BACCHUS Canada

A Vacation from Intoxication

2010-04-27T13:19:00.004-06:00

TSLEC was invited to the Humber “Vacation from Intoxication Health Fair” and we were so glad we participated. The fair was based on bringing alcohol awareness to the college’s campus in a fun interesting way. The day started at 9:00; the team swung by our storage to pick up much needed giveaways for the fair which proved to be a hit with the students. When we arrived we were greeted enthusiastically by the hostesses of the event and taken right to where we would be engaged. We arrived in the student’s cafeteria and I automatically felt an energetic rush!

Students were everywhere, music was playing and vendors were beginning to connect. It was our turn, we quickly set our materials and we were off! Along with fortune cookies and mouse pads/ laptop skins, we also had a t-shirt give-away. In order to win a ‘Here’s to My Choice’ t-shirt the students had to find some friends to model our famous four necked t-shirt and take a picture in it with our SLEC cam. The t-shirt advertised our BACCHUS name including the message “add us on face book”. The activity was a smash hit! Once the students saw this strange t-shirt everyone wanted a chance to put it on, after all the reward wasn’t too shabbyJ. The idea was brilliant because we were definitely able to get the BACCHUS name out to many students.

The Public Relations Certificate class students who put on and hosted the event were fabulous! Their hospitality and genuine concern for the host’s and student’s comfort was so great, they served us lunch and made sure they did constant checkups to simply see if we were hydrated as well. Kudos, guys you were amazing! With all the hype and interaction with the four necked tee the day seemed to fly by and in no time it was time to head back to the office already. Before we left the public relations class wowed us again by presenting not only us, but every participating vendor with gift bags!

It was a good day for TSLEC/BACCHUS Canada. We only hope that the message underneath all the fun and giveaways is really considered and recognized. After all the reason as to why we were all there was contributing small pieces to saving Canada’s youth.

One Week Today, St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-10T12:31:00.006-06:00

March is known for one it’s most famous holidays, St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a day known most for fun, leisure and all things Irish! Unfortunately, this day is also often known for the over-consumption of alcohol use. This is particularly noticeable with post- secondary school students. While this time most definitely does call for celebration, students may also find that the peer pressures to over-consume are often over-bearing. BACCHUS wants to make it known that celebrating can be done safely. BACCHUS Canada launches an annual program to post-secondary schools to challenge misconceptions around what it means to celebrate 'all things Irish', and to raise awareness about the risks associated with heavy consumption.

This year's manual is designed to help BACCHUS members plan events around campus that create engaging opportunities and activities for students to express their 'green spirit' in ways that do not endorse the association between 'all things Irish' and over-consumption. This is a day that should be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of whether or not they choose to associate it with drinking. Irish spirit and culture is much richer than that.
Members can access the manual and all the printable materials to help create events/programs around campus by logging your user name and password into the Bacchus member’s site (www.bacchusmembers.com)

Thanks for empowering students, and saving the lives of youth across Canada.

Dayla Burgess
Community Engagement Intern
The Student Life Education Company

Nova Scotia's new Responsible Drinking Campaign

2010-03-08T13:03:00.005-06:00

The new campaign launched by Health Intermediaries is similar to an initiative developed by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand.

It is part of a three-phased social marketing campaign, with Phase 1 designed to raise awareness and help people see that there is a problem within the communities of Nova Scotia.

Phase 2 is about helping individuals understand that they may be a part of the problem and the solution

Phase 3 looks at taking action on changing the culture of drinking in a variety of ways.

The video can be seen on youtube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWUzPDvPQU

Interested to hear thoughts on the video and message. More information on the Campaign can be found on the website http://www.changingtheculture.ns.ca/

Donations for Spring 2010

2010-03-03T10:12:00.005-06:00

We are in the early months of a new decade. Thinking back, a lot of progress has been made to educate youth in the use and non-use of alcohol and other health issues. But challenging risky decisions around alcohol use is a difficult task; according to the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), 32% of undergraduates in Canada reported harmful drinking patterns. This rate is even higher among those students who live on campus (42.7%).

BACCHUS Canada is dedicated to empowering students in post-secondary schools with knowledge and awareness to help them make responsible choices and minimize risk. Advisors and peer educators work on the ground level (residences, health departments & around campus) to organize campaigns, distribute awareness materials, and break down misconceptions.

Your financial donation will assist us in providing the right amount of information to empower youth (our future) to make healthy choices! Your donation allows us to reach more schools, provide resources, create new tools, improve training, and increase awareness of a number of important issues that will potentially save the lives of Canadian students.

We ask that you join us by making a gift to The Student Life Education Company. In recognition of your contribution, you will be included in our prominent and growing list of generous donors. All gifts to The Student Life Education Company are tax deductible and you will be provided with a charitable tax receipt for your gift.

To donate online, you can click the “Donate Now” button below.

Or you can mail a cheque made payable to “The Student Life Education Company” 55 St. Clair Avenue West – Suite 255, Toronto, Ontario, M4V 2Y7

Or call our office at 416-243-1338 / 1-866-213-0311 to donate using your Visa or MasterCard.

Thank you for making The Student Life Education Company as a charity you support!

Scare Tactics less effective than Awareness Campaigns in Reducing excessive drinking

2009-07-28T07:14:00.000-06:00

A recent study published in the third issue of the Cochrane Library 2009 has found that informing students has been more beneficial than using scare tactics to curb dangerous drinking habits. The study argues that most young people have misconceptions about the amount their peers regularly drink and this in turn creates a sort of peer pressure which can drive drinking levels upward. BACCHUS Canada believes in supplying students with the information they need to make responsible and healthy choices while attending post-secondary institutions. Through breaking down misconceptions regarding substance abuse we believe that the individual student is able to make the right choices for themselves.

Click here for the link

Facebook Groups - "Class of 2013"

2009-07-09T14:48:00.002-06:00

Facebook is a common social networking media tool that is popular with high school and post-secondary students. Making the transition from high school to college or university is one of the most exciting times in a student’s life, therefore it should come as no surprise that they would join their new school’s Facebook “Class of …” site. It’s a great idea! In order to meet fellow classmates, ask alumni and upper year students questions and get excited about the institution that the student has chosen.

It’s a great idea except Facebook has recently fallen victim to fake users, setting up “University/College name – Class of 2013” sites that are actually advertisers that collect, for marketing purposes, information from the people that join the groups. Administrators from various schools in Canada have taken to seeking out these groups, reporting them, and proceeding to set up their own official groups in order to assure that their students are not spammed. This is a saving grace, but as more groups are deleted, the fake groups continue to pop up. It is important that students entering into post-secondary institutions for the first time are aware of the potential fake groups that they may encounter. To read further on this you can link to the following sites:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/661370 - July 6, 2009

http://matthewmelnyk.blogspot.com/2009/06/facebook-2014-2015-and-beyond.html - June 25, 2009

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/facebook-scam-targets-undergrads/article1183110/ - June 19, 2009

http://matthewmelnyk.blogspot.com/2009/06/normal-0-false-false-false.html - June 3, 2009

Drinking, Driving and Sleep Walking

2009-06-23T12:09:00.002-06:00

Drinking and Driving… and Sleep Walking

20-year old John Soong is facing charges of impaired driving, evading police and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. According to the police report, at the time he was arrested, Mr. Soong had almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system. His defence, however, is that he was unaware of his consumption of alcohol as he was sleeping at the time.

Mr. Soong has been clinically diagnosed with sleep apnea, a disorder that stops your breathing for periods during sleep, and can cause drowsiness during the day. The Crown has a different take on the situation, and argues that Mr. Soong should have been conscious of the fact that he was not in any state to drive when he woke up.

So when should you be held accountable for your actions? Should he have been accountable for his actions during the time he was sleeping? Before he went to bed, when he took several cold medications? Or afterwards, when he drove a car which ultimately led to his arrest? Regardless, impaired, drowsy, and distracted driving are dangerous, and we are thankful that no one was hurt. The Student Life Education Company and its divisions wonder what could have prevented this, so we’d like to know: what strategies do you implement to assure that you and your friends are safe? And how could a situation such as this be prevented in the future?

For more on the story, click here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/drinking-and-driving-and-sleepwalking/article1185148/

Care and Control

2009-06-15T07:39:00.000-06:00

Connie Banks learned a hard lesson standing outside of her vehicle in the spring of 2008, when she was charged with care and control of a vehicle while her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. The Georgetown native was found by an officer leaning against her car, awaiting a tow-truck when she was assumed to have care and control of the vehicle, and following protocol was asked 2 hours after her retrieval to blow into a breathalyzer.

This case may come as no surprise to those that have heard of care and control cases where someone was found intoxicated sleeping in their car. However, with the laws getting tougher, and new legislation with a “warning” level it is possible that this “[c]onviction offers little hope for anyone with a car who has alcohol in their system”. Which leaves the lesson learned: if you consume any alcohol, be sure not to be in care and control of a car, and certainly don’t drive.

Click on the link below for information on Ms. Banks’ trial.

http://www.thestar.com/article/649805

Maclean's 2009 Guide to Canadian Universities

2009-06-12T12:40:00.001-06:00

My link to Queen’s University is rooted in my experiences there as I am entering my fourth year in the fall and have lived both on and off of campus in Kingston. I took an interest in the Maclean’s 2009 Guide to Canadian Universities since I knew that Queen’s pulled out of the survey a few years ago, and it’s always interesting to see what is said about my school. I became quickly frustrated by the culture that Maclean’s painted for Queen’s – a culture that was clearly only absorbed in drinking. The top of the What’s Not [Hot] list was Homecoming being cancelled due to “raucous street parties in the past”. While this may be true, more aggravating still was the idea that nearly everything that was interesting off campus revolved around alcohol, including the bar that closes and is renamed every year due to its illegal allowance of underage students. How appropriate is it for a magazine that is trying to attract first year students to focus solely on drinking?

