Behavior: Too Much Texting Is Linked to Other Problems

By Roni Caryn Rabin :: New York Times

A new study suggests that the high school students who spend the most time texting or on social network sites (or both) are at risk for a host of worrisome behaviors, including smoking, risky sex, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and absenteeism.

The study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Public Health Association in Denver, is based on data from questions posed last year to more than 4,000 students at 20 urban high schools in Ohio. About one-fifth sent at least 120 text messages a day, one-tenth were on social networks for three hours or more, and 4 percent did both.

That 4 percent were at twice the risk of nonusers for fighting, smoking, binge drinking, becoming cyber victims, thinking about suicide, missing school and dozing off in class.

The researchers emphasized that texting and social networking did not necessarily cause the other problems. But the lead author, Dr. Scott Frank, a family physician who is director of the public-health master’s program at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, said:

“It does make sense that these technologies make it easier for kids to fall into a trap of working too hard to fit in. If they’re working that hard to fit in through their social networks, they’re also trying to fit in through other behaviors they perceive as popular, like smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, having sex and getting involved in higher-risk adolescent behaviors.”

Girls, members of minorities, and teenagers from low-income backgrounds or female-headed households were at greater risk, but the pattern persisted even after researchers controlled for those factors. (One in five teenagers reported no texting and no online social networking at all.)

Dr. Frank noted that the most avid texters and social networkers also rated their parents as more permissive. “This is a red flag for parents — a red flag for their parenting,” he said, “because they need to be monitoring and taking charge of the choices their kids are making. We want parents to set more restrictive rules for their kids regarding texting and networking, just as they would set rules about whether their child can go out on a school night and socialize for three hours.”

Caffeinated alcoholic beverages creating stir

Eric Weddle • Journal & Courier • October 29, 2010

It's sugary sweet, and comes with a wallop of caffeine -- backed by the alcohol content of four beers.

Malt liquor-infused energy drinks are attracting attention, much of it negative, after the hospitalization of Central Washington University students earlier this month. Now, some states are seeking to ban the adult beverages.

Known by names such as Four Loko and Joose, such drinks are not strangers to Purdue University and area law enforcement officials. Purdue health leaders have already flagged them as a problem, and they will be the focus of a social media campaign this spring.

"The combination of the sweet taste is what makes people mindlessly drink it, and also in a shorter amount of time," said Anne Mahon, coordinator for nutrition education programs at Purdue's Student Health Center.

"That combination is what really speeds up the state of drunkenness, and it's beyond the body's ability to process. Then it really begins to put people at risk of developing alcohol poisoning very quickly."

Mahon said the drink's caffeine content prevents the body from combating alcohol, a depressant, with sleep. That leads to people consuming more alcohol and becoming even more intoxicated.

Mahon said research shows that mixing caffeine and alcohol makes people more likely to ride with an intoxicated driver or to be taken advantage of sexually.

"That is where the saying 'wide awake and drunk' comes from," she said.

Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A single 23.5-ounce can sells for about $2.50 and has an alcohol content of 12 percent. That's as much alcohol as four or five beers, depending on the beer variety.

Earlier this month, nine Central Washington University students were hospitalized after a house party where some students admitted drinking vodka, rum and beer with Four Loko.

As a result, Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna called for the drinks to be banned and sent a letter to the FDA on Monday saying the drinks "present a serious threat to public health and safety."

Purdue senior George Jurewicz said banning or restricting Four Loko or similar beverages doesn't make sense. Jurewicz said he's bought the drink once because of its cheap price.

"I didn't like the way it tasted," he said. "But it kept you going. I had it early in the evening because I was tired. I wouldn't drink it a lot but now and then, I may.

"But I don't see how it would hurt someone. If they can't handle it, they should not be drinking at all."

Purdue health advocacy coordinator Tammy Loew said Purdue is watching how students are affected by caffeine and alcohol.

A spring 2009 Purdue student wellness survey found that 25.6 percent of students combined alcohol and energy drinks at least once in the previous 12 months of the survey.

Of those that combined the two in the last 12 months, 66.6 percent combined alcohol and energy drinks at least once in the last 30 days.

Loew said efforts will be increased in 2011 on making students aware of the dangers of combining caffeine and alcohol.

But for now, the true extant of what these drinks can do is unknown.

The FDA sent a warning letter to the maker of Four Loko, Phusion Products of Chicago, in November 2009 asking the company for information that shows adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages is safe. The case remains open, the agency said in a statement Monday.

Some states and colleges are taking matter into their own hands.

New Jersey's Ramapo College banned the drinks last month after attributing several students' hospitalizations to Four Loko.

Utah and Montana have restricted the sale of the caffeinated malt liquors to just state liquor stores. Indiana has no such legislation in the works.

West Lafayette police have no reports or special concerns with these drinks, said Lt. Gary Sparger.

Steven Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, said many states feel they need to act quickly on the issue because the drinks are increasing in popularity.

"There's really a sense that people consuming these drinks don't understand how much alcohol they are drinking," he said. "These products pack a punch, and they are relatively inexpensive."

Latest in Hospital Care – Shots, of Booze?

The Marin Institute, in California, fights to protect the public from the impact of the alcohol industry’s negative practices. We monitor and expose the alcohol industry’s harmful actions related to products, promotions and social influence, and support communities in their efforts to reject these damaging activities. They envision communities free of the alcohol industry’s negative influence and an alcohol industry that does not harm the public’s health.

Each week their newsletter puts someone or something in the "doghouse" for making a poor decision regarding alcohol products, promotion or use. This week some health care facilities made an interesting choice which landed them in the "doghouse". The following article is from the Marin Institute's Watchdog Blog:

As competition among hospitals stiffens, some institutions are resorting to offering patients a few too many comforts of home— or of their local bar. Despite being known to weaken the immune system and prolong illness, hospitals are starting to serve patients alcohol in hopes of wooing more business.

While these hospitals purportedly rely on physician approval, the potential for abuse is staggering. Susan Levin, the director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, called the practice ‘mind-boggling.’"When you consider amount of medications people are on in hospitals — it's a dangerous system to begin with before you even start mixing alcohol into the cocktail," she noted in an interview with NPR.

Considering that so many patients are in the hospital in the first place due to alcohol-related problems, this idea seems especially twisted. The healthcare costs from alcohol consumption alone have been estimated to more than $26 billion dollars, or $686 for every person living in America. With all that’s known about alcohol and health, it is shocking that hospitals are willing to put their patients at risk just for a few extra dollars.

To read more from the Marin Institute Click Here.