks at the drink fueled rite of passage ritual and its outcome. Now, isn't it insane? You can drive a car in US when you're 16, in most states you only need to be 18 to purchase a shotgun, but you can drink legally only when you're 21. Surely, there must be a good reason for that. Like, let's say - "people who are in their 20s will act reasonably and will know how to handle a drink or two"... right? Wrong. It's not about the legal drinking age. It's about the fact that people are made to think it's what they need to do to be grown-ups, to be seen as part of the cool group at school, to make their mark, to celebrate. (What a bitter irony, when you think about it). And honestly, I don't care if you drink or not. Do what you wanna do, do what you gotta do. I do not care. If you haven't got the brains to, at the very least, use drugs in moderate manner, then I don't expect you to have any concern for a child you'll kill one day while driving under influence or your own family that will have to cope with attending your funeral. So, yeah, it scares me and makes me angry. But believe it or not, with all that said, I don't think these young people are to blame. They know no better. They think this is "normal". They think that's the way it's supposed it be, that's what's expected of them. I believe it's not because they're infinitely stupid on their own terms, I believe it's because no one ever showed them any alternatives. |
| 07 04 2008 - 16.52 GMT |
BBC reports on more evidence showing that binge drinking damages memory. |
| 02 04 2008 - 08.40 GMT |
The striking discrepancy between the glamorous "wow factor" associated with drug use and the stark reality of its consequences have long been a reoccurring theme on this website. It's safe to say that using drugs is considered a cool thing to do. I know plenty of people who do it simply because of that - they see other folks doing it, and in their eyes these other folks are so damn cool. Peer pressure is a strong factor too, but peer pressure is actually only an extension on the cool factor. So many times it just boils down to this - using drugs is cool, fun, sexy and glamorous. By all means a great way to spend your free time, and meet some fabulous people in the process, too. Therefore, I always think of those dudes, who seem convinced they're cooler than the iceberg itself, when I read stories like this. Maybe I'm missing the point, maybe I just can't see it - but where exactly is the cool factor in having 35 members of your family die because of drugs? Where precisely is the glamour in seeing at least one hundred people you know lose their life to addiction? Where is the fun when you see your 20-something son, who should have all the world at his feet, just stand there in line to get some fresh needles? Please check this multimedia piece out - it's as good as it gets. |
| 01 04 2008 - 09.12 GMT |
The New York Times reports on recent developments in the search for alternatives to animal-derived drugs. Metro ran a front cover story yesterday about how eating one sausage or three pieces of bacon a day increases the risk of developing cancer by a 20%. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of older people are becoming alcoholic and - surprise, surprise - drinking when pregnant is not such a great idea, after all. The NHS warns women not to drink any alcohol during the first three months of pregnancy (abandoning its own guidelines published last year), and says that women should be much stricter about what they drink from the fourth month onwards. Apparently, "a small amount of alcohol is safe, but never more than one or two days a week". Blah, blah, blah. I don't understand. If alcohol is proven to have negative impact on your own health, why on earth would you drink any of it when you have an extra passenger on board coming along for the ride? Ever heard of common sense? Or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome? |
| 29 03 2008 - 10.15 GMT |
Results of a new study into underage drinking and violence show that in some areas of UK as many as 40% of teenagers binge drink - almost half of those surveyed drank at least once a week, with 40% of girls and 42% of boys later involved in violence. Teenagers are drinking an average of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year each. Last week's Time Magazine cover story was an in-depth look at the social landscape shaped by violent teenage behaviour often fueled by alcohol and drugs. There isn't a day here when we don't hear about stabbings, shootings, or assaults involving teenagers. We had 11 teenagers stabbed to death on the streets of UK so far this year, which means we're looking at an average of one every 8 days - if we carry on like that it should almost reach a total of 50 by the end of the year. |
| 23 03 2008 - 12.49 GMT |
