An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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Apology follows tobacco survey
28th October 2010
A prominent research firm has apologised over a tobacco survey which some see as an attempt to recruit new smokers. For British American Tobacco, Colmar Brunton pitched the survey to 10,000 people, saying that depending on their answers, they may be asked to join a study in which they would be given cigarettes to smoke. They would also be given $40 and 20 Fly Buys points to cover the cost of any expenses.
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Too few compulsory rehab facilities in NZ - report
28th October 2010
New Zealand has too few compulsory drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and families face "considerable difficulty" applying for compulsory treatment orders, the Law Commission says. Its latest report, Compulsory Treatment for Substance Abuse, recommends easier access to compulsory treatment orders and a greater range of residential treatment programmes. But it also stresses the need for greater safeguards for people who are forced to undergo compulsory rehabilitation.
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Tough tobacco report likely
27th October 2010
The long-awaited report of the Maori Affairs select committee inquiry on tobacco is likely to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow. Indications are that it will be far-reaching and satisfy at least some demands of campaigners who saw the inquiry as a historic opportunity to virtually eliminate commercial tobacco within a decade. Chairman and National MP Tau Henare, who gave up smoking "cold turkey" three months ago after a heart attack, said the committee would consider its final report today.
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Expert blasts 'legal drunk driving'
27th October 2010
A controversial addiction expert has told MPs he is "ashamed to be a New Zealander" because of the Government's "backwards decision" not to lower the drink-driving limit. Professor Doug Selman, of Christchurch, yesterday hit back at claims he is "anti-alcohol", before telling the Transport Select Committee that the Government was condoning drunk driving by keeping the blood-alcohol limit at 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (0.08). A series of submissions, including Selman's, attacked the 0.08 limit and recommended it be lowered to 0.05.
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Children exposed to P: Police
26th October 2010
A P-smoking mum has been charged with giving methamphetamine to her two daughters aged 3 and 6 in what experts claim is a legal first. Adriene Johnson, 27, allegedly exposed her children to the highly addictive drug for at least 18 months. The police case is laid out in court documents released to the Herald on Sunday. Legal experts said the groundbreaking charges could provide police with a tougher means of dealing with drug-using parents.
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Cut drink-drive limit: doctor
26th October 2010
One of the country's foremost trauma surgeons is calling for the Government to cut the drink-driving limit to less than half its present level. Dr Ian Civil, Auckland City Hospital's director of trauma services, wants to see the limit cut from 80mg to 30mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. He is sick of seeing young people stretchered through the door of his trauma ward with preventable injuries. "There are usually three or four. Many of them have open fractures, internal injuries, head injuries.
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Firefighters not put off by attack
21st October 2010
Two firefighters who say they were punched and kicked by a mob of drunks in Havelock early on Sunday hope the attack will not sway people from volunteering for emergency services. The two Havelock Volunteer Fire Brigade members, nursing minor cuts and bruises, hope the incident has not hurt the image of the small town on State Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson, seen as the gateway to Pelorus Sound. Pat Fairweather, 42, and his 25-year-old colleague were part of a four-man volunteer crew called from their beds about 1.20am on Sunday after reports a car had crashed into a power pole on Mahakipawa Rd in Havelock.
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Valium users worse drivers than drunks
21st October 2010
PEOPLE who take sleeping pills or anti-anxiety medications are more dangerous on the roads than drunk drivers, researchers have found. The study, to be presented tomorrow at the Australasian Sleep Conference in Christchurch, found that drivers who take benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Temazepam, were more likely to veer out of lanes, drive off the road or crash into other drivers than those with an illegal blood alcohol limit of 0.08.
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Demons and drugs claim a champion
20th October 2010
WHEN the whips were cracking, Stathi Katsidis thrilled race crowds with brave and brilliant horsemanship that won him hundreds of races - and was to take him to Melbourne to ride Shoot Out in the Cox Plate on Saturday. The boy from Toowoomba who became a champion jockey was blessed with balance, nerve and a toughness that ran in the family - his younger brother, Michael, became a world champion boxer about the same time Stathi won back-to-back Queensland premierships.
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Teenage drinking shocks students from overseas
19th October 2010
Foreign students coming to New Zealand say they are shocked at the teenage drinking culture, but studies suggest many double their intake of booze while here. A report by the University of Washington, Seattle, found their college students who came here were likely to increase their drinking to sometimes double their usual intake
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