Drinking and Driving News

Driver Performance Institutes
330 Townsend St #106
San Francisco, CA 94107

DMV Makes Mistake Driver Get License Back

Los Angeles Daily Journal, 9.94

Some drivers whose licenses were revoked may be able to get them back
in the wake of the sate Attorney General’s Office acknowledgment of a
snafu in the vehicle code, Beverly Hills defense attorney Gerson Horn,
said.

Horn represented Paul Louk, of Thousand Oaks, Louk was stopped,
arrested for a DUI and lost his license under Vehicle Code 13353.2 (BAC
above .08 = loss of license). Louk received two points on his license for
conviction of his DUI.

Then while on suspension he was stopped and given a ticket for driving
on a suspended license. DMV officials then added two additional points,
for a total of four. Making Louk a negligent driver (VC12810.5)

The snafu, as Horn explained it, is that the Legislature apparently
neglected to include VC 14601.5 (driving on a DUI suspended license) on
its list of violations for which points can be added to a persons
record.

DMV rejected Louk’s appeals. But when Horn appealed Louk’s license
revocation to a Ventura County Superior Court judge, the judge indicated
he would rule in Louk’s favor. Before he did so, Elizabeth Hong
acknowledged the problem in the law and agreed to give Louk his license
back.

New Law Allows Work Related Restricted License

Starting January 1, 1995, all persons arrested for DUI may apply for
restricted license that allows driving to and from work and in the course
of employment. Prior to this new law persons arrested for DUI were only
allowed to have restrictions to and from a treatment program. The new law
allows those persons arrested to have this restriction if they (1)
completed a 30 day ‘hard’ suspension (2) enroll in an approved DUI
program (Form DS-626) (3) pay the necessary fees (4) show proof of
financial responsibility (SR-22).

Complied and edited by: Ed Reither DPI – January 1995 905.5555 –
f.905.5565

4 Cops Killed After Leaving Bar

Montreal – Quebec police said yesterday that they are investigating a
car crash that killed four off duty police officers. The officers, who
were taking a week long training course on breathalyzer training, were
returning from a bar early Thursday when their car skidded and hit a
truck near Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The truck driver was uninjured.

ADULTS ARRESTED AFTER BABY GIRL INGESTS DRUGS

The 10-month-old girl couldn’t stop screaming in the Fremont emergency
room, as her heart beat at twice the normal rate.

The reason for her pain: She had consumed alcohol and methamphetamine
while in the care of family members who allegedly used the drug, police
said Monday.

As a result of the weekend incident, the baby’s grandmother and her
father’s girlfriend who were caring for the child face child endangerment
charges, while her father and uncle have been arrested on warrants that
allege drug offenses.

The girl has been placed with Child Protective Services, Fremont
police said. Her current condition was not known.

It was not clear how the drug got into the baby’s system, although she
was sitting at a table at her Hayward home at which three adults may have
used the drug Saturday, according to a police report.

”When they’re sitting around and shooting up and tooting up, they’re
off in their own world enjoying themselves,” said Sgt. Bob
Armstrong.

According to the 1992 annual report of the American Association of
Poison Centers, methamphetamine was involved in only 2,142 of the 454,689
cases in which children under 6 years old were exposed to narcotics.

Charged with felony child endangerment were the girl’s grandmother,
Jean Marie Villa, 43, of San Jose; and Julie McCafferty, 30, of Hayward.
McCafferty. The girl’s father, James Siebels, 26, was arrested on
warrants.

DRIVING SIMULATORS TO FOCUS ON HEALTH PROBLEMS OF ELDERLY

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), Ricardo Martinez, M.D., said today that a new
advanced driving simulator will be used to identify driving safety
problems involving older drivers who are over-represented in crashes.

According to Dr. Martinez, “Conducting meaningful driver research in
actual traffic situations is not possible because of the risk of physical
harm.

However, technology learned from the space and defense programs will
soon result in a motor vehicle driving simulator that will realistically
replicate driving conditions and measure skills.”

Dr. Martinez said that older Americans are the fastest growing segment
of the U.S. population. In the years ahead it will become increasingly
important to understand the driving ability and possible limitations of
older drivers. State motor vehicle administrators will need this
information to make licensing decisions while preserving the mobility of
seniors.

ABC GIVES WARNING TO STATE’S LIQUOR LICENSEES

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 19

Jay Stroh, the Director of theCalifornia Department of Alcoholic
Beverage Control (ABC) has warned the more than 70,000 liquor licensees
in California they may receive fines or suspensions for serving obviously
intoxicated patrons during the holiday season.

Stroh reminded the owners of bars and liquor stores that under the
law, “no person may sell or give alcohol to anyone who is obviously
intoxicated … even if the customer is not driving. The maximum fine is
$1,000 and/or six months in county jail. And under certain conditions, a
liquor license could be revoked.

Said Stroh, “Studies have shown that about half of the driving under
the influence arrests were the result of people being served too much in
bars and restaurants.” Besides the criminal actions against the server,
Stroh said licensees also face the prospect of civil actions by victims
of DUI collisions.

Stroh noted that even though the number of people killed on the
State’s roads and highways have dropped over the past two decades, the
tragic toll during the holiday season is still high. According to the
California Highway Patrol, 156 people were killed last year between
December 20, 1993 and January 2, 1994. Of that total, almost half were
alcohol related incidents.