Ooops, after the rise of taxes on beer, wine and spirits two weeks ago (following warnings from doctors that supermarkets and corner shops were selling drink too cheaply and irresponsibly) shops are defying attempts by the government to clamp down on cheap alcohol and binge drinking. Rather than putting their prices up, they're attempting to force suppliers to absorb the cost of the rise so that they can carry on aggressively price-cutting. I guess I should have predicted that. In the meantime, more evidence pointing to alcohol and cancer link emerges, as Department of Health launches a £10m advertising campaign targeting middle-aged women who might underestimate their drinking. Women who drink above "the government's recommended limit" (what a joke, on its own terms) are 50% more likely to develop breast cancer. Rheumatoid Arthritis affects around 350,000 people in the UK. Can vegan diet reduce their high risk of heart attacks and strokes? Please note the obligatory disclaimer "A vegan diet may be helpful in reducing cholesterol, but it can be difficult to get enough of some important nutrients on a vegan diet." Like what - bovine growth hormones and antibiotics?! |
| 17 03 2008 - 12.34 GMT |
Could it be that, no matter how hard I try not to sound judgmental, the sole purpose of some people's lives is only to serve as a warning to others? It seems like there's a link between binge drinking and eating disorders - some women offset the calories from drinking by skipping meals. |
| 14 03 2008 - 13.45 GMT |
In Britain and Ireland, young people are drinking more than ever before - and often substantially more than in the US, France and Mediterranean countries. According to the Lancet, 27% of British 15-year-olds admit to having had at least five alcoholic drinks in a row in the past month, up from 22% in 1995, and 29% of teenage girls binge drink. Lancet, one of the world's leading medical journals, urges parents to act on underage drinking. For me, drinking is just not worth it. I'm having a blast living sober. I know people can enjoy drugs in moderation, but with the risks involved - why would I ever go back to that? Life is too good, too precious, too fun and too exciting. I know some people seek and find those those things in legal and illegal drugs, but I honestly admit - I just can't understand how you're willing to cope with all the consequences. Couple of weeks ago, on a weekend night, I was coming back home on a night bus full of drunk people. One girl was sitting on a stairway (we have double-decker buses here in London) and got puked on from upstairs. And the best thing about it? It wasn't all that much of a big deal - she was too drunk to be upset. You think you're being sold a magic potion that will take away your pain and make you have a great time, right? You are being lied to. Where exactly does hangover, alcohol fueled violence or devastating impact on your health fit into this picture? I never saw an alcoholic drink advertisement boasting about somebody vomiting on the back of your coat or assaulting you for no reason or hitting your child with a car while driving under influence. "Life is truly more rewarding when not viewed through the bottom of a glass" - what a great way of putting it. |
| 13 03 2008 - 15.41 GMT |
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced increases in duty tax on alcohol and cigarettes. Public health experts welcomed the move, but say it will take long time to influence drinking habits. Better this than nothing, I guess. International studies have found that even moderate tax rises can reduce road accidents and fatalities caused by excessive drinking, as well as deaths from cirrhosis and alcohol-related violent crime. Also, if you think you're too old to stop smoking - think again, because latest research suggests that reaching retirement presents a golden opportunity to finally kick the habit. |
| 12 03 2008 - 14.48 GMT |
Every once in a while I check the Avocado Anonymous website stats to see if we're getting linked (you can track referring sources) or to monitor general site use patterns and traffic. Google Stats also allows you to look at "keywords" - this shows you what people who come to the site looked for through a search engine, while they ended up on your site. Example: I want to find out a cool protein shake idea. I type "protein shake recipes" and when I click on one of the links provided, admin of that site will note that someone came to it after searching for "protein shake recipes", right? Of course our biggest keyword combination is "Avocado Anonymous". No surprise here. People don't know/remember if it's .org or .net, or they just use Google search instead of browser address bar, this is all very well and dandy. Another popular search combination is... "Avocado Addiction". Wow. This got me thinking. But if you think this is a weird one, you better fasten your seat-belts and hold tight now. While popular keywords combination are listed several times, there's a long tail of one-time hits that still get registered and sometimes they are really, really strange. Here are some examples. Extasy-themed search keyword combinations seem to be quite popular, but just look at the contexts: "taking extasy while pregnant", "if you take extasy while pregnant what does it do to your baby", "extasy with antibiotics side effects", "number of deaths from extasy per year uk", "what's the probability of having a heart attack on ecstasy?" or "the effects of orange juice on exstasy" - yeah, I know some are pretty bizzare. But how about gems like "daughter just overdosed" (mmm, I dunno, maybe you should, like, call the fucking 911 instead of going on the internet?!), "getting cocaine in croatia" (one of the best ones out there for sure!), or "avocado poisoning in chickens" (say what?). Luckily, apart from all these (and believe me - there's plenty more) curve balls there's still a ton of totally relevant keyword combos, too. It's kind of cool to see people come to this site after searching for "growing rates of drink and drug abuse amongst youngsters", "4400 people die each year from drunk drivers" or "how long till liver cirrhosis kills you". |