Instead of highlighting on things like Kingston being one of the cities with the most restaurants per capita in Canada, exploring Wolfe Island with floormates, and discovering the amazing bakery there, it focused almost wholly on where to get good drinks and a bar that is “popular with first years”. Why not concentrate on the ability to play sports or study next to Lake Ontario when the weather is nice, and then going to a patio to enjoy the sunshine and a drink or two. There are so many more things to do in Kingston, and even at the bars. The Grizzly Grill is a restaurant, bar, and great place to watch sports and play billiards. Lone Star Grill has a patio to enjoy the sun and grab some grub, they also have the best margaritas in town. Princess Street has amazing cafes, many unique, Kingston-owned businesses for shopping, and bars. There are parks just off campus where people play sports all year round with new friends, and there are many opportunities to enjoy getting to know a city that is so much more than just a wet party town.

For students thinking about going to university, this is not a plea to go to Queen’s – go where you feel comfortable, but go visit the campus, instead of putting your decision in the hands of a magazine article.

Ringing cellphone cited in crash that kills 17 year old from London

2009-06-05T08:25:00.002-06:00

We are saddened to hear about the death of a 17 year old from London, Ontario who crashed his car while reaching for his ringing cellphone. Accidents like this are tragic, which is why we have been fighting to bring distracted driving to the same level of public awareness as drunk driving. Young drivers should be aware of the potential dangers of driving while being distracted by things like hand-held devices. In Ontario, drivers who drive distracted with cellphones can be charged up to $500. If they endanger others while driving, they can even face careless driving charges, which means they can be charged with up to $1000 in fines and even face jail time.

To read more about the accident, follow this link.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/06/05/9683506-sun.html

To read more about the cellphone ban in Ontario, follow this link.

http://www.studentlifeeducation.com/Page.asp?IdPage=7050&WebAddress=tslec

St. Patrick's Day Feedback

2009-03-30T12:54:00.004-06:00

As with all our programs, we require feedback to tailor future programming efforts and to illustrate the need for resources to our sponsors and partners.

The St. Patrick's Day 2009 campaign objectives were to promote sober driving and protective behaviours on St. Patrick's Day. The protective behaviours included:

Promote the use of taxi services
Promote the use of designated drivers
Eating before consuming alcohol
Education on metabolism of alcohol

On behalf of The Student Life Education Company, BACCHUS Canada thanks DIAGEO for their commitment to promoting sober driving and responsible choices.

Click here to be redirected to the survey requesting feedback from MEMBERS ONLY. Thank you for your time.

Article: Peer Advice Helps Cut Heavy Drinking Among College Students

2009-03-16T14:37:00.002-06:00

Peer Advice Helps Cut Heavy Drinking Among College Students

Link to full page: http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/peer-advice-helps-cut-heavy.html

Summary:

Just one personalized intervention session from a fellow college student was effective in reducing alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers on campus, according to a new study from the Netherlands.

Student Paper Competition

2009-02-10T08:30:00.004-06:00

Student Paper Competition

The Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals together with the Insurance Bureau of Canada are sponsoring a competition for a scientific paper, written by a student registered in a Canadian university, on any aspect of motor vehicle traffic safety. Please see:
http://www.carsp.ca/cmrsc_call.htm

The author of the paper judged to be the best entry to the competition will receive an award of $1,000. The second and third place winners will receive awards of $600 and $400 respectively.

Each of the three winning student authors will also receive a complimentary registration to the 19th Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference, to be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on June 7-10, 2009, and $1,000 for travel and living expenses to attend, and present their paper at the conference. Winning students must present their paper at the conference in order to be eligible for any of the above awards.

For details of past competitions, and the range of topics that have been chosen by previous winners, please see: http://www.carsp.ca/index.php?0=documents&1=259

Authors must provide their papers in electronic format, (Microsoft Word preferred). Papers should not exceed 15 pages including all the text, illustrations, tables, and references. Entries are to be received no later than April 15, 2009. Entries will be judged by an expert panel of CARSP members.

Students may also submit their papers in response to the call for papers for the conference (see: http://www.carsp.ca/cmrsc_call.htm). However, please take special note that it is necessary to submit an abstract of the proposed paper by February 17, 2009 for the conference AND a full-text paper by March 31, 2009 as a competition entry, in order to participate in both activities.

For further details, please contact:

Kevin J. McClafferty
Chairman, Scientific Programme Committee
UWO Accident Research Team
Room 2162, Elborn College
The University of Western Ontario
London, ON N6A 5B9
Tel: (519) 661-2111 (ext 88297)
Fax: (519) 661-3123
E-mail: cmrsc19_papers@magma.ca

What's With Weed - Ottawa Workshop

2009-01-28T13:13:00.002-06:00

In partnership with Parent Action on Drugs, BACCHUS Canada is pleased to announce a FREE workshop, "What's with Weed?"-Responding to Marijuana Use on Campus. The Ottawa workshop date has been set for February 11, 2009 at the University of Ottawa.

For more information click here to be directed to the BACCHUS Canada website. There you will find more information and the registration form.

BACCHUS Canada has partnered with Parent Action on Drugs, as we feel that this program is a valuable asset to our members. One of the most frequently requested resource outside of alcohol education is that of marijuana education.

Bill 118 & Bill 126 Public Hearings

2009-01-22T09:07:00.007-06:00

Information for: Ontario BACCHUS Canada Members

The Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, have sent along the public hearings schedule so we could pass it on to you, school leaders, and encourage you to attend these public hearings and make a presentation when the hearing is held in your local area. You’ll recall that Bill 126 have 3 prominent drinking and driving countermeasures: zero BAC for 21 and under, 7 day vehicle impoundment for driving without an ignition interlock and 7 day vehicle impoundment for blowing over 0.08 BAC or refusing to provide a breath sample.

Those who want to present need to contact Trevor Day – the Clerk of the Committee – as soon as they can. The deadline is 12:00 noon on Thursday, January 29^th (written submissions are taken until February 20^th at 12:00pm noon. If there are some unable to attend the Public Hearings we would appreciate written submissions as well). Those wishing to attend can either write to:

Trevor Day Room 1405, Whitney Block Queen’s Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A2
Or preferably call: 416-325-3509. Collect Calls will be accepted.

Click here for more information from the Ministry of Transportation.

Times for the public hearings in Toronto have yet to be established.

Date: Monday, February 9, 2009

City: Niagara Falls ON

Meeting Times: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (times approximate, subject to number of witnesses scheduled)

Location: Great Falls Ballroom, Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009

City: Goderich ON

Meeting Times: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (times approximate, subject to number of witnesses scheduled)

Location: Knights of Columbus Community Hall, 390 Parsons Court, Goderich, N7A 4K3

Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009

City: Sudbury ON

Meeting Times: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (times approximate, subject to number of witnesses scheduled)

Location: Palladium North & Centre Rooms, Radisson Hotel Sudbury

Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009

City: Kingston ON

Meeting Times: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (times approximate, subject to number of witnesses scheduled)

Location: Harbour Shadows Room, Radisson Hotel Kingston Harbourfront

What's with weed into postsecondary campuses

2008-11-26T13:31:00.004-06:00

Parent Action on Drugs has completed a successful program on marijuana in the secondary school market called 'what's with weed?'. This program was administered across Ontario.

After seeing the program and the many wonderful opportunities it provided, the Parent Action on Drugs have adapted the program for the post-secondary market. How this program is being implemented into the post-secondary market is via 4 regional training opportunities.

BACCHUS Canada has partnered with Parent Action on Drugs, as we feel that this program is a valuable asset to our members. One of the most frequently requested resource outside of alcohol education is that of marijuana education.

For more information please check out http://www.bacchusmembers.com/whatswithweed.html
or

Please email to pad@parentactionondrugs.org

Luke Mulholland Benefit concert

2008-11-11T09:06:00.004-06:00

The Luke Mulholland Benefit concert is right around the corner! For tickets, cd's or 50% off your admission(you can also use this picture! just print it off) call me in the office! 416-243-1338 or email pslife@on.aibn.com
See you there!
Billi Jo Cox

Think before you drink

2008-11-10T10:51:00.004-06:00

Why it's important to drown the myths behind the student bender

Cam Cotton-O'Brien
Opinions Editor

November 06, 2008

Redefining the binge

The concept of binge drinking used to have a radically different meaning. It conjured up images of severely intoxicated hooligans roving around drunk for two or three days at a time, people who could hardly stand up, who couldn't stop drinking, who appeared nearly dead. This was the image associated with falling off the wagon and with going on a bender.

Some news for you

2008-11-04T09:01:00.002-06:00

Alcohol laws aim to stem violence
Calgary Herald
October 31, 2008

Booze-selling students attend partying workshop
By Rob Trippwhig
The Whig Standard
October 30, 2008

CBC Series: High Spirits

2008-10-28T12:43:00.004-06:00

Last week, CBC covered a series on Alcohol called "High Spirits".

The Series covered financing and the cost of alcohol on our society, alcohol and our health, the drinking age, alcohol and aboriginal people, and alcohol on campus.

Here is a link to the CBC coverage. http://www.cbc.ca/news/highspirits/

Alcohol Awareness Week

2008-10-21T09:42:00.002-06:00

Campuses have now received their Alcohol Awareness Packages; which included bookmarks, posters and post-cards.

Homecoming at Queens University

2008-09-25T09:00:00.005-06:00

There was an article on September 24th in the Globe and Mail titled "A homecoming that no one wants" about the notorious 'booze filled weekend' in Kingston. I have attached the article here.

I wrote a letter to the editor which is listed below.

Re: A homecoming that no one wants.

It’s time for us all to raise the bar!

We need to not only hold the students accountable to be the great and aspiring students they can be, but we must act as a whole community. While creating a solid preventative structure (what supports exist, what else is going on that night, finding the influencers and enrolling them into a bigger role modeling conversation), while also encouraging parents to talk to students along with community members to empower the students that live in the neighbourhood and seeing both the positive qualities along with the negative. It’s time for the media to take an empowering stance of all of the good things that students are doing at Queens University. Do you think that we fuel the perception that this is what students do at Queens’ campus to fit in? As a media outlet, what about covering some issues about being on the football team and the academic pressures of being an athlete and obtaining an academic standing?