Stroh urged licensees to be cognizant of the condition of their
patrons. “Responsible serving of alcohol could prevent a family tragedy
and prolonged legal problems.”

Common Characteristics Of Addiction

1. Addictions are normal pleasurable behaviors..sex, food and drinking
   are essential to survival..but only in moderate amounts! …the brain
   works like this: if you taste or experience something that you like,
   that feels good, you’re reinforced to do that again.
2. To alter their present state of mind or feeling
3. The body develops a physical tolerance
4. Removal of the substance or activity produces painful or
   discomforating withdrawals.
5. Addictions cause repeated behavioral problems and activity of use
   take up a lot of a persons time.

Top Czech Beer Drinker

Prague, Czech Republic – Qualifying was hard enough – downing two
pints of beer in one gulp. But that was only the prelude to an arduous
bout of elbow-bending.

The winner? A bus driver who rarely indulges in alcohol.

The man, who was not identified by the state CTK news agency, put away
20 pints of brew to triumph at the annual beer drinker’ contest in
Strakonice.

The contest, held about 75 miles southwest of Prague, was open to
anyone who could drain a two-pint glass of beer in one gulp.

Many cleared that hurdle. After a short break, the contest began in
earnest – competitors had to down six pints in one hour.

Only eight finalists survived into the evening. And only two mode it
to midnight, when the winner was announced.

The driver, received $320 in prize money, said CTK.

Czech have one of the highest beer consumption rates in the world –
downing an average of nearly 42 gallons each annually.

SIGNS OF INTOXICATION

• Inhibitions Become Relaxed
• Overly friendly
• Loud
• Changing volume of speech
• Drinking alone
• Annoying others
• Using foul language
• Drinking more or faster than usual
• Reactions Are Affected
• Slurred speech
• Slow and deliberate movement
• Decreased alertness
• Quick, slow or fluctuating pace of speech
• Judgment Is Impaired
• Complains about strength of drink
• Changing consumption rate
• Ordering Doubles
• Argumentative (e.g., low-key
• altercations, confrontations or
• heated arguments)
• Careless with money
• Buying rounds for strangers
• Irrational statements
• Belligerent
• Lighting more than one cigarette
• Loss of train of thought
• Loss of Coordination (muscle control)
• Fumbling with money
• Spilling drink
• Cannot find mouth with drink
• Unable to sit straight on chair or barstool
• Swaying, drowsy
• Stumbling
• Bumps into things
• Falling
• Unable to light cigarette
• Physical Appearance
• Red, watery eyes
• Disheveled clothing
• Sweating
• Smell of an alcoholic beverage on person
• Droopy eyelids
• Lack of eye focus
• Flushed face

Acetaminophen May Cause Liver Damage

CHICAGO (AP) Moderate overdoses of painkillers such as Tylenol can
cause severe liver damage in people who are too sick to eat, a study
says

But researchers emphasized that acetaminophen, one of the most widely
used medications for minor illness and pain, is also one of the safest
when taken properly.

“The message is to follow the directions and be sensible in using any
medication,” said Dr. David C. Whitcomb, an assistant professor of
medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study in
Wednesday’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Previous research has shown that acetaminophen can damage the livers
of hard drinkers at lower overdoses than in other people. But the new
study shows overdoses can cause liver damage in nondrinkers if they don’t
get enough to eat.

Moderate overdoses of acetaminophen led to liver damage in 10 of the
patients with liver damage treated at the university over 5 1/2 years, a
review of records showed.

Eight of the 10 patients had been eating little, and three had been
drinking alcohol.

One of the patients died and another required a liver transplant. The
rest recovered completely.

A moderate overdose was defined as 4 to 10 grams of acetaminophen the
equivalent of eight to 20 extra-strength tablets within 24 hours. The
maximum recommended dose is 4 grams, or eight extra-strength tablets, in
24 hours.

The study also found eight additional patients who took high overdoses
of acetaminophen more than 10 grams in 24 hours and suffered liver
damage. Five had been fasting, and seven were chronic drinkers.

Two of the eight died and one required a liver transplant.

Most of the patients fasted because illnesses made them too sick to
eat, Whitcomb said. In some cases it was a severe sore throat or
toothache, in others the flu or migraine headaches with nausea and
vomiting.

The manufacturer of Tylenol said the study should not change the way
consumers use its product.

“In the majority of cases, the overdose was combined with prolonged
periods of fasting and-or excessive use of alcohol,” said Johnson &
Johnson, parent of Tylenol maker McNeil Consumer Products Co. of Fort
Washington, Pa. “This is a rare combination of extremes that shouldn’t
concern the millions of people who have used Tylenol safely for more than
three decades.”

In the past ten months or so two Accidents, Alcohol and Pot studies
have emerged from the National Highway traffic Safety Association (NHTSA)
which looked at the safety implcations of various substances with respect
to driving.

These studies are readily available in the public domain. Here’s a
review of one of the studies:

NHTSA Accident Study Finds Alcohol, Not Drugs the Big Danger on the
Road; Marijuana By Itself Not an Apparent Driving Hazard A newly released
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration study indicates
that alcohol is by far the leading cause of drug-related traffic
accidents, while marijuana poses negligible danger except when combined
with alcohol.

The study, the most comprehensive drug accident survey to date, is
dated October 1992, but is only now being released. A researcher familiar
with the project says this is because it contradicts the government’s
official anti-drug line that illicit drugs are a major public safety
hazard.

