An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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Chris Rattue: An addiction that shows no mercy
23rd January 2013
Alcoholism can affect anyone at any age- leaders, professionals, actors and even sports stars. Far be it for me to definitively diagnose Zac Guildford from afar, but a string of alcohol-related incidents indicate the young All Black has a serious problem with the firewater.
Who knows - he may be an alcoholic. After painstaking research, this column will use the Guildford situation to put forward the following observations about alcoholism and addiction.
Most of the information is standard stuff for those in the know, the point being that it struggles to see the light of day in general debates.
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Pair charged after P found hidden at airport
23rd January 2013
Two Wellington men charged with importing methamphetamine were arrested after a package containing the drug was found hidden at Auckland Airport. The men, aged 54 and 36, were tracked for months after they were initially detained by Customs on suspicion of importing drugs and then freed. The package containing 200 grams of methamphetamine was discovered concealed at Auckland Airport in November, and the pair were arrested at the weekend after forensic evidence tied them to the drugs, Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee said.
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Smokers butt out in new year
22nd January 2013
The new year is, once again, being used as a new start for dozens of South Canterbury smokers wanting to kick the habit. More than 20 smokers from the district "attempted" to give up smoking through Quitline between January 1 to 7. Others attempted to quit alone. Timaru Herald Facebook readers went online to share their experiences yesterday. Suzanne Barr said she had been smokefree for a week, with the help of Quitline. However, many others have managed to quit without help.
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Baseball: MLB to test for human growth hormone
22nd January 2013
Major League Baseball will test for human growth hormone throughout the regular season and increase efforts to detect abnormal levels of testosterone. Players were subject to blood testing for HGH during spring training last year, and Thursday's agreement between management and the players' association expands that throughout the season. Those are in addition to urine tests for other performance-enhancing drugs.
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Cycling: Armstrong must confess under oath - Wada boss
16th January 2013
Lance Armstrong must make a full confession under oath not just an admission in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey if he wants authorities to consider lifting his lifetime ban, the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency said today. WADA director general David Howman told The Associated Press that Armstrong's interview with Winfrey is "hardly the same as giving evidence to a relevant authority" that deals with doping rules and sanctions. "He's got to follow a certain course," Howman said. "That is not talking to a talk show host."
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Tobacco firms use 'stalling' strategy
16th January 2013
Tobacco companies are trying to pry confidential documents from government departments as they battle a possible crackdown on their trade. An anti-tobacco group has expressed concerns that the companies are trying to "bog down" civil servants, while Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia says the Government will not be slowed down by any tactics. Information obtained by the Sunday Star-Times revealed legal representatives for several tobacco companies filed at least nine Official Information Act (OIA) requests to the Ministry of Health in the past two years for documentation relating to plans to ban brand marks and logos on cigarette packets.
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Contest helps smokers kick the habit
15th January 2013
Researchers have hailed the success of group quitting competitions as a powerful way of giving up smoking. The release of results on the Auckland and Northland trial among Maori and Pacific people comes as smokers awaken to their New Year's resolutions and the latest in a series of hikes in tobacco taxes. The 11.1 per cent increase - including a rise linked to inflation - pushes the price of a popular brand of 20 cigarettes to more than $16, from $14.40. It is the first of four annual 10 per cent increases in tobacco excise - on top of the inflation-linked rise - designed to discourage smoking and help New Zealand reach its goal of being virtually smoke-free by 2025.
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Smokers turn to Quitline as tax increase kicks in
15th January 2013
Quitline was inundated yesterday with calls from smokers seeking a fresh start to the new year. Spokesman Bruce Bassett said more than 400 smokers had been in contact. About 200 people had called into the service and a similar number had been in touch via email and blog, he said. And the online messages were still coming in. "Clearly New Year's resolutions and the [tobacco] tax increase are the things that motivate people to change," Mr Bassett said.
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'Frightening' number of butane sniffing deaths - coroner
20th December 2012
Rotorua Coroner Wallace Bain is calling for action to stop the "frightening" number of deaths from sniffing butane. He says people need to be aware that even one huff from a cigarette lighter or aerosol canister can kill. Dr Bain made the call in his finding released today into the death of a 16-year-old Rotorua boy, whose name is suppressed. Dr Bain found the teenager died at Rotorua on January 31 last year as a result of hydrocarbon (butane) inhalation.
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Liquor outlets caught selling to minors
18th December 2012
Police are disappointed underage teenage girls were able to buy alcohol at two Palmerston North bars during a sting operation. They are also upset with the level of drunkenness at the premises, with some patrons losing their balance and falling over at closing time. Two girls, aged 16 and 17, were observed by a plain-clothes police officer as they tried to buy alcohol at 29 premises during a controlled purchase operation. They were refused at two supermarkets and two bottle stores, but were able to buy alcohol at two of the 25 on-license premises they visited.
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