One group can’t raise the bar alone. So while each silo struggles to raise the bar and put an end “booze fueled party weekend” known as homecoming.

Let’s all step up and say no more.

No Money? No problem! In the Metro News

2008-09-23T09:51:00.004-06:00

No money? No problem!

Students can still have fun if they’re broke: Experts

BRIAN TOWIE, METRO NEWS

September 23, 2008 12:18

The weekend’s on its way and you’re looking for something to do. You open your wallet to find nothing but pennies and lint. What now?

To rephrase a rap song by the late Notorious B.I.G.: No money, no problems. Fun doesn’t always mean you have to spend cash. There are various ways to fill your social calendar, possibly without dropping a dime. You just need to show a little ingenuity and keep your ear to the ground.

“Having no money can be a good thing for people who want to have fun, because it forces you to think outside of the box, to come up with new ideas,” according to Sam Gruszecki, director of strategic initiatives at Meet Market Adventures, an event planning service for singles. “It’s all about being creative, and if everybody’s having fun, they appreciate it that much more.”

Instead of throwing around your dough, you can try the following, according to Gruszecki: Play board games in the park, build sandcastles on the beach, ferment your own alcohol, get people together for organized sports like flag football or build a birdhouse.

Even the arts can come cheap. Indie bands and budding actors often perform at local pay-what-you-can venues, a much more cost-effective way to see live theatre or music than paying more than $100 to see a big-name production. You’ll find listings for these events in local free papers, and your local campus newspaper.

“There are a couple of key things you can do. Pick up one of those free papers that heavily cover the local entertainment scene — they’re full of listings of things to do for people who have next to no money,” says Chris McGrath, student affairs representative at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus. “Early in the semester, there might even be some free festivals going on in your city, you can have a look around. Also check your campus paper for what’s new: You can find out about any new clubs or organizations.”

Students are getting wiser with their cash, says McGrath, and one of the best ways to save it is to not drink. He says that more often, in the interest of preserving their funds (and their livers), undergrads are opting to leave the hooch out of the fun.

“The average weekend for a student might run between $20-$40; it really depends on what they’re doing though. Times have really changed. We’re finding that students are getting wiser with their money,” he said. “Booze is expensive. Pubs are rapidly becoming a kind of community centre for students, spaces where students are choosing not to drink. They might have a coffee and chat all afternoon.”

Battling the Binge

2008-09-19T06:28:00.004-06:00

Kelly Neville is a BACCHUS Canada network member at Memorial University in Newfoundland.

Battling the binge
Teaching 17,000 students about responsible drinking is a difficult battle

STEVE BARTLETT
The Telegram

Kelly Neville stands outside The Breezeway, MUN"s legendary campus bar. - Photo by Steve Bartlett/The Telegram

Kelly Neville has one of the toughest jobs at Memorial University.

As wellness co-ordinator with the university's counselling centre, her duties include educating 17,000 students about responsible drinking.

"It is frustrating, yes, it's a very difficult position," admitted Neville. "It's really hard to come up with new and innovative ways to reach everybody."

And reaching as many students as possible is crucial.

Binge drinking - common at universities across the continent and considered a rite of passage by many students - can lead to bad decisions, injury and even death, as was evidenced last month in Burnaby, B.C., when a 20-year-old died of alcohol poisoning after downing 10 beers and a twenty-sixer of whiskey.

As someone who started counselling MUN students in 1995 and moved into her current position about a year ago, Neville has heard many horror stories about alcohol, including students who've got drunk and fought, had unprotected sex with strangers or got behind the wheel and drove home.

"They drink, then they make bad choices," she said, cautioning that not all students drink and many who imbibe do so responsibly.

According to Neville, the counselling centre occasionally sees students with a physiological dependence on alcohol.

Every now and then, she said, staff also get reports from professors who have had people come to class smelling of booze.

Some counsellors hear other students rationalize, saying they don't have a drinking problem because everyone is doing it.

That reasoning, Neville said, often comes from young scholars who are being counselled for other reasons, such as relationship problems.

"Sometimes it comes out that, 'Yes, I'm drinking seven to 10 drinks when I go out, and I tend to get in a fight with my girlfriend or boyfriend, get jealous and shove someone or hit someone."

Neville hasn't dealt with a case of alcohol poisoning, but has heard of cases through anecdotes.

She knows it is happening and said teaching students to recognize the signs - not being able to wake up, not responding to clapping, etc. - is part of her awareness campaigns.

If someone with alcohol poisoning is not positioned properly as they sleep, she warned, they could choke on their own vomit.

Her abbreviated advice, "Get them to the emergency room or call for help instead of (subscribing) to the myth that, 'If I let them sleep it off, they will be OK,' which is the worst thing that can happen."

The alcohol education efforts of Neville and her wellness team - mainly students doing co-op placements or coursework - aim to teach people to make good choices. The programs take different forms throughout the semester.

The biggest event is an alcohol awareness day in October around the time of the George Street Mardi Gras, an event where many students are known to binge drink.

Last week was particularly busy for Neville and her crew on the awareness front. They trained people who serve alcohol on campus about their responsibility, and for the first time, put that material on the Internet, where it will be offered as a distance education course.

They were also busy preparing an online wellness newsletter, Student Health 101, expected to go live this week, it includes information about lifestyle issues, including hazardous drinking.

Neville hopes they reach students, but realizes they might not.

"I think maybe I'm delusional that putting a newsletter online is going to solve that problem," she said, admitting sometimes students see the literature and laugh or roll their eyes.

And Neville's concerns about not reaching students or getting them to listen might be warranted.

The Telegram spoke to three students at random about on-campus alcohol awareness campaigns after leaving Neville's office in the student centre.

None recalled seeing any initiated by the university.

"I'm sure it is around, but I haven't seen it yet," said second-year student Patrick Rose.

Student Megan O'Brien hadn't seen any literature or heard of any events, but she knew of a brewery's awareness initiative.

She said it's important that students educate themselves about alcohol and if she saw the materials she would read them.

Some of her peers wouldn't, O'Brien acknowledged, because they'd likely consider it just more stuff to read.

But she also knows of people who could benefit from the education.

"I find that people just take it too far," the second-year student said. "They have so many, and then they have the need for more. They don't understand, that, 'OK, you're drunk.' It's like, 'Oh, I'm drunk. How do I get drunker?'"

Student Richard Tilley said even though the only alcohol awareness message he recalled appeared in The Muse student newspaper, he doesn't necessarily think the university is doing a bad job at getting the word out.

The big problem, the second-year student said, is getting through to people after they've had a few drinks.

"If your friend does have too many and you go up to them and you tell them, 'Maybe it's time to slow down and layoff,' they don't listen," he said. "They just keep going and things escalate from there."

WWW Weblinks

http://www.mun.ca/wellness

http://www.studenthealth101.com/memorial.htm

FROM APOL-NET

2008-09-08T07:59:00.002-06:00

I post this article, because it comes at a useful time, and there are some useful tips at the bottom.

From Binge to Extreme Drinking

Most in the substance abuse prevention field are familiar with the term "binge drinking". Defined by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), binge drinking is a minimum of 4 drinks for women or 5 drinks for men per occasion.

However, in more recent years, the term "extreme drinking" has been used to describe the drinking habits of some high school and college-aged youth. Extreme drinking goes way beyond the minimum threshold for binge drinking, notes Dr. Aaron White from Duke University Medical Center. He adds that extreme drinking doubles or even triples the usual minimum amounts of binge drinking we are familiar with.

Experts are also currently working to determine whether this type of extreme drinking, also referred to as heavy episodic binge drinking, is a kind of alcoholism.

"We think of alcoholism as chronic drunken behaviour," says Thomas Brown, an addictions specialist and professor at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. "But the idea of this sporadic, very heavy drinking is something we're becoming increasingly concerned about".

The Addiction Services of Nova Scotia have found extreme drinking a problem area with those ages 19-29. They define extreme drinking as drinking more than your body can handle, which can put you at risk of passing out, memory loss, impaired judgment, blackouts, vomiting, injury, and alcohol overdose. With the tagline: The amount of alcohol it takes for you to pass out is dangerously close to the amount it takes to kill you, the Addiction Services of Nova Scotia released a marketing and educational campaign touting the dangers of extreme drinking along with suggested safety strategies.

In conjunction with the amount of alcohol consumed, the type of party, and who is in attendance will affect the amount of booze a person drinks. Researchers from the Center for Substance Abuse Research [PDF] at the University of Maryland showed that students who attended a party where alcohol was available were more likely to report getting drunk than those attending parties where alcohol was not available (10.5% vs. 0.5%). Other party factors related to being drunk [PDF] included the size of the party (larger parties), the location of the party (tailgating, fraternity house, off-campus near the university), and the number of friends the student attended the party with (larger number of friends).

It should be noted here that extreme and binge drinking isn’t just for the male population anymore. Past thinking generally held young males at a greater risk of binge drinking than females, however reports from CAMH [PDF] (2007) have shown that there is no significant difference between males and females in regards to binge drinking (27%; 25%); drunkenness (25%; 24%); or hazardous drinking (19%; 18%).

Similarly, acording to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, four in 10 women ages 18 and 19 consume five or more alcoholic beverages in a typical drinking session, compared to about five in 10 men of the same age. Among females aged 15 to 24, one in 10 engages in weekly binge boozing versus about two in 10 males in that same demographic.

"We're encouraging girls to make their mark in what was traditionally seen as more male-specific behavioural patterns, including heavy drinking," says Thomas Brown of McGill University.