The study investigated blood samples from 1882 drivers killed in car,
truck and motorcycle accidents in seven states during 1990 – 91. Alcohol
was found in 51.5% of the specimens. Just 17.8% showed traces of other
drugs; marijuana was a distant second to alcohol at 6.7%, followed by
cocaine (5.3%), benzodiazepine tranquillizers (2.9%) and amphetamine
(1.9%). Two-thirds of marijuana- and other-drug-using drivers were also
positive for alcohol.

The report concluded that alcohol was by far the “dominant problem” in
drug-related accidents. A responsibility analysis showed that
alcohol-using drivers were conspicuously culpable in fatal accidents,
especially at high blood concentrations or in combination with other
drugs, including marijuana. However, those who used marijuana alone were
found to be if anything less culpable than non-drug-users. The report
concluded, “there was no indication that marijuana by itself was a cause
of fatal accidents.”

The NHTSA report, “The Incidence and Role of Drugs in Fatally Injured
Drivers,” by K.W. Terhune, et al. of the Calspan Corp. Accident Research
Group in Buffalo, NY (Report # DOT-HS-808-065) is available from the
National Technical Information Service, Springfield VA 22161.

New Vehicle Code Legislation for 1995 Vehicles: DUI Procedures

• Modifies reporting and notice requirements of the DMV regarding
  DUI’s
• Eliminated to court’s ability to waive the mandatory 10 jail
  sentience upon subsequent conviction of DUI.
• Expands vehicle impoundment on DUI arrest.

DUI License Suspensions

Revises conditions for administrative suspension of driver’s licenses,
and for restoration of the driving privilege, following an arrest for
driving under the influence. Raises the age limit for driving with a .05
percent BAC from 18 to 21 years.

Extends the suspension for drivers under age 21 who refuse a
preliminary alcohol screening test. Authorizes a person who has been
administratively suspended to request a license hearing as provided for
other DUI suspensions. Makes administrative suspension causes for
impoundment of a vehicle.

Revises the DUI treatment program provisions by requiring proof of
completion of treatment within a time period set by the DMV after
conviction.

Makes other technical and clarifying changes.

Drugs; Driver’s License Suspension

Directs the DMV to automatically suspend privilege to drive for six
months on each conviction of any drug offense, whether or not a driving
offense is involved. Driver’s licenses are to be surrendered to the
court.

Suspended Driver’s Licenses: Vehicle Forfeiture

The Safe Streets Act of 1994 authorizes impoundment of a vehicle owned
and operated by an unlicensed or suspended licensed driver with a prior
violation of driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license. Requires
a court hearing on petition of forfeiture and provides for a filing fee
of up to $50. Establishes a conclusive presumption that a certified-mail
notice of license suspension has been delivered.

Ignition Interlock Devices

Recasts procedures governing ignition interlock devices. Allows a
court to prohibit any person convicted of driving under the influence of
alcohol beverages or drugs, regardless of whether probation is granted,
from operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.

• Requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules for ‘interest of
  justice’ exemptions to mandatory installation
• Establishes additional monitoring duties for courts, and requires
  the DMV to cross-match driver’s license records with records of persons
  applying for change of ownership or transfer of title and to report
  matched records to the appropriate court.

Sentence Enhancements: Suspended License

Makes driving aon a license suspended for driving with a blood alcohol
content of .08 percent or more or refusing to take a chemical test a
priorable offense, resulting in enhanced penalties for other violations
related to driving on a suspended license.

ALPA PETITIONS FOR CHANGES IN ALCOHOL TESTING RULES

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 Federal Aviation Administration and Department of
Transportation rules for alcohol testing are in conflict with the
constitution, various federal acts, and the bill passed by Congress
mandating such tests, and should be revised, according to a petition
filed today by the Air Line Pilots Association.

The union’s president also has reiterated his call for elimination or
reduction of onerous levels of random testing in an industry that already
has one of the lowest rates of substance abuse in the nation.

“We knew we were going to have some problems with the new alcohol
testing rules, but now that we’ve had a chance to examine them in detail,
it’s far worse than we imagined. The rules violate the Fifth Amendment
due process clause, the Federal Aviation Act, the Administrative
Procedures Act, and the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of
1991, which authorized alcohol testing in the first place,” said Captain
Randolph Babbitt, president of ALPA.

“But under the FAA’s alcohol testing rule, where my career can be
ended instantaneously, I have no recourse.

“We have a zero tolerance attitude toward drug and alcohol abuse in
the airlines, and that’s as it should be. However, if we’re going to
terminate workers’ careers with a testing program, we absolutely must
have a zero tolerance attitude toward testing inaccuracies as well. That
means adequate due process and adequate testing standards,” Babbitt
said.

“The lack of due process is especially offensive when you look at the
procedures that are in place for other violations of the Federal Aviation
Regulations.

NEARLY 90 PERCENT OF COCAINE USERS USE OTHER DRUGS FIRST

A study of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University (CASA) showing a consistent and powerful connection between
use of gateway drugs tobacco, alcohol and marijuana and subsequent use of
other illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

The report addresses the controversial subject of the relationship of
smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to the use of marijuana, cocaine,
heroin and other illicit drugs. It is the first and most comprehensive
national analysisever undertaken of all three relationships among
children and adults, as experimenters and regular users.

