RIA: News Release

News Release

You Don't Have to Have
an Alcohol Problem to Have a Problem
with Alcohol

Date: March 27, 2006
Contact: Kathleen Weaver
Phone: (716) 887-2585
Fax: (716) 887-2252

Buffalo, N.Y. -- “How much is too much?” A tough question with sometimes murky answers. But getting a clear-cut picture of what research does reveal and how it affects your health is only a few, simple questions away.

For the sixth year, the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) is participating in National Alcohol Screening Day , April 6, from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. with FREE screenings and information designed to help each of us know “how much is too much.” RIA is located at 1021 Main on the corner of Goodrich and screenings will be available in the Clinical Research Center on the Institute’s first floor. Call 887-2387 for more information or visit www.NationalAlcoholScreeningDay.org.

For most adults, moderate alcohol use causes few, if any, problems. But for some, any alcohol use may lead to significant health problems. Alcohol affects your body differently at different times in your life. To protect yourself, it is important to know the facts about alcohol and pay attention to how, when and why you drink.

Alcohol Facts:

Women overall drink less than men but are more likely to experience adverse consequences including damage to the heart muscle, liver, and brain, trauma resulting from auto crashes, interpersonal violence, and death.
As people grow older, their bodies are less able to handle alcohol safely. Alcohol-related problems, including interactions with prescription and over-the counter drugs, account for most of the known substance related problems experienced by older adults.
Young persons reporting first use of alcohol before age 15 were more than five times as likely to have past alcohol dependence or abuse compared with persons who first used alcohol at age 21 or older.
Alcohol can damage a fetus at any stage of pregnancy. Damage can occur in the earliest weeks of pregnancy, even before a woman knows that she is pregnant. Therefore, no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy.
Moderate alcohol use is defined as up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people. (One drink equals one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.)

To help determine how alcohol affects your health, attend one of the free, anonymous screenings held at thousands of sites across the country on National Alcohol Screening Day, April 6, 2006. This one-day education and screening event is designed to raise awareness on alcohol and health, help individuals evaluate their alcohol use, and provide referrals to local treatment and support resources for those who need further evaluation.

As part of the program, attendees will complete a brief written screening tool assessing their alcohol use and have the opportunity to talk privately with a health professional to discuss the next steps. The program is free and confidential.

National Alcohol Screening Day, held in April as part of Alcohol Awareness Month, is a program of the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York.