'Britain's war against Afghan opium production is failing'

 

Britain’s war against opium production in Afghanistan is being lost, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, with outputs of the class-A drug soaring to record levels in the past decade despite western intervention.

The final hours, Whitney Houston wandered erratically around the lobby of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.In her final hours, Whitney Houston wandered erratically around the lobby of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Near the end of his life, the onetime matinee idol Elvis Presley was bloated and glassy-eyed. Amy Winehouse became notorious for stuttering and slurring onstage.

And when these bright stars fell to drug and alcohol addictions, the public was devastated, but not completely surprised. With so many entertainers dying too young from substance abuse issues, it raises the question: Is addiction linked to superstardom?

"I don't think stars are more likely to get addicted than other people," said Dr. Jeffrey Berman, a board-certified addiction psychiatrist and medical director for addiction services at Bergen Regional Medical Center. "But I think the people around them tend to tolerate their behavior using drugs and alcohol."

Celebrity drug abuse draws the most public attention, said Ridgewood addiction specialist Dr. Michael Gentile, but addiction is everywhere in society. "Drug and alcohol addiction knows no boundaries – it's prevalent across the board. From my point of view, compare that to an inner city and the general population, and they're pretty much even," he added.

It's just that tales of musicians partying hard and abusing drugs and alcohol have become part of pop culture lore.

"In the arts, there's a lot of downtime," said Tenafly's Gene Bowen, who spent 15 years as a rock-and-roll road manager and addict. After cleaning up, he founded Road Recovery, a non-profit organization that unites musicians and other entertainment professionals who've battled addiction and other adversities to mentor at-risk youth. "One of the things about addiction, we need structure."

It's not just culture and environment that create an addict; there are plenty of musicians who are clean. But is there something inherent in an artist – for example, Houston's charismatic personality – that makes her want to continually get high?

Not really, according to Berman. "I think the only personality you can generalize is they have some feeling of entitlement and that they're special. Sometimes they don't feel the need to suffer feelings and want to instantly change their mood," he said.

The irony is that the rich and famous have access to the best treatment available, yet their entourages can enable their destructive behavior.

"One of the things that seems to happen with very successful people is that they are insulated and have enormous resources and a lot of people around yessing them," Bowen said.

It looks as though Whitney had got to a stage where she was using Xanax like clockwork. “Mixed with alcohol, it is known to be a killer. It’s the same deadly combination that killed Heath Ledger.”

 