The study reveals that children (12-17) who use the gateway drugs are
up to 266 times more likely to use cocaine than their counterparts who
don’t use them. And the younger a child uses a gateway drug and the more
frequently, the greater the risk of subsequent hard drug use.

The Center’s study also found that: children (12 to 17) who use
marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than non-marijuana
users. children who drink are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than
non-drinkers. children who smoke at least daily are 13 times more likely
to use heroin than children who smoke less often.

Limo Driver Charged With Drunken Driving After Prom Ride

EVANS, N.Y. (AP) – It’s a parent’s nightmare: Hire a limo to get the
kids to and from the prom in one piece, and the driver shows up
drunk.

Police said Paul Dombrowski had a blood-alcohol level of .34, more
than three times the legal limit. Dombrowski, 36, was charged with
drunken driving and endangering the students.

“The kids were hysterical,” Officer Dennis Feldmann said. “They were
begging him to drop them off.”

They ordered him to stop after he narrowly avoided crashing the limo
several times early Saturday, after the prom in this town about 20 miles
from Buffalo.

“I started slapping his cheek. He was just staring out,” 15-year-old
Cory Herc said. “I just reached over, turned off the car and took the
keys.”

Police said they found an empty one-liter vodka bottle, along with a
half-empty bottle, in the limousine.

Convicted DWI – Judge Cited In Traffic Accident

TOLEDO, OHIO—The Ohio Supreme Court Justice who was arrested for
drunk driving last year after she blew more than three times the state
limit of .08, has now been cited for failure to control her vehicle after
she crossed three lanes of traffic. Crashing nearly head-on into another
vehicle.

While other judges have had their law licenses suspended for
convictions for driving while drunk, Judge Alice Robie Resnick, 67,
received only a public reprimand from the judicial conduct panel, the
first issued against a sitting judge in 30 years.

Resnick had announced that she will leave office in December.

Now she’s been cited to appear Sept. 25 in Toledo Municipal Court on
the traffic citation resulting from the accident which occurred about
10:45 a.m. Tuesday in West Toledo. Police reports say alcohol and drugs
didn’t play a role in Tuesday’s accident but no field sobriety tests were
given.

The driver of the other car, Barbara Holmes, 74, of West Toledo, was
treated and released at a Toledo hospital on Tuesday but was admitted to
the hospital on Wednesday.

Resnick was not hurt and was transported to her home from the scene by
a police officer.

According to reports, the judge lost control of her 2005 Cadillac,
went left of the center of the highway and struck the 1999 Honda Accord
being driven by Ms. Holmes. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
Resnick was arrested for DWI on Jan. 31, 2005 after other motorists
complained that she was weaving in and out of traffic. She drove away
from the state troopers as they were questioning her. They pursued her
and stopped her again, the stop captured on video camera. Upon
questioning by a police sergeant, Resnick is shown on camera admitting
that “I did have something to drink”. She tried to use the prestige of
her position, repeatedly asking not to be ticketed and mentions her
rulings as a judge, saying “My God, you know I decide all these cases in
your favor. And my golly, look what you’re doing to me”.

Resnick was reportedly driving to Columbus where she was scheduled to
hear cases the next day. Although she tested 0.216 in field sobriety
tests, she refused to take the official test at the police station. Under
a new state law, drivers whose blood alcohol content registers over 0.17
who refuse to take the test face mandatory jail time.

But not Resick.

Nor was she charged with fleeing or failing to comply with the order
of an officer, resisting arrest or other charges.

The special panel rendering the discipline against Resnick was
comprised of the chief justice of the appeals courts and the presiding
judge of all 12 appellate districts. Normally the Ohio Supreme Court
handles attorney discipline cases but the entire court was forced to
disqualify itself from hearing a case involving a member of the
court.

The judges found that Resnick’s conduct on Jan. 31 “which led to her
arrest and subsequent conviction of the offense of driving a motor
vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, violated Canon 2 of the
Judicial Code of Conduct which provides that ‘A judge shall respect and
comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes
public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
They said that “the day that the complaint was filed, Justice Resnick
filed her answer admitting each and every allegation of the complaint,
including the Canon 2 violation”.

Resnick pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in February and
completed a three-day alcohol intervention program in lieu of jail time.
She paid a $500 fine and had her driver’s license suspended for six
months. She said she’d had a relapse after 22 years of sobriety.
9-14-06

Source: http://www.northcountrygazette.org

Don’t Dial and Drive

Friday, February 14, 1997 · Page A26 ©1997
San Francisco Chronicle

NOW THAT a study in the respected New England Journal of Medicine has
shown the dangers of cellular phones in automobiles, it is only a matter
of time until the drumbeat for regulation begins. After all, Australia,
Brazil, England and Israel already prohibit the use of phones while
driving.

Should the United States move quickly to follow suit? No. The debate
over the comparative value and risk of cellular phones is far from
settled.

The first large study of car phones, carried out by two Canadian
research, examined the cases of 699 Toronto drivers who were involved in
noninjury accidents over a 14-month period. Their overall conclusion,
published in the Journal of Medicine this week, was hardly shocking:
Drivers using a cellular phone were more than four times more likely to
have an accident as other drivers — comparable to the increased risk of
driving with a blood-alcohol level at the legal limit.

