When it comes to alcohol abuse in Connecticut, no one is sugar-coating the issue. The 2010 report from the Connecticut Department of Public Health is frank and revealing. It states that alcohol consumption increased in the state from 2001 through 2009. Binge drinking also increased for nearly every demographic in the state.

The 2010 Report from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction admitted that when parents have substance abuse problems and have their children removed from the home by child welfare systems, those children “tend to have significantly longer out-of-home placements than parents who do not have substance-related problems.”

Reference: http://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/BiennialReport2010-12.pdf

One sub-group that did not see an increase is drinking was schoolchildren in grades 9-12. Still, alcohol use figures were high at around 45 percent with legal drinking limits set at 21 years of age.

Reference: Healthy Connecticut 2010 Final Report

Also in 2010, citing Connecticut’s position among the nation’s worst DUI offenders, Representative Tom Reynolds sponsored legislation against open containers and for Ignition Interlock Devices that can help keep inebriated drivers off the road. He explained that 44 percent of all of Connecticut’s traffic fatalities the prior year were alcohol-related, the second-worst in the US. Connecticut shares its place on the list of states with the terrible DUI statistics with nearby Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In 1972, Connecticut legislators saw fit to lower the drinking age to 18, but it was gradually raised back up to 21 by 1985. This shift upward was followed by an 88 percent drop in underage fatal crashes related to alcohol use.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state

About Half of Connecticut Residents are Drinkers

According to federal surveys from 2009, approximately half of Connecticut’s 3.6 million citizens use alcohol, and four out of ten of these drinkers are binge drinking. And while they themselves may not realize it, 284,000 Connecticuters can be classified as alcohol dependent or as abusing alcohol in a way that is damaging to themselves. But there are only 149 alcoholism or drug addiction treatment centers in the entire state.

Some of these are opioid addiction treatment centers only, dispensing methadone or buprenorphine, and some are outpatient counseling centers where a recovering addict would attend counseling sessions then would be on his or her own for most of the day. Then, some are mental health clinics primarily treating behavioral issues rather than focusing on alcoholism or drug abuse recovery exclusively.

Each year, only 17,000 Connecticut citizens are receiving treatment for alcohol addiction – more than 550 of them underage. This leaves more than 200,000 people out in the cold, struggling with alcohol addiction.

References:

http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7State/Connecticut.htm

http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/quicklink/CT09.htm

Alcohol-Addiction.com Brings Help to those Struggling to Solve Alcohol Addiction

When the awareness hits that someone you love is addicted to alcohol, there is no time to waste. Disaster could strike at any moment in the form of a DUI arrest, an accident, even a death due to alcohol poisoning, assault or traffic collision.  Unfortunately, it often takes years or even decades from thinking to change from “Oh, he drinks a little too much,” to “He has a drinking problem,” and then on to “He needs to go to rehab NOW.” The truth is that as soon as a person is experiencing harm as a result of drinking, if they cannot quit on their own, they are, to a greater or lesser degree, addicted.

A person who can’t quit is, by definition, dependent on alcohol. If they also suffer from cravings and go through withdrawal symptoms if they try to quit, then they are addicted.

No one needs to go through years or even decades of alcoholism without help. It’s only because alcohol is a legal drug that it is not shocking that people can abuse alcohol for so many years. People around the alcohol may find their drinking mildly disturbing at most.

Alcohol-addiction.com helps all kinds of people find alcoholism service for themselves, or we help family members find help for a loved one. You have found a place where the staff are dedicated to ending addition to alcohol or drugs.

Using the unique Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, alcoholics are guided through the drug recovery process. Those addicted to alcohol will recover at their own rates, and the Narconon Arrowhead program is built to accommodate each student’s pace. Normally, the program is completed in three to six months. But it’s the results that people are coming for.

Unlike some programs who consider a success a “person who completed our entire program,” at Narconon Arrowhead, the only thing that really counts is sobriety after the program is done and the person goes home. Here, seven out of ten graduates stay sober after they go home.

You CAN do it right the first time. Contact alcohol-addiction.com for more information on how the Narconon program can help you or someone you love achieve lasting sobriety.