DETECTIVES will quiz up tonine doctors they believe could have supplied Whitney Houston with a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs. The superstar singer died in her hotel bath on Saturday after taking a host of powerful sedatives. And last night, sources claimed her drug taking had spiralled out of control in recent months, turning her into a virtual “zombie”. The 48-year-old had become a tortured recluse, regularly spending most of the day in bed before emerging in the evenings to party. Police are now anxious to find out how a recovering crack addict with a long history of drug and alcohol abuse was able to get hold of such a vast quantity of pills. A source said: “The only way Whitney could function was on a cocktail of different drugs – uppers, downers, sleeping pills, painkillers, a whole medicine cabinet. “She was living like a zombie – always on medication. The more she took, the more she needed. “With alcohol in the mix, this was a tragedy waiting to happen. But she needed quite a network to obtain drugs in that kind of number.” Officers will begin their probe at the infamous Mickey Fine pharmacy in Beverly Hills, where Michael Jackson got his prescription drugs. It’s believed at least some of Whitney’s medication was obtained there. Bottles of Lorazepam, Valium and Xanax were found in her suiteat the Beverly Hilton Hotel. All three are used to treat anxiety disorders, while Valium can also ease alcohol withdrawal symptoms and muscle spasms. It’s thought Whitney was also taking painkillers and sleeping pills. Police and the LA county coroner are working on the premise that a combination of drugs and alcohol caused the star to become heavily sedated or overdose – ultimately leading to her death. It’s also possible that she suffered a heart attack caused by an adverse reaction to her medication. An autopsy was performed on Sunday but officials said they wouldn’t have any definitive answers until drug tests are completed in several weeks. Another theory was that the singer took sedatives, fell asleep and drowned in the tub. Police say Whitney was found underwater and unconscious. But the coroner told her family there was not enough water in her lungs to conclude that she had drowned. Detectives are expected to treat the investigation the same way they handled Michael Jackson’s death. They discovered dozens of doctors were supplying the King of Pop with different prescription drugs. Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray – who administered the fatal dose of hospital anaesthetic Propofol – was later found guilty of manslaughter. Yesterday, it emerged that Whitney had visited a doctor at a private clinic in Beverly Hills just two days before she died. US X Factor winner Melanie Amaro revealed that she bumped into Whitney at the surgery on Thursday. Whitney is also known to have visited other private clinics on February 7 and February 2 – and it’s possible that she visited other doctors as well. It’s thought police will also probe whether she used friends, staff or hangers-on to get prescriptions in their own names and then hand over the pills. Detectives are piecing together Whitney’s physical and emotional state before she died. She seemed to have slid back to the days when she and husband Bobby Brown regularly abused drugs and alcohol in week-long party binges. On Thursday night, Whitney looked wild-eyed and dishevelled as she left Hollywood’s Tru nightclub, where she joined revellers at a bash thrown by American singer Kelly Price. She had scratches on her wrist and blood running down a leg and witnesses say she reeked of booze, sweat and cigarettes. Whitney downed tequila at the party and went berserk when she saw her on-off toyboy lover, singer and actor Ray J, 31, talking to another girl. One witness said the former powerhouse vocalist who sold more than 170million albums worldwide seemed “wasted”. A music industry source said: “It looks as though Whitney had got to a stage where she was using Xanax like clockwork. “Mixed with alcohol, it is known to be a killer. It’s the same deadly combination that killed Heath Ledger.”

Pattaya's foreign criminals feel the heat

 

 

This is why the Provincial Region 2 has established the Transnational Crime Coordination Centre (TNCC) to deal directly with foreigners who come to Thailand to commit crimes. The existence of the centre has shed some light on how diverse the transnational gangs in Pattaya are and how their illegal businesses in this tourist centre have flourished. French nationals Nagim Hassainia, 33, and Samir Raihane, 41, who are suspects in a credit card fraud case, were arrested on Feb 2. The suspects were nabbed at a hotel in Pattaya after police found them withdrawing money from an ATM using forged credit cards containing information stolen from other countries. They sent 70% of the money back to their networks in France and took the rest of the money, the TNCC said. At least 10 members of the French gang are thought to be still on the loose. Some of them are responsible for stealing credit card information and ATM pins using a skimmer. Police seized 31 fake credit cards and 125,000 baht from the suspects. "This case could cause serious damage to Thailand's reputation," said Pol Lt Gen Panya Mamen, chief of the the Provincial Police Region 2. He said there were many foreign criminals on Pattaya's streets _ and one way to better deal with them was to improve the capacity of the TNCC, especially its ability to gather information and put it into the police database. "I have to admit there are a lot of foreign criminals who are tourists in disguise. Some are here to work with their Thai counterparts, while others act on their own," Pol Lt Gen Panya said. "Some are paedophiles. Others are criminals wanted by police in other countries yet come here pretending to be language teachers. All this makes Pattaya sound like a horrible city." Pol Lt Gen Panya hoped the Provincial Police Region 2 would achieve its goal of significantly decreasing the number of "unwanted visitors" in Pattaya within six months. The Provincial Police Region 2 is also stepping up efforts to strictly enforce the Immigration Act in which foreign suspects who are found to have criminal records or believed to be involved in a crime will have their visa nullified immediately and be extradited. These suspects will also be blacklisted by Thai immigration authorities. "They normally move around from Pattaya to Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai and then return to Pattaya again. If we can pool information, it will become easier to track them," Pol Lt Gen Panya said. Different gangs committed different crimes, ranging from theft to murder, he said. Pol Lt Gen Panya said some French gangs were known to be involved with fake credit cards and ATM cards. He said some Colombian gangs were involved with theft, whereas some Taiwanese gangs were linked to call centre scams. Pol Lt Col Chitdecha Songhong and Pol Capt Prajakpong Suriya of the TNNC, who arrested members of a French gang, agreed that inter-agency cooperation was crucial to uprooting a transnational gang. Pol Capt Prajakpong said it was difficult to locate foreign suspects even if police had pictures of them because they were frequently on the move and it was not easy to find information about them. "Pattaya is a popular criminal base because it's a hub of tourists and expatriates and the city has a lot of diamond and gold shops," he said. "The city also has many unregistered or illegal residential services which allow those criminals to stay here and hide away from immigration authorities." The TNNC is working with embassy officials in Pattaya and local banks to keep an eye on foreigners who come to the city to commit crimes.