This finding, in itself, shows the seriousness of the
driving-while-dialing issue. Curiously, however, the researchers found
that there was no significant difference in risk between driving with a
hand-held phone or a hands-free phone. One possible explanation would be
that inattention caused by the conversation — not the loss of one hand
from the wheel — is the real culprit here. Still, common sense suggests
that a driver engaged in conversation and wrestling with a flip phone
connected to the cigarette lighter is much more distracted than someone
who can keep both hands on the steering wheel while talking. Also, the
study acknowledged, but did not attempt to quantify, the benefit of car
phones in summoning help in emergencies.

On balance, the Journal article should be cause for extensive
follow-up studies, especially with the number of wireless phones in this
nation at 34 million — and growing.

In the meantime, drivers would be wise to limit their on-the-road
calls to the briefest and most essential conversations. To ignore these
new statistics is to risk becoming one.

Cell Phone Driving as Bad as Drunk Driving

“impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be
as profound as those associated with driving while drunk”

A Study:

A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver

Strayer DL, Drews FA, Crouch DJ. Hum Factors 2006; 48(2): 381-91.

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, 380 South, 1530 East, RM 502,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0251, USA.
[email protected]

(Copyright © 2006, Human Factors and Ergonomics
Society)

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to determine the
relative impairment associated with conversing on a cellular telephone
while driving.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological evidence suggests that the relative risk
of being in a traffic accident while using a cell phone is similar to the
hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal
limit. The purpose of this research was to provide a direct comparison of
the driving performance of a cell phone driver and a drunk driver in a
controlled laboratory setting.

METHOD: We used a high-fidelity driving simulator to compare the
performance of cell phone drivers with drivers who were intoxicated from
ethanol (i.e., blood alcohol concentration at 0.08% weight/volume).

RESULTS: When drivers were conversing on either a handheld or
hands-free cell phone, their braking reactions were delayed and they were
involved in more traffic accidents than when they were not conversing on
a cell phone. By contrast, when drivers were intoxicated from ethanol
they exhibited a more aggressive driving style, following closer to the
vehicle immediately in front of them and applying more force while
braking.

CONCLUSION: When driving conditions and time on task were controlled
for, the impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can
be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk.

APPLICATION: This research may help to provide guidance for regulation
addressing driver distraction caused by cell phone conversations

Merck Unit Ponders Selling Anti-Alcohol Drug in U.S.
Health-care experts split on medication available in Europe

Published Friday, July 31, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News

BY DAVID J. MORROW

New York Times

A drug widely available in Europe that may reduce the urge to drink is
being tested in the United States, which has an estimated 13.7 million
alcoholics. The French maker of the drug hopes to have it on the U.S.
market in 2000.

Many experts on dependency say the drug — acamprosate, which would be
sold in the United States as Campral — is badly needed. Only two other
medications can treat alcoholism and both can have unpleasant or
potentially dangerous side effects.

Doctors say they can prescribe acamprosate to help alcoholics remain
sober, possibly saving thousands of people from painful relapses while
reducing the cost of rehabilitation, which was $5 billion last year.

Acamprosate’s expected arrival, though, has ignited a controversy in
the health-care community, pitting specialists who argue that alcoholics
should be treated with counseling alone against doctors who insist that
drugs are crucial tools.

The debate has become rousing at times, with acamprosate’s champions
deriding opponents for their “medieval” outlook. Advocates of drug-free
treatments say their approach has worked for decades; why take
chances?

Acamprosate’s maker, Lipha SA, a subsidiary of the German drug maker
Merck KGaA, is undeterred. It plans to take on a U.S. marketing partner
and stress acamprosate’s success rate.

In 11 clinical trials with 3,338 alcohol-dependent patients in Europe,
50 percent of those patients using acamprosate abstained for three months
— the period when alcoholics are most likely to regress — compared with
39 percent of those using a placebo.

A U.S. trial, with 600 alcohol-dependent patients at 21 sites
nationwide, should be completed early next year. Lipha officials are so
excited about acamprosate’s benefits that they hope it will eventually be
available over the counter.

“Acamprosate has been shown to help prevent relapse,” said Dr. Karl
Mann, a professor of medicine at the University of Tubingen, who
conducted the trial in Germany. “Once patients give up alcohol and go on
with their lives, they see it, smell it, dream about it. Acamprosate
helps them get through all that.”

Doctors hope acamprosate will become popular because it is cheap and
simple to take. In France, the average cost is $1.94 a pill, about the
same as a red wine at the local bistro. Patients take two 500-milligram
pills in the morning and two more at night; the main side effect is mild
diarrhea, which usually goes away after several days.

By contrast, American Home Products’ Antabuse, introduced in 1951, can
be toxic if the patient drinks enough alcohol, while naltrexone, made by
DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical, can cause liver damage if prescribed in too
high a dose.

The drug is no substitute for detoxification. A patient’s alcoholism
must be treated before it can do any good. But moderate drinkers might
also turn to it to try to control their drinking.

Abercrombie & Fitch to Delete Drinking Article from Catalog

Posted at 11:11 p.m. PDT Wednesday, July 29, 1998

Associated Press

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Abercrombie & Fitch is deleting a two-page
“creative drinking” article from a clothing catalog for college students
following an uproar complaining that it encouraged binge drinking.

The company said Wednesday that it will remove the article, titled
“Drinking 101,” from unsold copies of its most recent edition of A&F
Quarterly, which focuses on students returning to college.

The article included a drinking game and recipes for drinks including
the “Brain Hemorrhage” that students could substitute for the “standard
beer binge.”