| 26 02 2008 - 11.36 GMT |
I saw an ad by the NHS yesterday in the the underground. It said: "One Londoner dies every hour from a smoking-related disease and smoking costs the NHS in London over 100 million pounds a year". I thought about it and was quite impressed how well it was put together. It provides a big picture but hits home, too - it was probably around 6 pm when I saw it, so almost 20 people already died on that day in London because of smoking. In other news, women in their thirties and forties are to be targeted in a government anti-drinking advertising campaign featuring graphic warnings that drinking could lead to breast cancer and liver failure. Do guys have it any easier? Nope. Doctors say you shouldn't smoke or drink, if you want to be a father. |
| 15 02 2008 - 10.09 GMT |
Starting in 2010, smoking will kill one million people in India per year. It already accounts for one in five male deaths and one in 20 female deaths in India and on average cuts 20 years from the lives of those it kills. |
| 12 02 2008 - 11.07 GMT |
Check this out. According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), smoking in Britain has fallen to its lowest level since records began - 22% of Britons are smokers (down from 27% at the end of the 1990s) and two-thirds say they would like to give up. And can you blame them? World Health Organisation says tobacco use will kill 500 million of the world's current population and a further 500 million over in the course of the century. |
| 08 02 2008 - 08.57 GMT |
I've just posted some more food photos in the Foodpix section for all of you vegan pervs out there. My girlfriend makes most of these. Don't hate the player, hate the game! I think I'm gonna start accepting submissions for this section, as I had a couple of folks holler at me with offers of sending me their pics, it sounds like a good idea. |
| 07 02 2008 - 10.58 GMT |
I watched this doc on BBC couple of nights ago, it was titled "Britain's worst drug" or something along those lines. It was all about how irrelevant the current drug classification system is. The scientists (from several universities and research institutes, government's top advisory committee on drug classification, and more) featured on the show have looked at 20 of the UK's most dangerous drugs. They considered three main factors: 1. health impact on individual, 2. addictiveness, 3. social consequence. As you can imagine, going over 20 substances in some 45 minutes was at times a little bit superficial, but still it was a piece of interesting reporting. Of course the main conclusion the show arrived at was that the current ABC system is entirely arbitrary and not based on any scientific evidence. From Avocado Anonymous point of view (we were not invited to take part in the programme, please petition the BBC so we can be featured in the next edition! ok, just kidding, do not petition the BBC) I was curious to see how legal drugs would rate in the ranking. Cigarettes didn't get all that much attention and scored 9th - still pretty good, and beating the likes of cannabis, LSD, extasy and couple of others hands down! With 10 million users and 114,000 fatalities per year, not a bad result. But alcohol really turned out to be the dark horse of the competition. Scoring at... glorious 5th place (pretty close to the podium!), booze kills more people than all illegal drugs combined. It's enjoyed by some 40 million people in this country... and 40,000 of them die because of it. Nice! The consensus reached by the panel of scientists was that it deserved a very high spot because of the ill effect it has got on people using it, because of its highly addictive qualities, and because of its devastating social impact (not to mention the booze fueled violence and related costs, it is "the biggest public health problem we face" - hey, I'm not surprised, with 180,000 booze inflicted hospital admissions per year it probably eats your common flu epidemic for breakfast!). What's more - should alcohol be invented today, it would surely be illegal, and adding insult to injury, it would then be ranked as Class A drug! And yet, despite coming close to the likes of Heroin (similar death rates, even bigger social impact), it is a legal, popular substance - its use is aggressively promoted and actively encouraged. Non-drinkers are seen as social pariahs or weirdos, those in power fail to address the issue, and a handful of companies make their fortunes while you wreck your lives. It is a strange world we live in, isn't it? |