The founder and leader of glam rock group, ‘Loco Mia’, 46 year old Xavier Font

The founder and leader of glam rock group, ‘Loco Mia’, 46 year old Xavier Font, will sit on the accused bench in the Barcelona courts on Tuesday accused of trafficking in the drugs poppers and ecstasy.
The prosecutors’ office is calling for a seven year prison sentence and a 7,500 € fine for the artists and businessman.

Font remains the group’s representative although it now has other members, and announced the sale of the drugs on a webpage in which two mobile phone numbers were published. Clients who called, if they lived in Barcelona, could collect the drugs in one of Font’s two homes in the city, and if they lived elsewhere the drugs were sent by courier and paid for by bank transfer or on delivery.

The prosecutor says they have evidence he was carrying out this activity at least between January 26 and February 4, when the Guardia Civil carried out a search of Font’s home in Calle Fontanella in Barcelona.

110 bottles of poppers were found, along with 116 pink pills thought to be ecstasy. The sale of both drugs is prohibited in Spain.

Along with Font a 28 year old man, L.O.R.A. from El Salvador was arrested, and he faces the same charges.

Arrest made in death of Dartmouth student in Spain

Spanish police have arrested a man in Barcelona in connection to the Jan. 7 death of a Dartmouth College student Crispin Scott. Scott, who was to graduate from Dartmouth in 2013, was found dead in Barcelona, Spain, days after arriving in the city to participate in a study abroad program offered through Portland State University. Early autopsy reports indicated drug overdose was the cause of death, according to the Spanish newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya on Saturday. However, the final autopsy report revealed the amount and type of drugs, a powerful barbiturate, indicated his death was not the result of a night of partying as first suspected of the college student, though friends and family said he was a good student and athlete. The final autopsy results caused police to investigate the background of the landlord of the apartment Scott had been found in. The landlord had acted cold during the investigation, police had noted, according to El Periodico. Police learned the man, whose name has not been released, had been accused by a young man in 2009 of drugging and violating him. Police arrested and charged the landlord with murder on Wednesday, according to El Periodico. He is accused of giving Scott a drink containing a dissolved barbiturate. After police searched the man's home and another Barcelona apartment he frequented they found two dozen photos of young people, unconscious and in different states of dress and undress. Police believe he had photographed them after giving them a mixture of tranquilizers. Police believe these young people had been sexually assaulted by the man and that possibly this landlord is a serial rapist. Scott had just arrived in Barcelona to participate in a two-month Academy of Liberal and Beaux-Arts program sponsored by Portland State University when he was found dead.