Karolyn Nunnallee, the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
said she was pleased by the decision. She had called the catalog an
abomination.

Earlier, the company failed to satisfy critics when it pulled the
215-page catalog from stores until a sticker could be affixed that said
in part, “We don’t want to lose anybody to thoughtlessness and stupidity.
For some, part of college life includes partying and drinking — be smart
and be responsible.”

Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman Lonnie Fogel said Wednesday that
unsold magazines have been removed from the company’s 160 stores. The
article will be cut out with a knife and the magazines will be returned
to the stores, he said.

“Our company does not support irresponsible or underage drinking and
we want to make that clear to our customers and the general public,”
Michael Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch’s chairman and chief executive,
said in a statement issued by the company based in this Columbus
suburb.

The company also said that when the fashion magazine has stories on
alcohol in the future, it will urge readers to “be responsible, be 21,
and don’t ever drink and drive.”

Anyone who received a copy of the magazine in the mail will be sent a
post card that says the article appeared to some readers to encourage
underage drinking or binge drinking.

“Under no circumstances does Abercrombie & Fitch support underage
or binge drinking. Although it was not meant in a serious vein, we made a
mistake in describing a ‘drinking game’ that could be interpreted as
encouraging binge drinking,” the postcard says.

“We’re pleased that they’re taking action at what truly was a mistake
and doing something right. We commend them for what they’re doing,”
Nunnallee said.

“For a catalog this popular to put out a message every American should
adhere to is a big step to saving lives and preventing injures,” she
said.

AMA Call to Ban Electronic Advertising of …

WASHINGTON, June 27 /U.S. Newswire/ — The Distilled Spirits Council
of the United States today expressed its disappointment with the American
Medical Association’s call to ban distilled spirits television
advertising. Of all organizations, the AMA knows that alcohol is alcohol,
that beer, wine and distilled spirits contain the same basic ingredient
— ethyl alcohol.

At least four U.S. cabinet departments and hundreds of public health
advocates in the United States define a drink of alcohol as 12 ounces of
beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.
Virtually every health group in the United States subscribes to the facts
of equivalency and that as a result, there is no drink of moderation,
only the practice.

The AMA is also wrong when they link distilled spirits advertising to
underage drinking. For decades, DISCUS and its members have abided by a
strong, honored and recognized policy stressing responsible, dignified
and tasteful advertising to adults who choose to drink. DISCUS members
strongly oppose marketing and sales, including television advertising,
that targets underage persons.

Given that alcohol is alcohol and distillers do not advertise or
market to underage persons, the AMA call for a ban on television and
radio advertising by distilled spirits producers is highly discriminatory
and unsupportable. Beer, wine and distilled spirits have a legal right to
advertise and there is no basis to discriminate against one form of
alcohol.

Following is a fact sheet of beverage alcohol equivalence: All alcohol
beverages have one thing in common — they contain alcohol. Standard
servings of beer, wine and spirits — a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce
glass of wine and a 1 1/2-ounce shot of 80-proof distilled spirits — all
contain the same amount of absolute alcohol. A diverse collection of
established experts recognize that “alcohol is alcohol is alcohol,” and
that there is no scientific basis for treatingdistilled spirits
differently from other beverages alcohol. — The federal government
(Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Transportation
and Education), the American Medical Association, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, Blue Cross/Blue Shield d Alcoholism, HHS, recognizes that
alcohol is alcohol: “A standard drink is generally considered to be 12
ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled
spirits. Each of these drinks contain roughly the same amount of absolute
alcohol — approximately 0.5-ounce or 12 grams.” (Source: Alcohol Alert,
No. 16) –

The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration concurred with other federal agencies ct Sheet: “Alcohol
is alcohol. Beer has the same effect as straight Scotch.” — Laws and
regulations treat all beverages alcohol equally. Alcohol warning labels,
minimum drinking age laws and drunk driving laws do not distinguish among
distilled spirits, beer or wine. — The National Alcohol Beverage
Control Association, the association of the 19 alcohol control
jurisdictions in the U.S., conducted a public education campaign on
equivalency. Public service advertisements with the message, “A Sobering
Fact About Alcohol: It’s Not What You Drink, It’s How Much” were widely
disseminated throughout the 19 control jurisdictions. — The U.S.
Supreme Court’s recent reinforcement of the beverage alcohol industry’s
commercial free speech rights, in its decision in 44 Liquormart v. Rhode
Island, did not distinguish among distilled spirits, beer or wine. — On
June 12,1995, the Federal Court of Canada repealed country’s prohibition
of distilled spirit’s advertising on television and radio. Prominent
researchers and clinicians in Canada testified that all alcohol should be
treated equally under the law. Allan Wilson M.D., Ph.D., clinical
director of Royal Ottawa Hospital addiction programs, testified that
“There is no coherent body of scientific evidence to support the
differential treatment of beer, wine and distilled spirits.” — In an
affidavit before the court, Harold Kalant, M.D., Ph.D., Professor
Emeritus in Pharmacology, University of Toronto and Assistant Research
Director of the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario concluded,
“…there is no logical basis in scientific evidence for differential
treatment of different types of alcoholic beverage.”

Thousands of driver-ed students will watch ‘Red Asphalt V,’ the
latest in a long line of CHP horror films. But will it change
behavior?
By Tony Bizjak — Bee Staff Writer

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On a recent afternoon at the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Broadway
office, eager teens headed out one by one on their driving test with high
hopes of earning their California license.

