Our Views

I had an uncle who died in his early 40’s from alcohol. He never really seemed drunk, my family members was not surprised when, after not being able to reach him for a few days, they went to his home and found him dead in bed. Unfortunately, although I heard the family discussing his drinking, I never heard them discuss alcohol detox or rehab.

Some may think that unless a person actually appears to be drunk, they’re not alcoholics or, at least, they’re not in danger. Nothing could be further from the truth – their liver is chronically overworked and can, eventually, fail. This process is accelerated by the use of over-the-counter painkillers – I’m sure my uncle popped a few aspirin every morning – since they also cause liver damage and internal bleeding.

As the years go on, and the damage continues, the liver becomes less able to detoxify the body and, like my uncle, you’re basically poisoned to death. His liver failed, but the real source of the problem was alcohol abuse. Don’t be fooled by drinkers who never get drunk – they need alcohol detox and rehab. There may still be time to heal the body.

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I read an eight-year-old article today about the combination of painkillers and alcohol. It referenced the original press release from the FDA about warnings being required on over-the-counter painkillers: if consumed with alcohol, they could lead to liver damage and internal bleeding. What caught my eye in this article were the statistics on drinking. At that time, there were 11 million people who drank enough to need alcohol detox and rehab. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there are now over 15 million.

That’s a big jump in eight years. Obviously, we’re creating drinkers faster than we can handle them. Not just occasional drinkers, but people who drink so much it’s considered alcohol addiction or abuse.

Why is this? From my viewpoint, the problem is two-fold: We continue to allow advertising that presents drinking as part of the good life, instead of the killer it really is, and we don’t get people who abuse alcohol into alcohol detox and rehab. When it comes right down to it, these two actions would change the scene.

The solution, of course, is not so simple. Who’s going to employ the hundreds of thousands of workers in the alcohol industry? Who’s going to turn down the billions in advertising dollars and the even greater amount of taxes on alcohol products collected by government? And what about the business tax paid by hundreds of thousands of bars all over the country?

The only people making money off alcohol addiction and abuse should be those who offer alcohol detox and rehab. If it’s done right, that’s one business that will eventually go out of business.  And that’s the way it should be.

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If there’s one guy you’d never expect to see on a golf course, it’s Alice Cooper. But Cooper not only golfs - he has a six handicap. Even Tiger Woods says he’s good. The other thing you’d probably never suspect is that Cooper credits golf for helping him through his recovery from alcohol addiction.

Golf is a demanding game. If you want to win, or even be good, you have to be in shape. Tiger is all the proof you need. He’s not the first golfer to view the sport as an athletic challenge, but he’s certainly taken it to new heights.

Alcohol and drug addiction drain the body. You lose strength, stamina, and control – everything a good athlete needs.

Cooper’s nearly 60 – but he’s still a star. His new book, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock and Roller’s 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict, is now on the stands. I’d advise you to get it for any kid you know who’s using drugs or alcohol. With any luck, Cooper will become a role model and we can stop worrying about our kids turning into Britney Spears or Amy Winehouse. A fan attending a recent Cooper concert commented, “I used to be a heavy drinker, but Alice Cooper was one of the people who inspired me to quit.” he said. “It’s a very unusual thing for me to come to a rock concert sober.”

Get the young adults in your life to read the book, get them to alcohol detox, and buy them some golf clubs when they complete it.

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The University of Wisconsin has a new strategy to curb alcohol abuse among students - calling the parents. If the kids are underage, they can also be given a summons and, no matter how old they are, can be sent to alcohol detox.

Some think of this approach as a throwback, out of touch with the modern world. Nevertheless, it seems to be working: Second offenses have markedly decreased and not one of the students involved has dropped out of school.

The University of Wisconsin has a history of tolerance when it comes to drinking: the snack bar used to serve beer, and campus buses were equipped with kegs. But, over the years, things changed. Drinking became antisocial instead of social. In fact, according to the University’s chancellor, “just about every unpleasant incident, every crime, involves alcohol abuse by the victim or the perpetrator.” This includes everything from theft to rape.

The Chancellor also said that alcohol abuse is the number one health and safety problem on every college campus.

Statistics show that kids whose parents talk to them about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse are 50 percent less likely to succumb to the temptation. That’s the kind of grass roots movement we need. If combined with alcohol detox for those who already have a problem, getting parents involved could eventually reduce the incidence of alcohol abuse significantly.

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MASH, the movie and, later, the TV series made fun of war. The guys were constantly cutting up, playing practical jokes on each other, and laughing, mostly at themselves. Why did they do it? To lighten things up. To help them confront the horror they were faced with every day. Comedian Mark Lundholm is doing the same, to help himself and others get through the horrors of drug and alcohol addiction.

