In Maine, a little alcohol is still alcohol

Houlton, Maine has been making international headlines lately. And it’s not because of their ideal location for snowmobiling. Recently, a high school student brought attention to the fact that the Fentimans Lemonade he was drinking contained a small amount of alcohol, less than 0.05% according to the label. Fearing he would get in trouble at school (since underage drinking is illegal), he told school administrators. Those school administrators then alerted local police, who turned the issue over to state officials to determine whether or not the lemonade should be sold to minors.

Since then, the Maine attorney general’s office has declared that because of the small amount of alcohol, the lemonade cannot be sold to minors in Maine. The lemonade in question would be considered an “imitation liquor.” Not a surprising conclusion when you consider that in Maine any beverage containing a trace amount of alcohol (think O’Doul’s) can only be sold to adults 21 or older. (Under state law, “imitation liquor” means “any product containing less than one half of 1 percent alcohol by volume which seeks to imitate by appearance, taste and smell liquor or which is designed to carry the impression to the purchaser that the beverage has an alcohol content.”)

End of story, right? Not for Fentimans. Apparently, they think Maine is being a bit prudish. According to Fentimans’ managing director Eldon Robson, “Maine is, of course, where our puritanical forefathers went because Britain was not strict enough, and it has been said that Puritans are people who are always worried that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.”

Bottom line, Fentimans Lemonade is a beverage that contains a small amount of alcohol. Alcohol should not be in the beverages of minors. Period. Saying a small amount of alcohol is okay sends the message that it’s okay to drink alcohol at a young age.

Fentimans own website has an ad on its home page (see above) with a headline that reads “another year on the wagon” with a tagline that touts their “botanically brewed beverages” as the “Original Adult Soft Drink.”

Says Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin, “It wasn’t so much that we were trying to give Fentimans a black eye. We just want to make parents aware it contains alcohol. I’ve never had it; it’s probably very good, but their Web site says it can be used for mixed drinks.”

Seems pretty straight forward to us. What do you think?

Read More
Tiny bit of alcohol brews up a real brouhaha (Portland Press Herald)
Brewed lemonade stirs up controversy (Bangor Daily News)

Parents: Hearing About Your Past Acohol and Drug Use May Make Your Teen More Responsible About Their Own Use

Hazelden, a national nonprofit organization that helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction, recently launched a campaign called “Four Generations Overcoming Addiction.” The campaign was inspired by a national survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for Hazelden, that found parents’ honesty about their own drug and alcohol use when they were young actually made the teens more responsible about their drug and alcohol use.

The survey polled 603 boys and girls aged 15-18 online and 620 parents of teenagers by telephone. Here are some of the key findings:

• Half of teens say it would make them less likely to use drugs if their parents told them about their own drug use when they were younger.
• Two-thirds of teens (67%) say their parents have already told them about their experiences with alcohol and other drugs when they were young – and these teens almost unanimously (95%) said that kind of honesty about drug use is a good thing!
• 74% of teens say they’d turn to their parents as their No. 1 source of advice about the use of alcohol or other drugs, even though 26% have seen their parents drunk or high on alcohol or drugs.
• Teens who are aware of their parents’ experiences with alcohol or other drugs as teenagers are nearly as likely as those who are not to consider their parents to be role models (90% vs. 93%).

Looking at some of the gender differences in the survey, it was interesting to find that:

• Teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to wish their parents would share information about their past alcohol or drug use (74% vs. 61%).
• Parents of a teenage daughter are more likely to say that they had this discussion because their child asked them about their past alcohol or drug use (48% vs. 31%), while parents of a teenage son are more likely to say that they just brought it up on their own without prompting (82% vs. 71%).
• Dads are more likely than moms to have spoken with their teenage child on their own initiative without prompting (82% vs. 70%), while moms are more likely than dads to say they were motivated to have a conversation on this topic because a friend or family member had experienced problems with alcohol or drugs (51% vs. 34%).

Brenda Iliff, clinical director of Hazelden’s Women’s Recovery Center, wasn’t too surprised by the differences that came out. Says Iliff, “Women more wired for communication and connection.” That may explain why the girls bring the subject up more than boys and why mothers relate the conversation to other experiences rather than just bringing the topic up without prompting. Iliff also pointed out the shame that women have when it comes to addiction. The stigma attached to women abusing drugs and alcohol may prevent a mom from simply bringing the topic up, while dads might not think twice about it.

When asked what advice she would give to mothers who are also in recovery regarding talking to their kids about their past use, Iliff suggests starting the conversation when they’re young and keeping the conversation going. “Timing is important,” she stresses. “Share information when it is helpful, not just when you get the urge.” For many, these conversations are a part of their own recovery.

So, what’s the message here? Talk to your kids about your past experiences with drugs and/or alcohol. They look to you as a role model and will appreciate your honesty! And don’t be afraid to bring the subject up with your daughter. If she hasn’t brought it up yet, she might be thinking about it.

Hazelden’s “Four Generations Overcoming Addiction” campaign, which also coincides with Hazelden’s 60th anniversary, features a “Four Generations Overcoming Addiction” website offering free videos and conversation guides about drug use and abuse, addiction treatment and recovery; an online library of podcasts featuring personal accounts from four generations of Hazelden alumni, talking about their experiences with addiction and recovery; and Hazelden’s first-ever Recovery Resources Blog, an online home base for news about addiction and recovery.

technorati tags: Four Generations Overcoming Addiction, Hazelden, Teens, Alcohol, Drugs, Parenting

Drunken driving by women requires new tactics

Last week, startling statistics were released about women and driving under the influence (DUI). According to the report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 28.8% more women were arrested for DUI in 2007 than a decade earlier. In contrast, men’s DUI arrest rates went down 7.5% during the same period. Read more about the report

Here in Maine, it’s nice to see the Portland Press Herald is taking notice of America’s growing issues with women and drinking. A little over a week after publishing a Maine Voices article from Crossroads for Women responding to the Diane Schuler tragedy, editor and publisher Richard L. Connor wrote a column about the need for better understanding of women and drinking to prevent further tragedies behind the wheel. The link below is from today’s Monday Opinion.

Drunken driving by women requires new tactics | Portland Press Herald

New Study Shows Alcohol Triggers Higher Stress Response in Women’s Brains

Past studies have continually shown the women react to alcohol differently than men. They tend to metabolize alcohol more quickly and are subject to greater health effects as a result of regular drinking.

A study out of Idaho State University is taking a look at gender-specific differences in the way the brain reacts to alcohol. According to Dan Selvage, the researcher conducting the 5-year study, “Females tend to suffer the ravages of alcoholism much more quickly than males,” Selvage said. “Part of that’s due to metabolism, but another part of that is thought to be that alcohol activates body stress responses a lot more in females.”

Using rats as his subjects, Selvage has found that higher estrogen levels are linked to an increased stress response. This stress response prevents the person’s body from responding to the problem, thus causing more health problems. Selvage noted that alcohol tends to decrease testosterone secretion in males, but increases estrogen production in females.

Since women have more stress-related disorders, studies like these can help guide the way to gender-specific medical treatments for alcohol abuse.

Read More
Alcohol May Affect Women’s Brains More (AP)

technorati tags: women, brain, alcohol, stress, health