Next door at the Sacramento Country Coroner’s Office, a tragic result
of that new freedom was being dramatized. A grim-faced actor gestured to
a row of bodies on gurneys in the cold storage room, their toes tagged
for identification.

“They never thought they’d end up here,” he said.

It was the filming of “Red Asphalt V,” the latest sequel in
California’s legendary series of driver education horror films.

For 40 years, “Red Asphalt” movies have used graphic images of real
highway crashes to warn teens they are but one mistake from being “Spam
in a can,” says Steve Kohler, who oversaw the California Highway
Patrol-produced film.

The new movie, scheduled for release this month to driving educators
in California and beyond, is expected to be viewed by tens of thousands
of teenagers.

But one important question remains: Will those future drivers get the
message?

California’s “Red Asphalt” films are part of what sociologists call
the popular “fear appeal” method of getting teens to behave. The genre
includes the legendary “Reefer Madness,” a 1930s movie in which addiction
to marijuana lands a student in an insane asylum. Lately, the appeals
have turned sophisticated, with public service commercials such as the
recent anti-smoking spot in which a woman suffering from cancer of the
larynx pauses to puff on a cigarette through a hole in her throat.

Fear appeal also is a key element in the state’s “Every 15 Minutes” –
a high school program whose title reflects the frequency of fatal car
crashes. “Every 15 Minutes” begins with a “fatal” accident staged at the
campus. The following day, schools hold a memorial service where parents
read aloud letters to their “deceased” children.

Despite fear appeal’s popularity, many academics say it doesn’t work
on most teens and could even cause some to be even less careful.

If there is too much gore, says Bruce Simons-Morton, who heads up
prevention research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, the horror may drown out the message. Even those initially
frightened, he added, may forget the message after a few weeks of
uneventful driving.

Chayla Furlong, 19, of Auburn – who has both a car crash and speeding
tickets in her driving history – says she paid no attention to the “Red
Asphalt” film she saw in driver education class a few years ago.

“I remember it being more gory than it needed to be,” said the college
sophomore. “That was a little too much for me to handle. It made me tune
out.”

Kansas State University psychology professor Renee Slick, who is
studying teen driver safety messages, complains that safety programs are
flying blind. She recently tested teenagers, using sensor pads attached
to the skin to gauge physical response – including heart rate, muscle
tension and perspiration – and found that many boys have a strong
physiological reaction when viewing videos of crumpled cars.

But that may mean they are physically excited rather than frightened,
Slick warned. “We don’t know, and that’s scary. If sensation-seekers get
a high off of this, then we are just fueling this fire.”

From the beginning, the “Red Asphalt” movies were based more on
philosophy than scientific research. CHP officials acknowledge they
haven’t tested what effect the movies have had on teen driving habits,
though they say they hear from adults who remember the movie years
later.

“To measure the effects, that is tough,” said Kent Milton, who
produced past versions of the films for the CHP. Milton cautioned that
the movie should be just a part of a broader discussion of safe
driving.

The new film, produced last spring by the CHP in conjunction with a
film crew and a marketing research consultant, is funded by a $200,000
federal grant. The CHP hopes to recoup the extra cost of making copies of
the film by charging $15 per copy.

CHP officials update the movie every few years to keep up with trends,
including making sure the cars are up-to-date. Teens will ignore the
movie if it looks old-fashioned, they say. This time they also opted to
amp up the intensity after focus groups, teens and driver education
teachers agreed that the 1998 version was too wimpy, especially for teens
used to realistic special effects violence on television and in
movies.

David Morton, who teaches driver education at Laguna Creek High
School, stopped showing it to his classes because it didn’t seem to
capture teens’ attention.

“I’m not a ‘gore’ guy, but I want them to see reality,” Morton
said.

The new movie has plenty of reality. It shows footage of twisted
bodies thrown from cars and crushed inside smashed vehicles. There is a
quick camera pan to a brain lying in gravel, and another shot of a
severed forearm on the road.

Some researchers say there are recent indications that the fear appeal
approach does work – at least on certain teens – if presented in the
right context.

A limited study at California State University, Chico, suggests that
the “Every 15 Minutes” program has a lingering effect six months later on
the handful of students chosen to be “killed” in the simulated car
crash.

Michigan State University researcher Kim Witte, who has studied the
fear approach to health education, says teens reject the message if they
feel manipulated. That has happened, she said, in preaching about the
dangers of drugs, alcohol, smoking and unprotected sex.

But Witte believes the approach works if the gore isn’t too
off-putting and if the audience isn’t left feeling powerless. The trick
is to provide concrete and believable steps students can take to avoid
ending up a road crash victim.

“You can scare the bejeebers out of them as long as they understand
they can do something that effectively protects them,” Witte said.

Of course, with teens there is a broader question of whether any
cautionary education will change behavior. A federal brain wave study
recently found that the brain’s ability to recognize and put the brakes
on risky behavior doesn’t fully develop until a person is in his or her
mid-20s.

In addition, the research on programs such as the anti-drug DARE
program has shown that the scared-straight approach can quickly wear off.
Researchers say they suspect the same is true of driver safety programs
that seek to shock.

Many beginning teen drivers interviewed by The Bee said they could not
picture themselves getting into a bad crash.