As the 2008-2009 school year is now upon us, it would be a good time for schools to look at their policies in regards to alcohol availability and discipline related to misuse, along with how prevention efforts are geared towards their female population. Policy-makers in schools need to implement decisions to deter excessive drinking through rules or policies. This can be accomplished, in part, through:

repeated mandatory educational sessions on alcohol during school orientation in both secondary and undergraduate schooling;
mandated server training in university-run pubs;
health and safety training of Residence Leaders and Campus Security;
curbing campus alcohol advertising;

along with implementing and advertising policies related to alcohol control, where to go for help, and how violations to the policy will be enforced.

Over the summer months, Alberta invoked minimum alcoholic beverage prices at bars in an effort to curb consumption by drinkers. The new rules follow similar anti-binge-drinking legislation in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and act as a good start in how governments can address the issue.

For more information on designing and implementing alcohol policies, check out APN's four downloadable Let's Take Action guides. Le guide pour les écoles, et le guide sur l'alcool de parrainage sont également disponibles en français.

US report on underage drinking and answering the Why's.

2008-09-08T07:23:00.001-06:00

Underage Alcohol Use: Where Do Young People Drink? <http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/location/underage.pdf> (Link to PDF, 4

pages)

The NSDUH Report

Office of Applied Studies

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (USA) August 28, 2008

What's the Buzz - September 3rd

2008-09-08T07:20:00.000-06:00

Limo parties abet underage drinking, B.C. school official says <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/09/03/bc-limousine-roving-party.html>

CBC News

September 3, 2008

'No more serving drunks:' Winnipeg residents to inner-city bar owners <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/09/03/hotel-over-serving.html>

CBC News

September 3, 2008

Heres' to My Choice Launch

2008-09-03T08:38:00.004-06:00

Today at Humber College in Toronto, we launched our Here's to My choice campaign. We spent 2 hours in the sun handing out 500 t-shirts and posters! It was the perfect opportunity to launch the event.

Here are some pictures from our launch.(Left to Right) Mike Kopinak, Manager of Student Life at Humber College; Ferg Devins, VP Government and Corporate Relations from Molson, Billi Jo Cox, Director of BACCHUS Canada; Aynur Duzgeren,VP Campus Life North Campus
Ferg Devins preparing for the students arrival.

Some Students enjoying the free t-shirts and posters we were handing out.

Website Launched

2008-09-03T08:33:00.002-06:00

at www.herestomychoice.com you can create a new avitar! here is mine! check it out.

Smart Serve Newsletter

2008-09-01T17:44:00.002-06:00

Smart Serve Ontario has issued their most recent newsletter and I thought I’d post it here to connect you with the great work being conducted by Smart Serve.

Getting Interviewed

2008-08-28T09:51:00.001-06:00

Frances, The executived Director of The Student Life Education Company had an interview with Omni television yesterday in the office. We have also had interviews with the Globe and Mail! Will post the link to the globe and Mail on Tuesday when it is released.

facevalue

2008-08-26T11:28:00.002-06:00

Frosh week, is it still a word?

2008-08-12T14:01:00.002-06:00

On August 12, 2008 there was an article in the Metro titled, “Test of Endurance, humility”, about Frosh Week on campuses. This was at best, entertaining. The author, Rick McGinnis refers to Orientation week as a tyranny of endless parties, constant hazing and pointless rituals. Apparently, the author has had a copious intake of cinema such as Old school and Animal House or perhaps the author went to school over a quarter of a century ago.

Orientation Week has changed drastically over the past decade, let alone quarter of a century. Campuses now have departments dedicated solely to student development, student transitions, and the first year experience. There is a Residence Life Structure, with programming and student support incorporated into the residence systems. Orientation week has become a time for students to transition smoothly into their new environment. Academic departments are taking a keen interest in student’s retention within their department, which creates academic programmers and career counselor who now have a stake in student’s success. In the past, post-secondary education was seen as a middle-class privilege or better. Today, more than ever, more students are attending from all socio-economic backgrounds.

As the article quotes, “There’s every likelihood that there will be drinking going on during frosh week”, is correct. Some students will imbibe during the week, some will over-indulge, granted. On campuses today, students are in fact not of age to consume alcohol, so most will attend campus functioned events, non of which include abundant amounts of alcohol. However, we know from research, that it is a minority of students who take on this role during Orientation week and beyond. It is a shame that we take this minority of students who over consume alcohol and who will need the tips on how to “throw up neatly”, as an over all sample of the student body.

Launching Orientation Week

2008-07-21T08:29:00.002-06:00

To launch Orientation week this year, we have created a launch booklette. Which has all of the elements of Orientation week included, and will be sent out to campuses this week!

Here is the electronic Launch booklette.

Enjoy!

iDrive 2 video

2008-07-14T12:07:00.002-06:00

I am going to a variety of focus tests across Canada for iDrive 2: Road Strategies. This DVD is being created by OCCID (Ontario Community Council on Impaired Driving) and the MTO. My role, as BACCHUS Canada director, is visiting focus tests and ensuring that students feedback is included as part of the process.

I will be out of the office for the next two days travelling to Thunder Bay to be sure that the video speaks to our Northern Ontario Counterparts and our GTA'ers.

With all of the road crashes with alcohol involved, it comes as no surprise that we need to focus on alcohol and road crashes.

CCSA blog

2008-07-10T08:47:00.003-06:00

There is a new blog at CCSA in which we can give our opinions about the process and the content for Canadian standards for youth prevention initiatives.

It is the Consultation for National Youth Prevention Initiatives - and it is open only till July 25, 2008.

http://ccsayouthprevention.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Articles on Social Networking

2008-06-19T08:50:00.001-06:00

On the following link, you will find some information and articles that may peak your interest. There are some relevant articles in there on social networking on campuses.

let me know your thoughts.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x

Definition of Binge has limits

2008-06-16T06:58:00.002-06:00

Definition of binge drinking has its limits

Five drinks for males and four for females is considered to be binge drinking

Pamela Cowan, Leader-Post

Published: Friday, June 13, 2008

REGINA -- A Regina man believes most people are binge drinkers if you accept the medical definition of a "binge."

"Binge drinking is defined by a number of different sources as consuming five or more drinks for males and four or more for females on one occasion," said Marta England, supervisor of the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Directorate with the Ministry of Health.

For rest of article on Definition of Binge has limits the rest of the article is here

East Conference

2008-06-02T13:31:00.000-06:00

BACCHUS Canada Eastern Regional Symposium

Registration Form

Wednesday May 28th, 2008 Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia

A one day symposium on health, education and alcohol on post-secondary campuses.

Our conference will be of interest to any person who works with post-secondary students or is it interested in alcohol education and other health issues. The symposium programming is largely designed for student union representatives, health administrators and educators, residence life members, student services, and alcohol policy developers within the post-secondary gamut.

Learning Objectives

To increase and share information about trends and alcohol use amongst post-secondary students

To provide an opportunity to create dialogue on the issues surrounding post secondary students; including but not limited to alcohol, HPV, and social networking

To build a network of colleagues to address alcohol on campus

To present information and a forum to actively discuss the topic of HPV

Tentative Agenda
8:30am – 9:00am	Registration
9:00am – 9:15am	Welcome
9:15am – 10:45am	Social Networking on Campuses
11:00am – 12:30pm	HPV – what does it mean to the Post-Secondary Student?
12:30pm – 1:30pm	Networking Lunch (provided)
1:30pm – 3:00pm	Alcohol Research
3:00pm – 4:30pm	Campus Case Study
4:30pm – 5:15pm	Idea/Program swap
5:15pm – 5:30pm	Closing remarks & Wrap up

Registration Form

Campus accommodations

Hotel accommodations are not included in the conference price. The following are recommendations in the area.

Dalhousie Residence

Howe Hall : Single Nightly $40.95/night or Discounted Student Rate (valid student ID required upon check in) Single Nightly $26.75/night. Guests may call 1-888-271-9222, email accommodations@dal.ca, fax their request to 902-494-1219 or use our online form at www.dal.ca/confserv (under Summer Accommodations).

Holiday Inn Select: Halifax-Centre 1980 Robie St at Quinpool Halifax, NS B3H 3G5 Call 1-877-660-8550 . Quote the BACCHUS Canada rate for $121 plus tax.

Principal sponsor

social networking

2008-04-21T07:30:00.002-06:00

We are starting to look at social networking on campuses. It seems only appropriate to look at what is happening on campuses regarding social networking and the intricate workings of socializing on the internet. As an alcohol education group, social networking is important in a number of areas;
1) posting compromising pictures
2) underage drinking is now being posted across the internet for everyone to see. As a disciplinary, what do you do?
3) posting inapropriate or derogatory messages when drunk
4) stalking or 'creeping' as they call it on facebook

For these reasons, and many more. We are developing a Social Networking campaign for Campuses across Canada.

