Yapa WijeratneFaculty of MedicineUniversity of Peradeniya Sri Lanka

Prevention of alcohol related problems

Problems in brief …..

Psychological Mental illness- alcohol dependency Psychiatric disorders to develop and an increased risk of suicide Emotional & physical abuse of children Severe cognitive problems

Social Domestic violence Conflicting with neighbours Break up of the family units Social isolation Poverty Effects on children education

Physical

Cirrhosis Pancreatitis Epilepsy Polyneuropathy Alcoholic dementia Heart disease Nutritional deficiencies Sexual dysfunction Increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, Malabsorption Cancer Damage to the central nervous system and peripheral nervous

system can occur fromsustained alcohol consumption.

Prevention of

Psychological problems Physical problems Social problems

Available sources of alcohol

The supply or availability of alcohol can be reduced by:

Controls of production and trade Controls on distribution and sales (regulating the

number of licensed outlets and their hours of opening; drinking age laws)

Not issuing any liquor license to open new liquor shops.

All possible measures to stop the production of illicit liquor.

Increasing the price of alcoholic drink by taxation. Decrease the amount of liquor being imported. Banning or restricting advertising of alcohol.

Measures to reduce the demand for alcohol include:-

Health Education-MOST IMPORTANT Promotion of alternatives to alcoholic

drinks Provision of alternatives to drinking as a

leisure-time occupation Reducing incentives to drinking by

controls on advertising and promotion of alcohol.

Guidelines for parents to prevent alcohol abuse amongst adolescents-Parental attention on their children

Helping young people with mental health problems.

What are the effective alcohol prevention strategies?

1. Demystification.2. Demonstrating no advantages in alcohol

use.3. Changing social reality/social milieu.4. Deglamorize the alcohol use.

DEMYSTIFICATION

Programmes should focus on people and their reasons for alcohol use, rather than the psycho pharmercological actions of alcohol.

Some people say that they use alcohol to forget problems, to relax, for enjoyment, as an appetizer, to enhance creativity and for many other reasons.

But none of this is a pharmercological or chemical effect of ethyl

alcohol.

Therefore, it is important to discuss how people falsely identify that alcohol is beneficial and then break those falsely held social beliefs.

DEMONSTRATING NO ADVANTAGES IN ALCOHOL USE

Alcohol industry tries to illustrate a positive side of alcohol use. The alcohol users, along with a large fraction of the society however think that a moderate use of alcohol is beneficial.

Some scientists who are in the alcohol industry payroll make statements that are biased towards to wards the industry to promote alcohol.

There is no good scientific evidence to support the idea that moderate use of alcohol is beneficial.

Alcohol prevention programmes should demonstrate that there are no advantages what so ever in alcohol use.

CHANGING THE SOCIAL REALITY

Since the creation of the positive image of alcohol is a social phenomenon, its reversal too has to be through social change.

Programmes should examine and identify the rituals, symbolic meanings and other social learning influences which make alcohol experience positive and change these social attitudes.

Alcohol promoting influences may differ form culture to culture.

Therefore when planning a prevention strategy it is necessary that the alcohol promoting culture to be clearly identified.

DEGLAMORIZE THE ALCOHOL USE

Prevention programmes should be aimed at creating a social milieu which ridicules the alcohol use and recognizes it as,

boring and uninteresting,unpleasant even at an optimum level a little silly and stupid.

ALCOHOL PREVENTION PROGRAMMES

Alcohol prevention programmes should be based on group learning process. This is slow, but allows people to discover things for themselves, hence, it is a more effective approach to change the behaviour.

The whole programme would be designed to demystify and deglamorize alcohol use.

The programme should take a low key profile and where possible give a positive message.

This way advantage can be taken by the “sleeper” effect, which has been shown to produce a higher degree of behaviour molding than other more concerned arousing methods.

So if ultimately the total prevention of alcoholism is never realistically going to be achieved

Manage alcoholics

In order to prevent the problems to the society & to him.

Management

Medications A variety of medications may be prescribed as part

of treatment for alcoholism. E.g.Antabuse (disulfiram),Temposil (calcium

carbimide),Naltrexone,Campral Detoxification

Alcohol detoxification or 'detox' for alcoholics is an abrupt stop of alcohol drinking coupled with the substitution of drugs, such as benzodiazepines, that have similar effects to prevent alcohol withdrawal.

Group therapy and psychotherapy

Thank you.

Note:

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