Lundholm started drinking when he was seven, and he didn’t stop. He became a full-blown alcoholic and drug addict. By age 27, he was living under a bridge. He tried to end it all, by committing suicide, but the gun in his mouth didn’t fire.

Miraculously – this doesn’t happen to too many people who live under a bridge - he got into drug rehab. Two months later, while still in rehab, he started doing standup comedy. He calls his routine dark and twisted but, for Mark, it’s a necessary part of recovery.

I’m sure many people wouldn’t find his routine all that funny. But for a recovering alcoholic or drug addict, the opportunity to laugh at themselves and their circumstances can be a life saver.

I don’t know one former addict who doesn’t have things to look back on that are uproariously funny. So, do drug and alcohol detox, and follow it up with a good rehab program, but don’t get too serious and every time you get the chance, have a good laugh.

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Alaska has a serious drug problem: one of the highest per capita drug abuse populations in the U.S. It’s also in the number seven spot for violent crime, much of which is largely attributed to the drug problem. Unfortunately, this week’s closure of the Salvation Army’s Clitheroe Center in Anchorage will leave thousands without access to alcohol and drug detox, and will expose Anchorage residents to even more alcoholism, drug abuse, drug addiction and crime.

The Center had problems for years: inadequate funding drove their beds from 20 to eight, and the shortage of nurses made it almost impossible to find staff – especially when the Center couldn’t afford to hire them.

The Anchorage community is worried: Without drug detox facilities, alcoholics and drug addicts will be absorbed into and supported by the community – worsening an already disastrous situation.

The Salvation Army is working with City officials to see if reopening Clitheroe is a future possibility but who knows how long that will take? Let’s hope the drug problem is somehow contained until Clitheroe or another drug detox facility can get back in operation.

Communities often resent having drug detox and rehab facilities in their immediate area – they think it creates an unsafe and unsavory environment. But a good drug detox center can turn these guys around and send them back into the community as a productive member of society. Isn’t it better than having them in the streets?

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Almost 10 percent of full time workers in the U.S. have drug or alcohol abuse problems serious enough to require drug or alcohol detox and, possibly, rehab, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. This percentage represents over 10 million people.

The article goes on to say that food service employees, construction workers, and people who worked in mining and similar jobs are at the top of the list, but nearly 8 percent of corporate CEO’s also said they are alcohol dependent.

The study, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, also showed that employers who utilize drug testing are less likely to have problems.

As a former addict, I can say that drug testing certainly would have deterred me. I may have lost some jobs, but I like to think that I would have stayed away from drugs rather than being fired.

Getting an employee through a drug or alcohol detox program can cost far less than the lost productivity that inevitably comes with the territory, especially since these programs are often covered by insurance. But you have to ensure the employee does a program that doesn’t substitute one drug for another, or put the person on a drug rather than alcohol.

Although it might be necessary for the person to take a drug to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, they should definitely not be taking that drug when they leave.

If you are, or have, an employee with a drug or alcohol abuse problem, getting them into a successful drug and alcohol detox program will increase your productivity, and save their lives.

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Too bad we don’t have as much money to spend as the advertisers

Georgetown University’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) recently conducted a study on alcohol advertising. They unearthed some remarkable data: between 2001 and 2005 alcohol companies spent $4.9 billion on TV advertising and only $104 million on what is known as ‘responsibility’ ads – ads that discourage alcohol abuse and addiction.

Adonis Hoffman, Senior VP and counsel for the American Association of Advertising Agencies, said he felt the CAMY study was slanted. “These ads, when combined with messages from parents, schools, churches, coaches, and peers, reinforce the notion that responsible consumption is everybody’s business.”

Yes, it is everybody’s business. But those parents, schools, churches, coaches and peers don’t have $4.9 billion to invest in counteracting the effects of the advertising. And, quite frankly, when you’re talking about 14 million Americans who drink enough to meet the criteria for ‘alcohol abuse’, that might be what it takes. It certainly will take more than the $58 million taxpayers already spend to fight it.

Selling alcohol must be an interesting occupation. Really, how does it feel to make a living selling something that could cause another driver, who consumed your product, kill your kid or family the next time you go for a Sunday drive. How does it feel to know that you’re at least partially responsible for helping 14 million Americans overcome life’s barriers with something that causes brain damage?

From where I’m sitting, selling alcohol is a form of alcohol abuse in itself. Perhaps we’d start getting a handle on the problem if the manufacturers and advertisers were first in line for alcohol detox.

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