Whitney Houston dead: coroner confirms singer was found in hotel bathtub

 

Police requested that no details about the singer's autopsy be publicly released, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told reporters on Sunday afternoon. He said toxicology results would take weeks and the results were needed to determine how Houston died. Dr Winter declined to release any details about what investigators found in the room, but said coroner's officials were not ruling out any potential causes of death. He said there were no signs of trauma on Houston's body. Detective investigating the death of Whitney Houston on the eve of the Grammy Awards are pursuing a theory that she accidentally drowned in the bath in her luxury hotel suite after taking prescription drugs and drinking heavily over the previous two evenings.

Demi Moore’s 911 call released: Star ‘smoked something’

 

The call made to emergency services when Demi Moore was taken to hospital on Monday night has just been obtained and it seems to imply actress was convulsing after smoking a mystery substance. Advertisement >> A friend of Demi can be heard at the beginning of the 911 call on US website TMZ.com trying to get an ambulance to the star’s Beverley Hills home. There is confusion as the phone operator tries to determine which emergency service is needed and where it should be dispatched from. Once paramedics are on their way, the operator asks Demi’s friend what has happened. She replies: “She’s smoked something. It’s not marijuana but it’s similar to incense and she’s been having convulsions of some sort.” After informing the operator that Demi is 49 years old, her friend goes to sit with her, whilst remaining on the phone. She reports that Demi is “semi conscious and barely breathing” and also still convulsing. She is asked if the incident was accidental and she replies: “She smoked something but the reaction was accidental.” The phone is then passed to someone else who is asked about her breathing. “No, it’s not normal, more shaking” the second friend tells the operator. “She’s burning up. She smoked something. She’s been having some issues lately with some other stuff. I don’t know what she’s been taking.” The pal also says that Demi is unable to speak but has squeezed her hand and is still convulsing, so they are holding her down. The operator tells them not to do this, but to hold her head and keep her airways open. When the friend is asked if she has done this before, she replies: “I don’t know, there’s been some stuff recently that we’re all just finding out.” At the end of the call, a male friend comes on the line and reports that Demi is “much calmer” and is now “breathing fine” while sitting up and quietly talking.

Free booze for alcoholics makes perfect logic, but no sense

 

As the old adage has it, if you live long enough, you see everything. In the world of substance abuse and addiction, “everything” was in the news today. A group from Vancouver’s notorious hub of drug addiction and policy experimentation, the Downtown East Side, is proposing that a publicly funded, peer-run drinker’s lounge dispensing free legal alcohol to alcoholics be instituted as a means of harm reduction. The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education, whose spokesman, Rob Morgan, an alcoholic from a First Nations reserve near Terrace, B.C, sees the idea as the natural next step in Vancouver’s famous harm reduction movement. The lounge would be modeled on Insite, the safe injection site whose mandate is not to rehabilitate addicts, but to reduce the rates of disease and death caused by unhygienic consumption and unsupervised overdoes. Mr. Morgan’s logic is impeccable. Desperate alcoholics will drink anything with alcohol in it; they will drink hand sanitizer acquired from “dealers” who steal them from hospitals, as Mr Morgan has; they will share disease-ridden bottles; they sometimes freeze to death in an alcoholic stupor; and for only $3, and some water dilution, will consume 30 standard drinks from a 250 ml bottle of 95% rubbing alcohol. The ravages produced on the body by such a regime certainly rival any depredations short of AIDS suffered by drug addicts.

Internet addiction changes brain similar to cocaine

 