A really good blog to add to your list for social networking updates;
http://chimprawk.blogspot.com/

Education best way to prevent sexual violence - News

2008-03-12T06:17:00.000-06:00

Education best way to prevent sexual violence - News

2008-01-08T19:17:00.001-06:00

Alcohol and Youth Trends: Implications for Public Health

2008-01-07T07:57:00.000-06:00

Considering global alcohol and youth trends, alcohol use during adolescence is a
significant public health concern. Some current global trends recently observed
include: increased rates in alcohol use among youth, earlier age of onset of
drinking, and increased youth-targeted alcohol product promotion. Purpose: The
goal of this report is to identify the current patterns of alcohol use among youth in
Canada, and specifically Ontario; the common motivations to drink alcohol; and
the consequences of alcohol use among this age group. Methodology: A
literature review of academic journals and the Internet was conducted.
Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a variety of youth
and professional key informants. Recommendations and Conclusions: A
summary of the findings is presented along with recommendations for public
health practitioners.

http://www.apolnet.ca/resources/pubs/rpt_AlcoholYouth-5Nov07.pdf

Fake ID

2007-12-04T10:36:00.000-06:00

Fake ID in the news in PEI

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/11/26/teens-bars.html

New Studies released for Drug Awareness Week 2007

2007-12-04T08:52:00.000-06:00

The Atlantic Provinces 2007 Drug Survey released

The Nova Scotia Student Drug use 2007 highlights

The New Brunswick Student Drug Use 2007 highlights

The PEI Student Drug use 2007 hightlights

The Ontario Student Drug use 2007 report

Injuries Rise with Alcohol-Energy Drink Mix

2007-11-07T07:18:00.000-06:00

College students often mix alcohol with energy drinks so that they can drink more and longer, researchers say, but the strategy can lead to more alcohol-related injuries, too.
Fox News reported Nov. 5 that researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that students who mixed alcohol and drinks like Red Bull had double the risk of being hurt or injured, requiring medical attention, driving with an intoxicated driver, being taken advantage of sexually, or taking advantage of another sexually.
Lead researcher Mary Claire O'Brien said she and colleagues "were surprised that the risk of serious and potentially deadly consequences is so much higher for those who mixed energy drinks with alcohol, even when we adjusted for the amount of alcohol."
"Students whose motor skills, visual reaction times, and judgment are impaired by alcohol may not perceive that they are intoxicated as readily when they're also ingesting a stimulant," said O'Brien. "Only the symptoms of drunkenness are reduced -- but not the drunkenness. They can't tell if they're drunk; they can't tell if someone else is drunk. So they get hurt, or they hurt someone else."
The findings were based on an Internet survey of more than 4,000 students from 10 universities. About a quarter of those who drank alcohol within the past month said they mixed alcohol and energy drinks. Mixing was more prevalent among males, whites, older students, intramural athletes, and fraternity/sorority members and pledges.
The findings were reported at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C.

Toronto Star article on Post-secondary drinking/parties

2007-10-31T09:49:00.000-06:00

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/269627
UNIVERSITY LIFE
TheStar.com living Campus pubs hit dry spell
Campus pubs hit dry spell

Pubbing not what it used to be The days of pub crawls and two-hour lineups for the campus pub are a distant memory at many universities.
Jeff Dockeray, executive director of the Campus Hospitality Managers Association, says student pubs are no longer "cash cows." Among reasons, he cites the influx of underage students and increased awareness about the hazards of risky drinking. Campus pubs have gone beyond serving alcohol to focus more on food and entertainment. Staff are trained to deal with everything from intoxication to underage drinking.
At York University, eight of the nine college councils are out of the bar business, says Frank Cappadocia, director of student community and leadership development. The one left has gone from a profit centre to breaking even.
Most students don't drink heavily but the problem is, they think everyone else does
Oct 27, 2007 04:30 AM Andrea Gordon Family Issues Reporter
Wild Homecoming bashes. Keggers. Rowdy drinking games. Many teenagers head off to university thinking these are the rituals of student life. And that participating in them is the way to fit in.
Funny thing is, research shows there's a big difference between what students think their peers are up to, and what they're actually doing. And spreading the word about those misperceptions is fast becoming a common strategy on campuses to deter risky behaviour.
Constance Smelsky, 21, who grew up in the town of Rockwood near Guelph, says that, like a lot of teens, she figured alcohol would be the route to fitting in and making "friends for life" in university residence. After all, that's how a lot of kids connected at bush parties during high school.
When she got to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and had a great time during a jam-packed – and dry – Orientation Week, it took a lot of pressure off.
"I thought, okay, I don't have to do all these things that I thought I did. People could like me for who I am, and not from me trying to fit in by drinking."
Adds Corinne Bowers, of Barrie, now a fourth-year sociology major at Laurier: "There is a misconception that university is all about partying and drinking. But within one night (of arriving at Laurier), I found out that's not the case, that there's so much to do here that doesn't revolve around that.
"I thought, `I feel good about this, I can be myself, I can do what I want to do.' It was a relief, in a sense, and it was a reality check."
Smelsky and Bowers say the prevailing wisdom about today's wild student behaviour – fuelled by the kind of headlines that followed Homecoming weekend at Queen's University this month – creates a false picture of campus life. And it's one of the biggest reasons some kids drink dangerously.
As student leaders, the women are working to dispel those notions through a scientific approach known as "social norms theory." It's aimed at eliminating misperceptions about alcohol consumption by educating youth with solid research on how most of their peers actually behave.
A campus-wide campaign next month at Laurier will urge students to "Flip the notion, Know the norm," says Smelsky, president of the university's student union. The aim is to spark discussion about peer pressure and how much students are really drinking.
BACCHUS Canada, which promotes alcohol awareness on campuses, recently surveyed 14,000 university students at 10 schools across Canada as part of a four-year pilot project on social norms. It found that 63 per cent drink twice a month or less. But 80 per cent believed their peers drank once a week or more and a third believed students commonly drink three times a week.
The same survey found that 93 per cent of youth believed students should not drink to an intoxicating level that interferes with academic or other responsibilities.
"This is campus life's best-kept secret," says Bowers, 20, who loves to socialize and drinks moderately. "This is something that's forgotten about in all the scare tactic material out there."
While the shock-and-awe approach tends to turn kids away, hearing the actual numbers makes them want to know more.
"It starts a discussion going," says Bowers, co-ordinator of BACCHUS Laurier, whose 71 student volunteers promote education about responsible drinking, safe sex and stress management.
None of which is to say that student drinking is not a worry. Risky behaviours still occur and can result in alcohol poisoning, injury, fights, sexual assault or unsafe sex. In fact, a survey in 2004 of 6,282 full-time undergraduate students surveyed from 40 universities found 32 per cent reported signs of dependent drinking, including being unable to stop, failing to perform normal everyday activities or needing a drink in the morning.
The survey, by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, also found that the larger the group of students, the higher the average alcohol intake, ranging from 1.8 drinks alone to 6.2 drinks in large groups.
So the headline-grabbing drinkfests are still with us. But Frank Cappadocia, director of student community and leadership development at York University, says the general public may get the idea that things are wilder than ever because of how fast news spreads these days, thanks to technology.
Party scenes from Queen's Homecoming or a bash at Florida State University get posted to YouTube within minutes, and the most outrageous stuff is there for all to see. Tales of mayhem spread through Facebook like a virus.
But, he says, today's students have a vastly different experience than a generation ago, when pub crawls and two-hour lineups to get into the campus pub were the norm.
"To tell the truth, for us, alcohol consumption is not actually as big a concern as stress," he says.
Fran Wdowczyk, executive director of the Student Life Education Co., which operates BACCHUS Canada, says times have changed but the myth persists.
"It's not Animal House anymore." But the myth lives on, through the media, movies and even through parents' memories of their student days. She's seen parents arrive with beer kegs for their kids because "they remember this as a rite of passage."
Cappadocia notes change is happening at different rates. Unlike York and other GTA universities that have large commuter populations, schools like Queen's, Western and Laurier, where most students live on or very close to campus, have a tougher job changing their cultures.
Queen's has a Campus Observation Room, which operates on weekends in one of its residences, to provide a safe place and medical monitoring for students who may be in danger as a result of excessive drinking. Kids are encouraged to bring friends who may be at risk of aspirating if they fall asleep and vomit, or who need to be assessed and watched overnight by trained volunteers. Care is confidential and does not get put on the student's record, says Mike Condra, director of health, counselling and disability services.
He says the school also promotes the social norms message that "the norm is not what you're thinking" and has a poster campaign referring students to its website, every drinkisachoice.com, which provides tips on how to party safely and what to do in an emergency.
Students who volunteer during Frosh Week at schools like Laurier and York sign pledges promising they will not consume alcohol, even when they are off-duty on their own premises.
Changing a culture is tough and takes time. But those involved say the key is peer education and modelling through student leaders during Orientation Week, floor dons in residence and those who run activities throughout the university.
These role models carry a lot more weight than lectures, says Cappadocia.
"`Thou shalt not?' Big mistake."

Ontario sees a decrease in self reported drinking and driving

2007-10-31T09:47:00.000-06:00

Self reported drinking and driving has decreased in Ontario
The CAMH study released on this link

CCSA applauds Nova Scotia for promoting a "culture of moderation" around alcohol use.

2007-08-31T08:39:00.001-06:00

CCSA applauds Nova Scotia for promoting a "culture of moderation" around alcohol use. OTTAWA, Aug. 30 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
(CCSA), a national organization working to reduce alcohol- and drug-related
harm, welcomes Nova Scotia's new alcohol strategy, Changing the Culture of
Alcohol Use in Nova Scotia, and is particularly pleased that the provincial
strategy embraces a "culture of moderation" as outlined in recent
recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy.
An expert working group, co-chaired by CCSA, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug
Abuse Commission and Health Canada, was created to develop consensus on
recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy. The multi-sectoral working
group had representatives from government, non-governmental organizations,
industry and regulatory bodies, and the research community. Nova Scotia is the
first province to interpret the recommendations for a National Alcohol
Strategy at the provincial level.
"We are very pleased to see Nova Scotia's commitment to and investment in
reducing alcohol-related harm and we celebrate their efforts to proactively
address problematic alcohol use," said CCSA's Chief Executive Officer, Michel
Perron.
Both the provincial and national strategic approaches focus on alcohol
from a public health perspective and underline alcohol's significant role in
contributing to health and social harms in Canada. The national report,
Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm in Canada: Toward a Culture of Moderation-
Recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy addresses four key strategic
action areas: health promotion, prevention and education; health impacts and
treatment; availability of alcohol; and safer communities.
"The development of recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy was
the result of a collaborative and dedicated approach by a diverse group of
stakeholders and we must build on that success by ensuring a strong,
complementary and applied execution of the Strategy," said Mr. Perron. "As
co-chair, CCSA has taken an active role in promoting and monitoring the
implementation of this national initiative and has identified several
recommendations that will be a priority in the coming months, including
enhanced efforts to transfer knowledge around prevention, treatment and
population health policies and programs."
To access the national report, please visit the CCSA website at
http://www.ccsa.ca or the website for the National Framework for Action to
Reduce the Harms Associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs and Substances in
Canada at http://www.nationalframework-cadrenational.ca/.
About CCSA:
-----------
With a legislated mandate to reduce alcohol- and other drug-related
harms, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse provides leadership on national
priorities, fosters knowledge-translation within the field, and creates
sustainable partnerships that maximize collective efforts. CCSA receives
funding support from Health Canada.
For further information: Brooke Bryce, Canadian Centre on Substance
Abuse (CCSA), (613) 235-4048 ext. 243, bbryce@ccsa.ca

From Globe and mail - June 27th,2007

2007-06-27T09:03:00.001-06:00

Mountie calls for more education on risks of ecstasy
LAURA DRAKE
June 27, 2007
VANCOUVER -- Although use of ecstasy among Vancouver youth trails that of alcohol and marijuana, the dangers of the party drug have not been properly conveyed to users, according to the RCMP.
"We have undermined the harms of ecstasy. We haven't done enough on it," said Sergeant Scott Rintoul, a member of the RCMP Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service.
"When you hear reports of meth being made available to young people, people get concerned and scared. It's an easy sell. Ecstasy has the perception it's benign, which is not true. We just haven't done a good enough job."
Sgt. Rintoul said there has been a spike in ecstasy use in the past few years, including among Vancouver young people. According to a study done for Vancouver Coastal Health in the spring, 20 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 have reported trying ecstasy, putting the drug behind only alcohol and marijuana in terms of use.

