The opioid epidemic is, of course, devastating. But I wonder when we’ll mount the same battle against alcohol. 280,000 people died from opioids over ten years. In that same time, 1.4 MILLION died from alcohol. When will we fight that industry? When will we invest seriously in helping alcoholics recover? For example, I know there are mont…
The opioid epidemic is, of course, devastating. But I wonder when we’ll mount the same battle against alcohol. 280,000 people died from opioids over ten years. In that same time, 1.4 MILLION died from alcohol. When will we fight that industry? When will we invest seriously in helping alcoholics recover? For example, I know there are monthly injectable drugs that help reduce cravings for opioid addicts. They only have to have that willpower once a month. Where’s a similar drug for alcoholics? I know there are voluntary registries for gambling addicts to place themselves on so that they aren’t allowed access to casinos in moments of weakness. Where’s that registry for alcoholics who want to quit?
The opioid crisis is big and ugly and deserves the attention it gets. I just don’t understand why alcohol abuse doesn’t get the same attention. Its numbers are far bigger. AND, unlike most other drugs, it kills people who have never even touched it. Every single day in the United States, 37 people die in drunk driving incidents, many of whom never took a single sip.
When will the media give this epidemic its deserved attention? I know it’s not as sexy, with the rich pharma executives and the scandals. But if what we care about are lives ruined, families destroyed, and lives ended, then Free Press, put a spotlight on alcoholism, the alcohol lobby, and the for-profit “recovery” industry that thrives on repeat customers…and bills insurance for it.
There is a drug that will make you vomit if you drink alcohol. They gave it to my brother when he first entered the “drunk tank” (I can’t think of what to call the place you go before in-patient rehab). He got enough to last through 30 days of rehab, then voluntarily stayed on it for the next year. It was that or drink himself to death. Six years later, still sober.
It’s called Antabuse. But it still requires the willpower to take it every single day, and anybody who has ever been close to an addict knows that they are a different person every few hours, never mind every day. Would be nice if they’d develop an injectable form of Antabuse (like the drug opioid addicts have) so that people only need the willpower once a month.
But this is the point. Antabuse is super old. There’s no new investment in helping alcoholics. They are on their own, which is too bad, given how far-reaching the negative effects of alcohol abuse are. It touches all of us.
Congrats to your brother, though! I’m so happy for your family that he’s still sober. <3
You’re absolutely right to call out alcohol, and the parallels are numerous and spot on. Shameless industries unscrupulously peddling their risky product, abundant history of bootlegging/illicit distribution, absurd double standards and racketeering with respect to who profits and who suffers, massive measured and unmeasured harm, obvious manipulation of data to avert valid scrutiny, regulatory capture..the list of comparables goes on and on. But there’s another commonality that doesn’t get enough press...public demand. Why does our society crave these mind altering substances? Who are we or What are we doing that sustains such high demand for behavioral and sensorineural dissociation? We’ve had nearly a hundred years of psychology and our consumption of mind altering substances is only increasing, especially if you include prescription antidepressants and anxiolytics. Are these the mark of a healthy society.
And yet humans have been seeking out ways of altering their consciousness for thousands of years. Even animals will choose fermenting fruit and the buzz it gives.
Exactly. The problem with alcohol is that it’s so pervasive, the people in power are themselves addicted to it.
But the thing is, plenty of people drink moderately and within a range of “healthy,” or at least non-problematic. I’m not talking about prohibition, here. I’m not even taking about stricter laws. I’m just talking about money for research and development of helpful drugs and other treatments, like the opioid addicts got. I’m talking about voluntary measures that would require society to help alcoholics who WANT to stop drinking. I’m not talking about forcing anybody to stop who doesn’t want to. I’m just talking about society supporting the people who desperately do, just like we’ve done for opioid addicts.
The opioid epidemic is, of course, devastating. But I wonder when we’ll mount the same battle against alcohol. 280,000 people died from opioids over ten years. In that same time, 1.4 MILLION died from alcohol. When will we fight that industry? When will we invest seriously in helping alcoholics recover? For example, I know there are monthly injectable drugs that help reduce cravings for opioid addicts. They only have to have that willpower once a month. Where’s a similar drug for alcoholics? I know there are voluntary registries for gambling addicts to place themselves on so that they aren’t allowed access to casinos in moments of weakness. Where’s that registry for alcoholics who want to quit?
The opioid crisis is big and ugly and deserves the attention it gets. I just don’t understand why alcohol abuse doesn’t get the same attention. Its numbers are far bigger. AND, unlike most other drugs, it kills people who have never even touched it. Every single day in the United States, 37 people die in drunk driving incidents, many of whom never took a single sip.
When will the media give this epidemic its deserved attention? I know it’s not as sexy, with the rich pharma executives and the scandals. But if what we care about are lives ruined, families destroyed, and lives ended, then Free Press, put a spotlight on alcoholism, the alcohol lobby, and the for-profit “recovery” industry that thrives on repeat customers…and bills insurance for it.
There is a drug that will make you vomit if you drink alcohol. They gave it to my brother when he first entered the “drunk tank” (I can’t think of what to call the place you go before in-patient rehab). He got enough to last through 30 days of rehab, then voluntarily stayed on it for the next year. It was that or drink himself to death. Six years later, still sober.
It’s called Antabuse. But it still requires the willpower to take it every single day, and anybody who has ever been close to an addict knows that they are a different person every few hours, never mind every day. Would be nice if they’d develop an injectable form of Antabuse (like the drug opioid addicts have) so that people only need the willpower once a month.
But this is the point. Antabuse is super old. There’s no new investment in helping alcoholics. They are on their own, which is too bad, given how far-reaching the negative effects of alcohol abuse are. It touches all of us.
Congrats to your brother, though! I’m so happy for your family that he’s still sober. <3
You’re absolutely right to call out alcohol, and the parallels are numerous and spot on. Shameless industries unscrupulously peddling their risky product, abundant history of bootlegging/illicit distribution, absurd double standards and racketeering with respect to who profits and who suffers, massive measured and unmeasured harm, obvious manipulation of data to avert valid scrutiny, regulatory capture..the list of comparables goes on and on. But there’s another commonality that doesn’t get enough press...public demand. Why does our society crave these mind altering substances? Who are we or What are we doing that sustains such high demand for behavioral and sensorineural dissociation? We’ve had nearly a hundred years of psychology and our consumption of mind altering substances is only increasing, especially if you include prescription antidepressants and anxiolytics. Are these the mark of a healthy society.
And yet humans have been seeking out ways of altering their consciousness for thousands of years. Even animals will choose fermenting fruit and the buzz it gives.
“When will the media give this epidemic its deserved attention?”
When it stops drinking.
Exactly. The problem with alcohol is that it’s so pervasive, the people in power are themselves addicted to it.
But the thing is, plenty of people drink moderately and within a range of “healthy,” or at least non-problematic. I’m not talking about prohibition, here. I’m not even taking about stricter laws. I’m just talking about money for research and development of helpful drugs and other treatments, like the opioid addicts got. I’m talking about voluntary measures that would require society to help alcoholics who WANT to stop drinking. I’m not talking about forcing anybody to stop who doesn’t want to. I’m just talking about society supporting the people who desperately do, just like we’ve done for opioid addicts.