Can a person be truly addicted to the Internet? A new brain scan study shows not only can that be the case, but also that Internet addiction might cause the same brain changes that are seen in alcoholics and drug addicts. For the study, published in the Jan. 11 issue of PLoS One, researchers studied 17 men and women who were diagnosed with Internet addiction disorder (IAD) and compared scans of their brains to scans of 16 healthy people who weren't addicted to the web. Study participants were between the ages of 14 and 21 and lived in China. Video Game-Obsessed Mom Neglects Kids, Starves Dogs Are social networking sites turning teens into substance abusers? The researchers found more patterns of  "abnormal white matter" on brain scans of Internet addicts, compared with scans of non-addicts. White matter areas in the brain contain nerve fibers that transmit signals to other parts of the brain. These changes showed evidence of disrupting pathways related to emotions, decision-making, and self control. The researchers said earlier studies have found similar white matter changes in the brain scans of people addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, meth, and ketamine (also known as "Special K"). "The results also suggest that IAD may share psychological and neural mechanisms with other types of substance addiction and impulse control disorders," the researchers wrote in the study. Professor Gunter Schumann, chair in biological psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London, told BBC News that he's come across similar findings in brain scans of video game addicts. "For the first time two studies show changes in the neuronal connections between brain areas as well as changes in brain function in people who are frequently using the Internet or video games," he said. Dr. Henrietta Bowden Jones, consultant psychiatrist at Imperial College in London, who runs the U.K.'s only clinic for Internet addicts, said hardcore gamers are more likely to be addicted to the Internet. "The majority of people we see with serious Internet addiction are gamers - people who spend long hours in roles in various games that cause them to disregard their obligations," Jones told The Independent. "I have seen people who stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their marriages broke down because they were unable to emotionally connect with anything outside the game." According to the independent, an estimated 5 to 10 percent of Internet users are unable to control their usage and are considered addicts.

Gut hormone may be new weight loss tool, study says

 

An appetite-suppressing hormone produced by the body that is used to treat type 2 diabetes can lead to weight loss in overweight or obese patients, says a new study. The research, published Tuesday at bmj.com, also found that glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels. GLP-1 is a hormone secreted by the gut when we eat. A form of GLP-1 that is injected has emerged as a new treatment for type 2 diabetes for its ability to regulate blood-sugar levels. But researchers have now found that the hormone can help with weight loss by curbing the appetite, thereby reducing food intake. The Danish study, which included data from 6,000 patients who took part in 25 randomized controlled trials, found that in addition to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol -- as well as regulating blood sugar -- GSP-1 also helped with weight loss. Study subjects lost up to eight pounds over a four-month period. While both patients with and without type 2 diabetes lost weight, the weight loss was more pronounced in patients without the disease. "We see a sustained effect on body weight throughout the trials, 25 trials," researcher Dr. Tina Vilsboll, head of diabetes research at the University of Copenhagen, told CTV News. "So it is not just a coincidence, it is efficacious on body weight." The findings are especially significant because other diabetes medications often cause patients to gain, rather than lose, weight. The researchers write that further study is needed to determine if GLP-1, which costs about $400 per month, should be prescribed for overweight or obese patients without type 2 diabetes. According to Vilsboll, researchers will know within the next two to three years if GLP-1 can be more widely prescribed solely as weight-loss treatment. The study has led some experts to urge caution, however. In an accompanying editorial, obesity specialist Dr. Raj Padwal of the University of Alberta points out that the weight loss was modest. As well, the hormone can produce side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, and comes with a possible risk of damage to the pancreas and the thyroid. "While these results highlight the weight-reducing benefits, they should not alter current practice," Padwal wrote. According to Padwal, "modification of diet and lifestyle remains the cornerstone of the treatment of type 2 diabetes." Vilsboll said the hormone is not a cure for type 2 diabetes. However, combined with lifestyle changes, it could have a major impact on the health of patients. Dr. Ravi Retnakaran of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital is also studying the hormone, and says the research "is an encouraging sign because weight control is an important part of the management of diabetes."