"Ecstasy has been a drug that hasn't received as much attention as several others. There is a need to take a fresh look at ecstasy," said Cameron Duff, who conducted the study. "We're finding here in Vancouver that a number of young people are experimenting with this drug."
Dr. Duff emphasized that the vast majority of Vancouver youth do not have a drug problem. However, he said, the rates of use for ecstasy are much higher than cocaine and three times higher than crystal methamphetamine.
However, the study says young people view ecstasy as far safer than either of those drugs and, when asked what the risks of taking ecstasy were, generally listed social - such as affecting relationships - over health risks.
One of the biggest concerns about ecstasy is that the percentage of tablets containing methamphetamine has skyrocketed since 1998. When the RCMP first started analyzing ecstasy taken from drug raids, around 8 per cent of the tablets contained meth, Sgt. Rintoul said. Last year, 71 per cent of the tablets analyzed had meth in them.
"We're not talking about a large amount - between eight to 10 milligrams of meth in a tablet - where the ecstasy in a tablet is anywhere from 75-100 milligrams," Sgt. Rintoul said. "But when you look at methamphetamines, eight to 10 milligrams is still a pretty strong dose for someone who doesn't have a tolerance for meth."
He said there is a fair amount of concern that the volume of meth being put into ecstasy tablets is going to increase in the near future, causing more ecstasy users to get hooked on meth.
"That's the risk, because now a person is consuming an ecstasy tablet that also has a lot of meth in it. That could be the carrot that takes them to more methamphetamines."
The majority of Canada's ecstasy is produced in British Columbia, mainly in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Methamphetamines started being added to ecstasy around 2000, Sgt. Rintoul said, when the drug stopped being smuggled into the country in tablet form and instead came in powder form.
"Powder's not street ready; it's got to be repackaged and put into tablets, and that's when we started seeing meth added to it," he said.
A typical ecstasy high lasts for three to five hours, and while taking meth at the same time doesn't prolong the effects, it does increase the intensity of the high.

Alcohol and Trends - Globe and mail

2007-03-26T11:36:00.000-06:00

article in March 24th, 2007 article of the Globe and Mail.
See the link.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070324.wxcover24/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home/?pageRequested=2

valentines day programmng

2007-02-15T08:07:00.000-06:00

Our first ONLINE valentines day program was executed yesterday. The materials are online on our website at www.studentlifeeducation.com

alcohol free?

2007-01-09T15:06:00.000-06:00

should peer educators be alcohol and drug free?

Go out with your friends, leave with your friends

2006-12-05T14:14:00.001-06:00

Eat before you drink clip

2006-12-05T14:10:00.000-06:00

2006-11-22T06:25:00.001-06:00

cute video on sober driving

2006-11-20T14:11:00.000-06:00

2006-11-20T14:05:00.001-06:00

20th anniversary gala

2006-10-26T14:19:00.000-06:00

Peer pressure a major factor in binge drinking

2006-09-25T07:22:00.000-06:00

Peer pressure a major factor in binge drinking
Updated Sun. Sep. 24 2006 12:40 PM ET
Canadian Press

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060924/binge_drink_060924/20060924?hub=Health

Toronto Star - September 1st, 2006

2006-09-01T09:02:00.000-06:00

Prescription junkies
Some people don't go to the corner to get their fix. They go to their doctor. And critics say Canada isn't equipped to tackle this addiction to pills
Sep. 1, 2006. 06:40 AM
TERRY DAVIDSON
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
"The last time I was in this place, I was blasted out of my mind on Dexedrine," Steven says of the east Toronto bar where he sits, stirring vodka and soda. Dexedrine is a prescription drug — a stimulant. So fierce was his addiction to prescription pills, it nearly cost him his life — twice.
Once was late last summer. Steven, who doesn't want his real name used, had run out of money for cocaine and started popping Dexedrine — up to 15 a day. One day, he crushed them and snorted the powder from the palm of his hand. Then he swallowed some Ritalin.
"Two or three at a time," says Steven, 26. "It was all about maintaining the high."
Suddenly, he started puking up pills so fast the labels were still etched in them. Yellow-orange fluid ran out his nose and a piercing pain bulged in his side with even the shallowest breath. His heart raced and he drooled uncontrollably.
He lay down and was unable to get off the sofa of his apartment in the Beach area. Steven thought he was having a heart attack.
The other time he'd almost died was just weeks before, when he had the barrel of a 9mm handgun shoved in his mouth by a dealer after he failed to hand over the hash he had promised in exchange for more pills. This, too, was right in his apartment.
He doesn't know where the dealer got the pills, but he suspects they were stolen.
Two brushes with death were enough for Steven. He found an addiction therapist. He says he's been clean since.
Steven, who is thin with dyed-black hair and tattoos covering his arms, is the son of a lawyer father and homemaker mother. And if you think the typical pill addict is a former coke-head running from gun-toting dealers and nearly overdosing in a small apartment, read on.
Joan Gadsby remembers how she felt moments before collapsing in a heap on the dining room floor of her British Columbia home after a 25-year addiction to prescription sedatives.
Gadsby, then a successful marketing executive, had been prescribed the pills in her 20s after the death of her young son. At some point, she got hooked. Her health declined, her moods became erratic and her family fell apart.
Through it all, she says, her doctor prescribed more pills. Then she overdosed.
Her head spinning and vision blurred, Gadsby crawled and fumbled her way through the house to find the phone. She called her daughter before slipping into unconsciousness. Police had to smash through the front door to get to her.
That was 16 years ago. Gadsby is now 65 and off the pills. She is healthy and is an author and lecturer on prescription-drug abuse.
But to a prominent addiction specialist, Steven and Gadsby are "just the tip of the iceberg" in Canada, where doctors can over-prescribe, addicts can multi-doctor to stock up on pills and where the theft of pills has put more and more prescription drugs on the streets.
In a 2005 report released by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Dr. John Weekes writes that Canada's lack of a national tracking system for prescription drugs and their non-medical use has left the country vulnerable to addiction and abuse, a country whose people are already "among the heaviest consumers of psychotropic medications in the world."
To Weekes, whose report appears in Substance Abuse in Canada: Current Challenges and Choices, all one has to do to get an idea of the size of the problem here is look stateside, where millions are addicted to prescription pills.
"I think it's reasonable to conclude that something similar is happening in Canada," Weekes says.
According to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 6 million Americans reported using prescription drugs for "non-medical purposes" in 2003. Almost 5 million were abusing pain relievers. About 2 million were taking sedatives and almost 800,000 were popping stimulants.
"The numbers are indicative that the problem is increasing," says Dr. Jag Khalsa of the institute.
The Canadian centre says more than 300 Americans in 31 states have died over the last two years from overdosing on the pain drug OxyContin, which Weekes compares to heroin.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has used these statistics to develop the Prescription Drug Strategy, a national program addressing bad prescribing, prescription fraud and pill theft. It also has education programs in schools and through the media on the dangers of pill addiction.
But because of what Weekes calls a difference in priorities, Canada has not collected numbers on what he says is a major issue coast-to-coast.
"We don't know," he says. "That's part of the problem."
Weekes says countrywide monitoring would provide "a national roll-up of data," answer the question of how big the problem is here and be a vital step to fixing it.
But Health Canada says it is limited in what it can do.
"There is a split responsibility here," says Health Canada spokesperson Carolyn Sexauer. "It is up to the provinces and the colleges of doctors and pharmacists to look at the monitoring of this."
Now, the only numbers specialists like Weekes have to go by are the dribs and drabs coming from institutions such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
According to Weekes' report, which was co-written with Dr. Jurgen Rehm, the mental health institute found as many as 11 per cent of its annual admissions for treatment have reported prescription drugs as being a part of their addiction.
"But by the time these patients come to see me, they have usually started using other, more illicit, drugs like cocaine or heroin," says Dennis James, the institute's associate director of addictions, who feels the focus on illegal drugs is taking attention off pill addiction.
The most abused prescription pills are opioid pain relievers, benzodiazepine sedatives and stimulants.
Weekes says one problem is not knowing who has been prescribed what by whom, allowing addicts to visit several doctors to stock up on pills. While this "double-doctoring" is a pan-Canadian problem, he says, it seems most common in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.
Double-doctoring is illegal and a 31-year-old Toronto woman was charged in February with 223 counts after filling prescriptions for almost 14,000 pills. In November, a Brockville woman was charged after amassing more than 2,000 pills the same way.
"We are regularly referred investigations that relate to this," says Det. Sgt. Scott Moore of the Ontario Provincial Police. "There's not a cross-sharing of information, so a person can get a prescription today ... in Newmarket and then get another prescription for the same narcotic in Sudbury."
What has emerged in place of a national effort, Weekes says, is a patchwork of several provincial tracking programs.
In 1997, British Columbia launched PharmaNet, a database linking pharmacists and physicians. With this, a doctor can pull up a patient's record to check for double-doctoring.
Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have also launched similar programs.
Ontario has a website for its Health Network program, which claims to identify double-doctoring. But Weekes says he is not familiar with it and called most provincial tracking "window dressing."
"A lot of the approaches to prevent double-doctoring ... are missing the big picture," he says. "The tracking programs of provinces do not talk to each other. Somebody bordering between provinces can just hop over and go to another province where they are not in the system."
Sexauer says Health Canada used to make regular visits to pharmacies to monitor prescription trends. But in 1994, "analysis found ... there was compliance of practitioners and pharmacists" to federal regulations, and the monitoring stopped.
"Just because there seemed to be compliance then doesn't mean there is compliance now," Weekes says.
Dr. Graeme Cunningham, a former president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, agrees, saying there are "dated" doctors who prescribe poorly, as well as "crooked docs" who prescribe pills for money or sex.
"There needs to be accountability built into the system," says Cunningham, now director of addictions at Homewood Health Centre in Guelph.
Michael Guidice of Toronto died in June 2004 after overdosing on the pain reliever Dilaudid, one of many pills the 29-year-old started taking about a year before that for kidney stones.
In April, his prescribing physician, Dr. Eddie Kingstone, was suspended by the regulatory college.
If a complaint of a doctor's prescribing is deemed valid by the college, a committee decides if the case moves to a disciplinary hearing or if the doctor is to be cautioned or sent for education. Doctors disciplined are posted on the college's website but, under current medical legislation, information on doctors — cautioned or otherwise — is not made public.
Of the 265 disciplinary decisions listed on the college website in June, about 17 per cent involve the prescribing of medication.
So, how large is the number of Ontario doctors simply cautioned for bad prescribing?
"I wouldn't be able to answer that question," says Ontario college spokesperson Mickey Cirak. "I wouldn't be able to comment."
Colleges in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Alberta and British Columbia follow the same privacy policy.
But Weekes says prescription tracking will not help when it comes to the "massive amounts" of pills stolen to be sold on the street. Specific national monitoring is needed for theft.
In February, a couple was arrested in Toronto after large amounts of OxyContin and Valium were found in a home during a police search. That same month, a father and son were in court in the wake of 23 drugstore robberies.
During the summer of 2005, two Nova Scotia doctors were charged with trafficking pills for money. They were caught by the province's OxyContin task force, which was formed after 12 people on Cape Breton died of overdoses in 2003.
"Many (addicts) now get their drugs from non-registered sources," says James of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. "Street drugs make big money."
According to Weekes' report, a 60 mg tablet of the slow-release morphine MS Contin costs $1.75 in the pharmacy. On the street, a dealer can grab up to $35 a pill.
Weekes says pharmacies, drug warehouses and doctor's offices are targets of "high-volume theft."
"The country doesn't have the ability to measure theft and loss," he says.
But Sgt. Martin Blais of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police says it is "not RCMP mandate" to keep track of pill theft nationally.
"That information is not available to us," he says. "It's up to the individual detachments to keep track of that."
In 2004, one opioid — Tylenol with Codeine — was No. 4 on IMS Canada's list of top prescribed drugs. Two benzos — Apo-Lorazepam and Ativan — were in the top 25.
When asked why usual culprits such as OxyContin and Valium didn't make the list, Weekes comes back to pills stolen to be sold on the street.
"(That's) the extent some of these drugs have been diverted," he says. "They're out there."