Eric Thomson, 16, a junior at Rocklin High School, saw a video of car
crashes shown by the CHP at a new parent-teen night program called “start
smart.” When he and his father got to the parking lot afterward, Eric
refused to take the truck keys. “You can drive,” he told his dad,
half-joking. “I don’t ever want to drive again.”

A week or so later, Eric – who considers himself a cautious driver –
said he had stopped thinking about the video because “I don’t think it
could possibly happen to me.”

The complicating factor for researchers is that teenagers’ reactions
to fear appeals vary widely.

David Schumann of the University of Tennessee conducted a study in
1992 that found that fear might work with safety-conscious teens who are
not by nature what psychologists call “high sensation-seekers.” But it
could have the opposite effect on the teens who need it most: those with
risk-taking personalities.

Schumann theorizes that sensation seekers see themselves as
invulnerable or invincible, making them essentially immune to fear.

Then, there is the boomerang effect.

When speeding, drinking alcohol or smoking are presented as dangerous
by adults, “that makes it all the more appealing to some young people who
want to show they are brave or who want to flout authority,” said David
Hanson, a social psychologist at the State University of New York,
Potsdam.

CHP officials agree they need to do more than scare. That is reflected
in the new “Red Asphalt” movie, too. The film repeatedly cuts away from
the highway carnage to living rooms and bedrooms where family members
describe their grief over the loss of a teen. One father, standing in his
son’s room, said he had never cried before. Then, after his son’s death,
he found himself curled up crying on the bathroom floor.

Eric Thomson saw a similar mix of scaring and caring during “start
smart.”

A few months later, he dismissed the crash videos – not as graphic as
those in the new “Red Asphalt” film. He said they “sort of just looked
like a movie to me.”

But the testimonials from bereaved parents remained fresh in Eric’s
mind. He could imagine his parents’ reaction if he were in a bad crash,
which has made him more safety conscious. “I think I’d feel worse for
them than for me,” he said. “I don’t know what they would do.”

Eliciting those emotions is part of the state’s “Every 15 Minutes”
program. Through it, Jesuit High School last semester staged a simulated
drunken-driving crash on the football field, with student volunteers
posing as the killed and injured. One student lay “dead” on a car hood.
Firefighters, police, coroner’s officials and hospital employees
participated.

Jesuit had suffered a real tragedy in August 2004, when three students
were killed and another injured in a high-speed crash at Arden Way and
Fulton Avenue. At the “Every 15 Minutes” crash scene, while some students
joked about the “blood” makeup, others said the staged event served as a
serious reminder about the real accident.

The next day, at a “memorial service” in the school gym, the staged
nature of the event seemed to melt away as parents read last messages to
their teens.

“My dearest Scott, I love you so much,” a crying Theresa Arciniega
read. “My heart aches to hold you in my arms. There was so much more I
wanted to discover about you. I only know I wish it were me that (God)
took.”

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About the writer: The Bee’s Tony Bizjak can be reached at (916)
321-1059 or [email protected].

Program Gives Teens Facts About Drunken Driving, Drug Abuse

January 15, 1996

By David Shepardson / The Detroit News

Dr. Paul Taheri, medical director of the University of Michigan
Medical Centers’ trauma and burn unit, wants to stop drunken driving
accidents.

“We see more than 1,000 trauma victims per year, and 80 percent are
automobile-accident related,” Taheri said. “Of those, 50 percent — or at
least one a day — is because of a drunk driver.”

In an effort to scare teen-agers with a stiff dose of reality and
steer them away from alcohol abuse, the University of Michigan is
sponsoring a new program to keep adolescents off drugs and alcohol.

“These accidents are absolutely terrible and preventable,” Taheri
said.

Called Facing Alcohol Challenges Together, the program brings
primarily high-risk youths and parents together to see the possible
consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.

The medical center plans to serve about 250 young people per year.
Many will attend the program as part of a court-ordered alternative
sentencing program.

“Most of them will be referred to us by the court, especially for
drunk-driving convictions,” Taheri said. “If they don’t come and bring
their parents, they will have to carry out their sentence.”

Taheri said the program was important because young drunken drivers
show a high rate of reoccurrence.

“Between 50 (percent) to 80 percent of kids who drink and drive get
caught again,” he said.

More than 30 doctors, nurses and staffers at the hospital volunteer
two afternoons every other week for the program.

The six-hour program spread over two half-days combines role playing
and frank discussions about drugs and alcohol with a blunt look at the
effects of traumatic accidents on the body. The teens also see the costs
to the victim’s family.

In one role-playing scenario, the youths witness a real nurse telling
a mother of an accident victim that her child is dead. They hear a
chaplain giving last rites to a pretend victim. They watch as hospital
staff go over the bill with the parents.

“These are everyday, actual things that go on in the trauma unit,”
said Pam Pucci, a registered nurse at the trauma-burn unit and another
coordinator of the program.

Parents and young people who attended the first session said they
learned a lot.

“It was an unbelievable dose of reality,” said Karen Nutting of
Brighton, who went through the first run of the university-sponsored
program Wednesday night with her daughter, Rachel.

Rachel, 12, said she thought the program could help youths resist peer
pressure.

“There are kids in my neighborhood already caught in the drug web,”
she said. “They already have problems and they’re still in middle
school.”

The program is based on a similar program that began a little over a
year ago at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Taheri said. University
researchers will do follow-up interviews with the participants for
several years to determine the program’s effectiveness.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.