An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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New Australian law bans cigarette pack brands
10th November 2011
Australia is about to become the first country in the world to pass legislation requiring all cigarettes to be sold in plain packs devoid of branding. The federal government's plain packaging legislation will be rammed through the Senate on Thursday after a limited debate. The laws will require all tobacco to be sold in drab olive-brown packets from December 2012.
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New book: Corby took the fall for her father
10th November 2011
Schapelle Corby, whose drug trafficking trial transfixed and divided Australians, was carrying drugs to Bali for her father, according to a new book. Sins of the Father, by Eamonn Duff, claims Michael Corby was part of a syndicate smuggling hydroponically grown marijuana from Australia to the Indonesian tourist island. It says Schapelle, who is serving a 20-year sentence after 4.1kg of the drug was found in her boogie board bag at Bali's Denpasar Airport in 2004, willingly took the fall for her father.
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US judge blocks graphic cigarette pack warnings
9th November 2011
A US judge has blocked the government's attempt to place graphic warning labels on cigarette packs, saying big tobacco was likely to succeed in arguing it was a violation of free speech. The full-color warning labels, including diseased lungs and a cancerous mouth lesion, would serve as "mini billboards" for the US government's "obvious anti-smoking agenda," said the ruling by US District Judge Richard Leon. The warnings would take up about half the space on the front of each cigarette pack, located on the upper portion so as to be visible in most store displays.
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Hospital gets tough after nurse punched
9th November 2011
A nurse was punched in the chest and a doctor was racially abused by patients at Tauranga Hospital's emergency department - prompting a new hardline stance backed by the Government.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board is pursuing charges against the patient who hit the nurse overnight on Saturday, leaving her emotionally distressed.
On the same night, patients verbally abused staff in four separate cases, including racial slurs hurled at Dr Lynn Williams, a British-trained senior doctor.
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Customs figures reveal dramatic drop in P-pill seizures
8th November 2011
Customs seizures of tablets used to make the drug P have dropped by 64 per cent since 2009 - and by 55 per cent this year. End-of-year figures are expected to be the lowest since 1997. Officials say the dramatic drop shows efforts to control the P trade are succeeding. Figures released to the Herald under the Official Information Act show that more than 1.9 million pseudoephedrine and ephedrine tablets - used to make pure methamphetamine - have been seized or intercepted by Customs staff this year.
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'Drugs won't be tolerated' in Clutha
8th November 2011
People who accepted drugs would "get what they deserve", the Clutha District mayor said after a police sting led to a drug bust in the region yesterday. Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis, of the southern district crime squad, said three search warrants were carried out at Kaka Point, Clinton and Balclutha and methamphetamine valued at $30,000 was found along with other illegal drugs and firearms. Two 50-year-old men were arrested and a 28-year-old was also detained from a flight from Auckland to Dunedin.
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Young women at risk of 'drunkorexia'
3rd November 2011
An increasing number of young women are starving themselves for days before drinking to keep their calorie intake levels down, says an expert. "Drunkorexia" was on the rise in Kiwi women aged 18-30, said Eating Difficulties Education Network counsellor Victoria Marsden. "Drunkorexia is characterised by mostly restricting the day before, the day of, and the day after going out drinking. "Restricting meaning skipping meals, not eating at all or eating very little to counterbalance or contradict the calories that alcohol contains."
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Drug addicts, alcoholics collect sickness benefits
3rd November 2011
Almost 2000 Aucklanders are collecting benefits because their alcohol and drug addictions prevent them from working. As of June 2011, 1956 Aucklanders were on a Sickness or Invalid's Benefit ''with the primary reason for incapacity'' being substance abuse, figures released under the Official Information Act show. And more than 200 of them are aged under 24. Of the total, 391 are on an Invalid's Benefit and 1565 are collecting a Sickness Benefit. Almost half, 963, have used their addiction to claim either benefit for more than two years and 1297 for more than 12 months.
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Even a few drinks raise breast cancer risk
2nd November 2011
Whether sipping beer, wine or whiskey, women who drink just three alcoholic beverages a week face slightly higher chances for developing breast cancer compared with teetotalers, a study of more than 100,000 US nurses has found. The link between alcohol and breast cancer isn't new, but most previous studies found no increased risk for breast cancer among light drinkers. The new research provides compelling evidence because it followed so many women for up to almost 30 years, experts said.
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White House rejects pleas to legalise marijuana
2nd November 2011
The White House has rejected several petitions to legalise marijuana in the United States. One petition called on federal government to stop interfering with state marijuana legalisation effort. Submitted by retired narcotics officer Neill Franklin, the petition was part of the White House's "We The People" project, an effort to allow ordinary Americans to gain the attention of policymakers through an online portal at the White House website. Any petition garnering 5,000 signatures within 30 days of submission is guaranteed a response from the White House - Franklin's petition received more than 17,000.
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