Study: Students Find Ways to Safely Drink

2006-07-31T12:48:00.000-06:00

By CHASE SQUIRESThe Associated PressSaturday, July 29, 2006; 1:01 PM
DENVER -- Despite the anti-alcohol warnings and campaigns targeting college campuses, students still find ways to drink and they've developed ways to drink safely, researchers reported Friday.
While up to 80 percent of students drink, fewer than 13 percent say they've been injured or damaged property after drinking, researcher Michael Haines said in a study by the National Social Norms Resource Center.
The study, developed with data from more than 28,000 students at 44 colleges and universities, noted that about 73 percent of student drinkers protect themselves by using designated drivers, setting spending limits at bars, counting their drinks, going out in groups and trusting friends to speak up when someone is drinking too much.
The center advocates a "social norms approach" to alcohol safety, essentially recognizing that student drinking occurs and promoting ways that students practice safe drinking.
"The safest place for college students to drink alcohol is on college campuses. All data points to that," he said. "Yet more is done to force drinking off campus .... Those policies have failed to reduce drinking. Private kegger parties are the most high-risk location for drinking."
Certain protective behaviors _ such as avoiding drinking games and pacing drinks to one or fewer per hour _ "merit more promotion than others," said Haines, director of the center, based in at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
Critics suggest that better alternatives include tougher penalties for student drinking and limiting student access to alcohol.
The findings will be published in next months' Journal of American College Health. They were presented Friday at the National Conference on the Social Norms Approach.

Call for Porgrams - BACCHUS Conferences

2006-05-29T12:13:00.000-06:00

Call for Programs
Celebrating the past – embracing the future
20 years of saving lives
BACCHUS Canada Regional Conferences

BACCHUS Canada is based on peer education. To stay true to our roots, we are calling on Network Members to share their experience, talent and expertise with others so that we can continue to make a difference in the lives of Canadian students. From seasoned veterans, to new professionals, to student leaders, all Members are invited to participate in the Call for Programs.

To submit an application, please include the information below. Applications are due by Friday, June 16th, 2006 and can be submitted by fax at 416-243-2339 or by email at pslife@on.aibn.com. Concurrent programs are 1 hour and 15 minutes in length. All presenters must register as delegates. Scholarships are not available for presenters at this point. Please call Billi Jo Cox at 416-243-1338 if you have any questions.
Thank you!

Information Needed for Program Application
Location Information
1. Indicate which Regional Conference location you are applying for
a. Eastern Regional, Sept. 22nd – 23rd, University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB
Western Regional, September 29th – 30th, Olds College in Olds Alberta
Central Regional, October 20th – 21st, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario

Contact Information
Main presenter’s name and title
Institution / Organization
Contact information, including phone, fax, email and mailing address
Name of additional presenters

Program Information
Title of program
Program abstract of 50 words or less for the Conference Program
A short biography of 4-5 sentences for the main presenter and/or group
A short programs description indicating outcomes and format. For example lecture style, round table discussion, role-play, paper presentation, poster exhibit etc.

Audiovisual Information
Indication of audiovisual requirements.

Possible Topics/Areas of Presentation
Celebrating the past – embracing the future
20 years of saving lives
BACCHUS Canada Regional Conference

How to develop a peer education program
Student leadership
Alcohol awareness programming
Volunteer recruitment, retention and appreciation
Needs of the underage student
Programming for a special population such as residence, athletics or off campus
Your campus Social Norms project or survey results
Programming within a budget
How to train student leaders on alcohol
Town/gown relations
Alcohol awareness programming and technology
Incorporating awareness programming into Orientation
Marijuana awareness programs
Designer drugs on campus
Campus/Community partnerships
Off campus partnerships
Alcohol policy and judicial affairs
Youth Culture
Predatory Drugs
Presentation of posters, giveaways and advertising methods
Alcohol and stress
Alcohol and intimacy
Student success
Student Development Theory
Liability surrounding alcohol on campus
How to program for campuses in rural setting
Assault on campus
How to survey/assess student needs
Prescription Drugs and alcohol
Mixing caffeine and alcohol
Alcohol and the LGBTTTIQ community
Alcohol and the aboriginal community

**Possible topics and areas of presentation are not strictly limited to those listed above.

ad for agenda books

2006-05-11T13:10:00.000-06:00

The ads for the agenda books are finished!! YAY! if anyone is looking for it, it is posted below!

If you are interested in recieving the psd file of this please just email me at pslife@on.aibn.com

Saint Mary's university - campus of the year 2004-05

2006-05-02T08:10:00.000-06:00

Saint Mary's University has been diligent in their efforts of caputring campus of the year for the previous 2 years in running! i have included some visuals for a glimpse into a winning report. Also included last year, they had;

* an introduction to their team (D.R.A.F.T team) along with the intention of applying for the campus of the year award

* a summary of the year, and spelt out what the D.R.A.F.T team did and means

* D.R.A.F.T team structure/roles and responsibilities

* Program/event descriptions
* breakdown on volunteers, training and rewards (volunteer recognition)

* included their advertisements for volunteer recruitment, events and programs

* included articles written in their campus newspaper

* included samples of tickets/training schedules and handouts

* included team information (chair, volunteer and student expectations forms)

* included pictures!!

* included presentations that are conducted as part of their judicial process in Residence

Can anyone else say WOW!!? This campus has put a lot of effort into their programming and it sure shows!! You may be sitting there and thinking' "well we didn't do all of that stuff, we did X, or Y".....guess what...that's GREAT! we are very interested in hearing what you did on your campus! YOu are still eligible for other awards, such as campaign of the year, the founders award (for mission and vision) and the Dean Nichols award for a student on your committee/team.

So if your committee is looking for a little extra cash, a whole lot of recognition and some praise...then APPLY!! it is pretty dissapointing when we don't have people applying for awards and they go "un-recognized" for a full year!! and I know that you are all doing things on your campus and deserve this!

Do you need anymore information? Contact me pslife@on.aibn.com. (must be a member of BACCHUS Canada and in good standing when you apply)

Look forward to reading your applications!
Billi Jo

National Volunteer Appreciation week

2006-04-21T13:37:00.000-06:00

For more information and to send e-cards to your volunteers check out

It has some cards, theories and other resources you can use when thanking your volunteers!!

Conference announcements

2006-04-20T14:11:00.000-06:00

We are very excited to announce this year's conferences in honour of our 20th anniversary.

