New Online Trainings on Alcohol-Free Pregnancy

"Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities that last a lifetime. They are completely preventable if a developing baby is not exposed to alcohol. Educating healthcare professionals about FASDs can offer knowledge and skills to improve the delivery of care related to FASDs and their prevention. Providers: Take free online trainings to learn about alcohol-free pregnancy!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Collaborative for Alcohol-Free Pregnancy announce the availability of free online courses for healthcare professionals on the prevention, identification, and management of FASDs.

Training Courses

Courses currently available are

• FASD Primer for Healthcare Professionals
• Preventing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies
• Diagnostic Overview of FASDs: Recognition and Referral
• Implementing Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in Clinical Practice.."
  Alcohol and pregnancy

Excessive Drinking is Draining the U.S. Economy

"The cost of excessive alcohol use in the U.S. rose to almost a quarter trillion dollars in 2010. Implementing effective community-based interventions can reduce excessive drinking and its costs.

Excessive alcohol use is known to kill about 88,000 people in the United States each year, but a CDC study suggests it is also a drain on the American economy, mostly due to losses in workplace productivity.

Overview of study findings

Total costs
The cost of excessive alcohol use in the United States reached $249 billionin 2010, or about $2.05 per drink. Most (77%) of these costs were due to binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as drinking four or more alcoholic beverages per occasion for women or five or more drinks per occasion for men. Further, 2 of every 5 dollars were paid by federal, state, and local governments, demonstrating that we are all paying for excessive alcohol use.

 

State costs
Excessive alcohol use cost states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) a median of $3.5 billion in 2010, ranging from $488 million in North Dakota to $35 billion in California. D.C. had the highest cost per person ($1,526, compared to the $807 national average), and New Mexico had the highest cost per drink ($2.77, compared to the $2.05 national average)..."
Excessive drinking

Binge Drinking

"New estimates show that binge drinking is a bigger problem than previously thought. More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink, about 4 times a month, and on average the largest number of drinks consumed is eight. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a short period of time.

As reported in this month’s Vital Signs, the CDC found that those who were thought less likely to binge drink actually engage in this behavior more often and consume more drinks when they do. While binge drinking is more common among young adults aged 18–34 years, binge drinkers aged 65 years and older report binge drinking more often—an average of five to six times a month. Similarly, while binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more, the largest number of drinks consumed on an occasion is significantly higher among binge drinkers with household incomes less than $25,000—an average of eight to nine drinks per occasion, far beyond the amount thought to induce intoxication...

Join the Voices for Recovery: Real People, Real Recovery. September 2008, National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
"The Recovery Month effort aims to promote the societal benefits of alcohol and drug use disorder treatment, laud the contributions of treatment providers and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders in all its forms is possible."

State Estimates of Persons Aged 18 or Older Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Illicit Drugs"
"Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2006 an estimated 30.5 million persons aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year and 10.2 million reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year. Illicit drugs included marijuana/hashish, cocaine, crack cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically.

* Combined data from SAMHSA's 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health were used to produce average annualized data on driving under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year for each State based on self reports by adults aged 18 or older.

* Based on the combined 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health data from current drivers aged 18 or older, 15.1% had driven under the influence of alcohol during the past year and 4.7% had driven under the influence of illicit drugs.

* States with the highest rates of driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year among adults aged 18 or older were Wisconsin (26.4%), North Dakota (24.9%), Minnesota (23.5%), Nebraska (22.9%), and South Dakota (21.6%)."