Recovering alcoholic Matt Maden: I began drinking at 10 and now I'm facing death at 26

 

Matt Maden, now 26, has been living on borrowed time since he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis five years ago. Despite his desperate need he has only a 20 per cent chance of getting an organ because of the growing demand. ‘It’s really scary living with the knowledge that the odds are so heavily against you,’ he said. His condition was detected when he spent two weeks in hospital in an alcohol-induced coma – but even then he refused to believe he had a problem. ‘My immediate thought was, “It’s not the drink”,’ he said. The first time Mr Maden got drunk was at 15. ‘I remember waking up the next morning and my first thought was, “When can I do that again”,’ he said. Within a year he went from drinking eight cans of lager in a session to 16 in order to get a buzz. ‘After a couple of years I’d have to have maybe a bottle of spirits to go along with that,’ he added. ‘For a lot of years alcohol gave me  confidence. Little did I know it would actually turn on me and it would start to control me.’ After his health scare Mr Maden left his home in Oxford to check into a rehab clinic in Bournemouth and has not touched a drop since 2007. His physician, Dr Varuna Aluvihare, from King’s College London, believes the binge-drinking culture is behind the increasing number of young people needing liver transplants. ‘Tragically, every year we fail to keep someone like Matt alive,’ he said.

Money spent on nicotine patches 'goes up in smoke', says survey

 

Those who go cold turkey have just as much chance of quitting the habit long-term, the study published on Monday added. A total of 787 adult smokers trying to quit were followed over five years by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health. One in three relapsed with the numbers spread equally between those going ‘cold turkey’, those using nicotine patches, gums or sprays, and those combining nicotine replacement with counselling. Heavy smokers who used nicotine replacement products without any professional therapy were twice as likely to relapse. Lead author Hillel Alpert said: ‘Some heavily-dependent smokers perceive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a sort of “magic” pill. ‘Upon realising it is not, they find themselves without support in their quitting efforts, doomed to failure.’ But the findings sparked a backlash from the NRT industry, which is worth £150million in Britain and £520million in the US. GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Nicorette gum, said studies show NRT products, combined with support, ‘can double’ smokers’ chances of quitting

spokesman of the ROP said that more expatriates than Omani nationals are involved in drug trafficking.

 

An increasing number of drug abuse and drug trafficking cases are being registered in the Sultanate over the past few months. The trend has seen a spiralling increase following the Royal Oman Police (ROP) campaign to arrest the drug traffickers and abusers, say legal experts. A spokesman of the ROP said that more expatriates than Omani nationals are involved in drug trafficking. The police have smashed a number of drug trafficking gangs operating in the Sultanate and last week six persons were hauled up for being involved in dealing with contraband narcotics. According to the courts, most of the drug abusers are also involved in criminal activities and many of them have admitted to having robbed shops and houses in order to buy narcotics. Another growing phenomenon being noticed by the police is that some people who have consumed drugs or steroids refuse to take the medical examinations. They also refuse to give blood or urine sample to escape the charges being framed against them and sometimes indulge in violence with security men. Another unusual development witnessed by the courts is that family ties have come under increasing strain due to drug-related activities of the youths. Some parents have even reported to the police to take action against their children involved in misusing narcotic substances. “These youths have become not only a social menace, but a threat to their own families,” said a senior ROP officer. Meanwhile, the ROP has stepped up its efforts to combat the drug menace in the Sultanate and has set up a specialised team to bust the drug dealing gangs and consumers of narcotics. The punishment for drug trafficker is more than the abuser according to the penal law of the Sultanate. The security forces have been alerted about drug activities and directed to take preventive steps. The Coast Guard has been equipped with new boats to foil any drug smuggling attempts. In addition, the Royal Air Force of Oman has been given advanced helicopters to monitor Oman’s territorial waters and support other security units in the Sultanate. A senior source from the ROP said that the drug traffickers were using illegal immigrants as couriers to smuggle drugs into the country. Recently, the Majlis Al Shura also discussed the menace of drug abuse in the society. The official statistics indicate that the number of drug-related crimes increased to 895 last year compared to 688 in 2009. The number of accused was 1,417 and the amount of drugs seized by the ROP was 314 kg. The government has also taken initiatives to support the drug abusers to give up their habit. The ROP has plans to open the Al Masra Hospital for treating the addicts and officials hope that the hospital would become operational soon.