| 31 01 2008 - 09.38 GMT |
A record number of people are drinking themselves to death in UK. Recently published report by Office for National Statistics shows that 8,758 people died directly from excessive alcohol intake in 2006, twice the number in 1991. Death rates rose in all age groups but the biggest increase for both sexes was among people aged 35 to 54, a legacy of heavy drinking in their 20s and early 30s. "A life spent consuming poisons, the slow suicide of modern man - Everybody wants to dance with the devil, but no one wants to pay the band". |
| 30 01 2008 - 19.38 GMT |
Some good news from UK, for a change: Nearly 165,000 people in England gave up smoking last summer, when smoking ban was introduced in enclosed public spaces. But in case you don't know how addictive smoking is, remember that perhaps as many as 50% of quitters will be smoking again six months down the road. Knowing the risks (and c'mon, how can you say you "don't care"?), why on earth would anyone start smoking in the first place? It just doesn't make sense. |
| 29 01 2008 - 11.45 GMT |
The big tobacco firms have been positioning themselves in the developing world for the past decade to offset declining sales in Europe and the US, where trade has been hit by anti-smoking campaigns, advertising bans and smoking bans. World Health Organisation estimates that tobacco consumption in developing nations is rising by 3.4% per year. The majority of the world's smokers (80%) now live in low- or middle-income countries, according to research published in the British Medical Journal. In the first legal case of this kind in the developing world, the government of Nigeria has launched a £22bn lawsuit against British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and International Tobacco Ltd. - the case is built around documents demonstrating that tobacco firms identified teenagers as a target market. |
| 28 01 2008 - 15.12 GMT |
Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. Up to ten times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption. An estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, which generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation. The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound. Because the stomachs of cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain, cattle raised industrially thrive only in the sense that they gain weight quickly. This diet made it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people.... This, my friends, is only the tip of the iceberg, and your world is set firmly on a collision course. Here's an excellent piece from NY Times I read today: Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler. Highly recommended. |
| 25 01 2008 - 11.09 GMT |
In all honesty, I never thought I'd be dropping the name of David Attenborough on this website, but here it is - a voiceover impersonating Sir David is used in Frank's new campaign. Drug party gets wild is a tongue-in-cheek style spoof wildlife doc looking at "the human habitat after sunset". I think it's quite funny. Frank's approach is a bit different than most drug charities. They try not to sound too patronizing and aim at providing a relevant message to teenagers and youth. They actually even avoid being labelled as a charity organization. Anyway, I think they're on the right track. Recent study, commissioned by Positive Futures, another Home Office-funded programme, reveals a picture of widespread binge drinking among pre-teens and teenagers with parents ignoring or even condoning the habit, specifically in some of the country's most deprived areas. Half of young people questioned said they had been involved in fighting, violence and aggression as a result of drinking, almost one in five said they had been sexually irresponsible after drinking. I'm sorry, but I'm not shocked or surprised. This is the world we live in - if you tell me you don't see it, I'll tell you you're blind. |
| 06 01 2008 - 13.26 GMT |
Turkey is about to ban smoking in enclosed public places. The BBC has got a sideline briefing about couple of other countries, and I learned that some cities in Italy have made smoking illegal in public parks. That sounds great. Seriously, last thing I want on a sunny day when I'm chilling in the park with my back on the grass and my eyes fixed on the tree tops and my mind hundreds of miles away... is some dude next door to me puffing smoke in my face. So long, suckers! |
| 04 01 2008 - 14.58 GMT |
Hey, teenage smokers! Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking is bad for your health. Yeah, that's right, sometimes you just gotta repeat something couple of times, you know, like especially when you're dealing with people who have hearing or understanding problems because they smoke! That explains a lot, doesn't it? One two, one two, mike check! Smoking is stupid, smoking is stupid, smoking is stupid. Can you hear me? Hello? |
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