Dangers of Underage Drinking

Dangers of Underage Drinking

Alcohol can be more harmful to children (or teens) than adults, as their brains haven't finished developing, so underage drinking is never a good thing. It is also important for young people to understand that alcohol shouldn't be used at every social occasion - even for adults. Persistent use can lead to dependence, in the same way as many other drugs.

Medical experts agree that there is no strictly "safe" level of alcohol consumption. Binge drinking dramatically increases people's tendency toward taking risks, reduces their inhibitions, slows their reaction times and affects co-ordination, putting them at greater risk of accidents and criminal or otherwise inappropriate behaviour.

In the longer term, regular alcohol consumption increases your risks of: liver damage, cancer (of the liver, mouth, throat, and breast), mental health problems, weight gain, heart disease, stroke, shrunken genitals and reduced fertility. Alcohol reduces your body's ability to absorb nutrition, and the weight gain can also contribute to other conditions such as diabetes.

If you require more information on drugs and alcohol visit www.drug-aware.com

How long does alcohol stay in a person's body?

How long does alcohol stay in your system?

Alcohol is broken down by the liver at the rate of approximately one unit per hour (a pint of normal strength beer being two units). Consequently, it is possible to still be under the influence the following morning if you have drunk excessively the night before. In fact, every year in Britain over 25,000 people lose their driving licences the morning after a night's drinking. That's more than a quarter of all licenses lost for alcohol abuse.

To exercise caution, the following alcohol calculation can be used to estimate your level of risk after having drunk the night before.

1 Unit of alcohol = Pint ordinary strength beer or... 1 standard glass of table wine or... 1 standard glass of sherry or... 1 single measure of spirits.

It is advised that you allow a minimum of 1 hour per 1 unit of alcohol consumed before driving or operating heavy machinery or electrical equipment in order to ensure that you are not under the influence of alcohol. You will only test positive on urine or blood tests while the alcohol is in your system. This is typically measured in HOURS and not days.

This simple formula will help:

Number of units drunk - Number of hours since last drink = Alcohol content

For example: A person drinks 6 pints of an ordinary strength beer (12 units) finishing drinking at 11pm. They start work at 8am the following day. (9 Hours later).

12 Units - 9 hours = 3. In this scenario, the person could still have 3-4 units of alcohol left in their body whilst driving to work the following day - risking both Police prosecution and the safety of others. 3-4 Units will bring most people to the UK / USA legal driving limit of 80mg/dl. Please exercise caution.

LATEST NEWS: There is now a hair test for a metabolite of alcohol which can last a long time, so urine and blood tests only show alcohol while it is in your bloodstream, but hair can be used to detect heavy alcohol use after the fact.

Visit http://www.drug-aware.com for free drug and alcohol information, testing kits, awareness, policy development and more.

Alcohol Related Deaths on the Increase

Alcohol Related Deaths on the Increase

A recent report from the Office for National Statistics has shown that alcohol related diseases in the UK are killing nearly twice as many women as at the start of the 1990s.

About 30 years ago, UK alcohol related death rates for men and women were about two per 100,000, which was the lowest in western Europe. Now, the rate for men is 18 per 100,000, although this is still less than the European average.

For women, particularly In the 35 - 54 year old age group, around 14 women per 100,000 die from conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver and liver failure – and this is well above the European average.

Spain, France and Ireland still consume more alcohol per person than the UK, but deaths from alcohol-related diseases are much lower. Perhaps this is attributable to a culture of binge drinking.

Experts attribute the marked increase since 1990 onwards to the general public having more disposable income, drinks costing less since the introduction of the European single market, and extended opening hours for pubs, nightclubs and off-licences.

Gordon Brown has indicated that reducing alcohol abuse in the general public is amongst his priorities and is requesting a focused review of the recent rules concerning 24-hour opening hours for pubs and off-licenses. This coincides with his plans for the Home Office to facilitate a crackdown on retailers who sell alcohol to minors and people who are obviously already intoxicated in the run up to Christmas.

For more information on drug and alcohol awareness and alcohol tests visit www.drug-aware.com or www.1st-home-drug-tests.com

Workplace Drug Testing

Workplace Drug Testing

According to the British crime survey conducted by the home office, almost half of all 16-29 year olds have used an illegal drug in the last year. 70% of substance misusers are in full time employment and are more than 3 and a half times more likely to have an accident in the workplace than their substance free colleagues.

Substance misuse costs British industry an estimated 12 to 16 billion pounds each year in accidents, litigation, ill health, absenteeism, reduced productivity and crime.

The underlying issue is that substance abuse is a feature of society, and by bringing society into your workplace you will be bringing with it all of the dangers associated with substance misuse.

That is why corporate customers of all backgrounds rely on drug aware to bring them the benefits of a substance free workplace.

When it comes to workplace drug testing, we have the advantage of being able to offer all kinds of employers everything they need from start to finish.

Some companies ask us to handle the whole process for them – which involves writing their policy, training their managers, and attending site to collect samples – all the way through to medical review and organising any rehabilitation.

More commonly, companies ask us to review their existing policy to ensure that it is totally legally defensible and to offer any advice on how to make it run more smoothly, followed by drug and alcohol awareness training for their managers. We cover the extent of the problem, how to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse, information on the drugs themselves, your obligations under the law, how to facilitate your company policy, and detailed procedures should you require them to undertake any testing.

Whether you require full day, half day or 2 hour sessions, the training is comprehensive and satisfaction is guaranteed. Our trainers are very experienced and knowledgeable. I myself have personally trained staff from over 70 UK HM Prisons, several Police Forces, and well over a hundred NHS hospitals, drug treatment centres, GP surgeries, etc. Not to mention the literally thousands of delegates from all industry sectors who have attended my training seminars on workplace drug awareness, policy development and testing.

Workplace drug testing is surprisingly straight forward to set up, and is extremely cost effective. You can drug and alcohol test your staff for an average of less than 10 pounds per head whilst still maintaining full chain of custody so that the results can be fully relied upon in court.

We recommend workplace drug testing in accident or incident situations, or when you have reasonable suspicion that someone is perhaps unfit for their duties. This is testing when you physically have a problem – and under health and safety at work legislation, you cannot simply ignore this. Random drug testing is above and beyond this basic requirement in the workplace and so it is up to you (and the nature of your industry) as to whether this is required.

So whatever your business, large or small, we have a package which will suit you. Contact us today for free literature, samples of our workplace drug testing products or for some free advice from a friendly expert! We’re here to help.