I am very excited and honoured to work with the following 3 campuses in providing a cutting edge and leading conference:

September 22nd - 23rd we are at the University of New Brunswick, Fredricton New Brunswick
Septeber 29th - 30th at Olds College in Olds, Alberta
October 13th - 14th at Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo Ontario

More information will be posted as soon as our advisory councils meet to discuss the details.

HAIR!

2006-04-12T07:50:00.000-06:00

Please join us for… Hair
It is the dawning of The Age of Aquarius. The tribe is rebelling. American youth are screaming out against The Establishment, Vietnam, segregation and sexual rigidity. Hair, the iconic 60s musical is part pop, part rock, part nostalgia and total visual delight. Recapture your spirit of hope in a strife-torn world.

Why: As a registered charity, we depend on our fundraising efforts to keep our organization operating. Annually, we host a Curling Bonspiel, Golf Tournament and a Night at the Theatre! We ask for your support by joining us for this year’s production; Hair. Why not buy tickets for Mother’s Day? Consider it a way to thank her for putting up with your “hippie” years. Love beads and peace signs optional.

When: Wednesday May 31, 2006. Get set to be transported back to the Age of Aquarius when the curtain rises at 8:00pm. Ticket price includes a pre-show reception of coffee, tea and desserts beginning at 6:30pm.

Where: The Bluma Appel Theatre, which is housed within the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The address is 27 Front Street East. Directions and parking information can be found at
www.canstage.com/2005-2006/dining_directions/directions/index.asp

How: Ticket price is $90. To reserve your seats, please fill in the order form and return it to The Student Life Education Company. Order forms can be faxed to 416-243-2339, emailed to sumlife@on.aibn.com, or mailed to 1350 Weston Rd, Toronto, ON, M6M 4R5. Tickets can be picked up at the theatre or our office. To have your tickets mailed to you, please call Jen at 416-243-1338 for a shipping quote.

Who: Established in 1986, The Student Life Education Company is a registered charity and not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of Canadian students. Made up of three divisions, BACCHUS Canada, Student Life NOW!, and The Canadian Centre for Social Norms Research, The Student Life Education Company works with students and schools across the country to encourage healthy decision making in the use and non-use of alcohol. In 2006, The Student Life Education Company will celebrate 20 years of alcohol awareness and harm reduction activities regarding responsible alcohol use to prevent students from becoming problematic drinkers.

Hookah's on Canadian Campuses?

2006-04-04T09:41:00.000-06:00

For obvious reasons, we try to stay abreast of what is happening in the US on their campuses. Sometimes the "fads" will travel to Canada, and sometimes they won't. Sometimes the US campus culture is simply a mirror of Canadian Campus culture; sometimes it isnt'.

One recent "fad", if you will; has been resurfacing in my readings. It is the use or growing prevalence of the Hookah on US campuses. Taken from the BACCHUS Network newsletter
" Water pipe is variously known in different regions as hookah (Indian subcontinent and Africa), shisha, borry, goza (Egypt, Saudi Arabia), narghile, arghile (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel), shui yan dai (China), or hubble-bubble. It’s believed to have originated in India in the 16th century and found its way to Persia (Iran), Turkey, and the Eastern Mediterranean.5 In the last 25 years, hookah smoking has become increasingly popular in Arab societies, Europe, and the United States due mainly to the cultural and social practices of new immigrants from countries where hookah smoking is an accepted tradition. Recently, hookah bars have mushroomed across California and in several other states with sizable Arab-American populations. More than 300 hookah bars are operating in the United States, with at least 50 in California. Many are located near colleges, universities, and shopping malls and are frequented by college students and locals. The bars offer an “exotic ambience” where customers can smoke a variety of fruit flavors and aromas in smoking sessions that last 45 to 60 minutes, for the cost of about $15.4." Please visit here for the full article .

the Oklahoma Gazette has recently published an article regarding Hookah's as well. That article can be found here

Has anyone noticed an increase in the use of or even a use of Hookah's on Canadian Campuses? Are there policies on your campus regarding Hookah's?

energy drinks and alcohol - new study released.

2006-03-31T11:09:00.000-06:00

No magic in mixed drink
Breaking News Alerts

BY CURTIS L. TAYLORNewsday Staff WriterMarch 30, 2006
A popular urban myth among young people is that combining energy drinks with alcohol will improve their stamina when they go clubbing.New findings indicate that when the popular Red Bull energy drink is consumed with alcohol, it actually reduces the user's ability to recognize loss of motor skills.
Maria Lucia O. Souza-Formigoni, associate professor of psychobiology at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, said "people should be warned that, in spite of the sensation of reduced effects, they are still affected by alcohol and their motor coordination is impaired."The study, published this month in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, randomly assigned 26 males to one of two groups that had between 10 and 20 minutes to drink one can of Red Bull and vodka poured in two different shot sizes. All completed three sessions, seven days apart, imbibing alcohol alone, the energy drink alone and the two combined. In an evaluation performed 120 minutes after ingestion, researchers said, the perceived sensations of dry mouth and problems with motor coordination caused by alcohol were significantly reduced by the combined drink. Souza-Formigoni said alcohol ingestion plus the energy drink prevented the sensation of alcohol-induced headache, but did cause tiredness, dizziness and altered speech and walk."In other words, the person is drunk, but does not feel as drunk as he really is," Souza-Formigoni said. The study was done in Brazil, where drinking Red Bull and alcohol is common, she said. Officials at Red Bull did not respond to a request for comment."The myth is that you take Red Bull and alcohol and you are going to be Superman, but it is a bad combination," said Dr. Lawrence Kessler, of the ER-DOX Clinic in Amityville. "I have young patients who come in dehydrated, their hearts racing too fast. They think you are doing an 'upper,' the caffeine in the drink, and a 'downer,' the alcohol, and you go sideways, but you end up crashing." Bessie Oster, director of Phoenix House's Facts on Tap prevention program, said the use of stimulants with alcohol is far more dangerous than students realize because it increases the risk of alcohol poisoning.

Find the link to this article here

membership renewal time

2006-03-22T12:39:00.000-06:00

Oooh the end of the academic term. I can already hear the halting screeches of the committee meetings on campuses and the scurring frenzy getting ready for registration/next year.

In 2001-02 BACCHUS Canada introduced the concept of membership fees. We introduced the concept with at $100. 5 years later, we have revisited the concept of membership fees vs the services rendered and recognized that it's due time for a slight increase. Our 2006-07 membership fees are set to be $125 to reflect the growing demands and services provided. It's pretty exciting really. new services are including; this blog, regular pod-casts, new advisory councils, and who can forget our 20th anniversary celebrations!

The BACCHUS Canada renewal forms will be available on Friday, in the Newsletter Packages. Off to put the finishing touches onto the Network News!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2006-03-17T14:49:00.000-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I have posted some pictures that the Durham Regional health Department has so wonderfully forwarded to me. There are some of their posters that they used over their St.Patrick's Day campaign!

Great work Lynn, Becky and the rest of the Durham Regional Public Health Department! I love it :)

The have also attached their safe prom/safe graduation cards that they distribute to local participating businesses during the prom/grad season. The cards have a message that reminds students that the decisions they make surrounding the use of drugs and alcohol can affect their experience and memories of these special events. The cards also have a sucker attached. The first page is the front of the cards and the second page is the back.

American Medical Associations news release....

2006-03-14T18:07:00.000-06:00

I am sure by now as you have caught the latest media blitz pertaining to women and "Binge drinking" or women on spring break. On Friday night 20/20 (ABC) also ran an episode quoting the new findings that the AMA (American Medical Association) have previously released (causing this particular media blitz)

I have included the link to the ABC 20/20 special, there is a webcast on the subject that you can watch. The article suggests that girls have gone wild on campuses across the US. "Binge" drinking is the norm and excess is expected. As some of you may know, we don't use or even condone the term "binge"; it is very misleading, as there is no time associated with the definition. So having more than 5 drinks is considered a binge, even if it is spanned over 8 hours. So using and labeling as binge drinking, is misleading.

The link on 20/20 is here

I also want to bring your attention to a news release sent out by the National Social Norms Research Centre. The news release is simply bringing attention and highlighting some statistics that go along with the media that "spring break" has been receiving. The news release points to the fact that only 7% of American Students can actually travel or take a vacation such as Spring break; that most of the students are infact not participating in "girls gone wild" episodes. I recommend a read, it brings a nice counterbalance to the recent media. This news relesase also highlights some interesting points along with a plee to health promotion educators to discontinue using scare tactics as an education model.

Here is the News release from The National Social Norms research Centre

Of course, all of this is American and doesn't particularly reflect the Canadian campus culture. However, it is too bad that this media is often representative of ALL Students, regardless.

I will post more information for you as it becomes available.
Billi Jo

Welcome to the world of blogging

2006-03-12T10:04:00.000-06:00

This space is designed to explore online communities as a medium for our BACCHUS Canada members. This space is a place for news-links, expressing thoughts and exploring new ideas; without being intrusive or clogging your inb0x. Add this link (bacchuscanada.blogspot.com) to your favourties and check in regulary. There will be an overview of the blog emailed to members once a month.

What is blogging? Blogging is web logging. You can visit this blog, post to the blog or create your own blog. I will post relevant media articles to the blog and usually give my opinion to the piece. I strongly encourage you, as BACCHUS Canada members, to do the same! To comment to posts you can simply hit the comment botton at the blog post. You should identify yourself, unless you have an account with blogger.com, your name will show up as "anonymous". Then you can simply post your comments (very similar to an email).

We are exploring the option of podcasting as well! Podcasting is putting up links to audio and video links of relevant materials! We are researching the options of creating podcasts once a month!! We can address campus trends and upcoming campus ongoings (Residence life training, orientation week, alcohol awareness days, st. patricks day, transition, etc. )

If you require help or further clarification, call me in the office to help you explore this new world of blogging!!

Talk to you soon,
Billi Jo