Counsellors Forum: DREAMWARRIOR spiritual teacher who is deeply committed to helping others break through to the joyous experience of living in the NOW.

 

DREAMWARRIOR teaches how to become fundamentally present and how to arise in mastery of your mind and ego, so that you are no longer involuntarily pulled out of Presence. teaches that the fully awakened state of consciousness is available now. It is not something that occurs in the future. It is already here, waiting to be revealed. As you awaken into the present moment, your thoughts will stop, your mind will fall silent, and you will awaken to an inner silence and peace that is beyond understanding. You will begin to encounter what the mystics and Masters have been speaking of for centuries.

Are you addicted to your smartphone?

 

When Adrian Weldon has a few minutes to spare, he's probably going to use them to text. "I came here to kill time and text," he said, sitting at Lakebottom Park Thursday afternoon. "At least it's not driving and texting." Weldon said he uses his phone mostly for texting, sending quick messages while he's at work and can't call people on the phone, and when he's bored. If you ask him if he's addicted, he says he's not sure. "My girlfriend says I am," he said. If Weldon is addicted to his phone, he's not alone. While addiction to apps or text-ing is not a recognized medical condition, there have been numerous studies produced on whether the technology causes more harm than good. A study by Case Western Reserve School of Medicine found that teens who spend a lot of time on texting or on social media are also more like to use drugs or alcohol and get into fights. Using a smartphone or computer just before bed can lead to sleep loss, according to a study from the National Sleep Foundation. But ignoring your phone can be difficult. A recent article in the New York Times by author and brand consultant Martin Lindstorm claimed the top three most powerful affecting sounds in the world are baby giggles, the Intel chime and a vibrating phone. Weldon confesses to feeling lost without his phone. He never turns it off. "Even when it's charging, it's on," he said. "I left it once Advertisement and went home on my lunch break just to get it." Smartphones also can be habit-forming, according to a study by Helsinki Institute for Information Technology and Intel Labs. Researchers found that smartphone users in the U.S. and in Finland checked their phone repeatedly throughout the day, usually for less than 30 seconds. They observed that the checks are usually triggered by the same things -- a person may always check email while commuting or always check the news when bored. "It's a boredom buster," said Mary Virginia Wehrenberg. She said she typically uses her smartphone truly as a phone, but the apps and texting also poses a great distraction when you're stuck waiting for something. Sharlene Brown said she tries to ration the time she spends on her smartphone. She's a fan of Words with Friends -- a popular Scrabble-like game -- and frequently plays using a dictionary app so she can check to make sure she's using real words. "I don't win as often but I love it." She said it's easy to waste time on her phone, especially on rainy or lazy days. Her kids -- ages 8 and 4 -- like playing games on her phone, too, but she only lets them use it for 15 to 30 minutes a day. "I do limit the time," she said. "Children shouldn't have it all the time." But there are benefits to the apps and texting a smartphone offers. Brown said there are math and word games available for her kids, like Quizard, an app that lets you create your own educational flashcards. "It's interactive. They get an immediate response." Texting also gives her more time with her kids, because she's not always on the phone. "It's an easier way to communicate. You send them a quick text," she said. "You don't want to take away from time with kids."

Almost all liver disease is preventable yet we are met with a sheer resistance to tackle it.

UK has the highest rate of oesophageal cancer in Europe while liver cancer deaths have jumped more than 70%, according to two new sets of figures.

Alcohol and obesity are helping fuel both types of disease, with many of these cancer cases preventable if people were healthier.

A league table of European cancer rates of the oesophagus show about 6.4 out of every 100,000 people develop oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.
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This is almost double the European average of 3.3 and higher than Ireland, which came in second place (5.9), and the Netherlands in third (5.8).

France had a figure of just 3.9 while the rate in Spain was 2.8.

Cyprus's rate of 0.5 is the lowest in Europe while Mongolia has the highest rate in the world (18.7).

The oesophagus is part of the body's digestive system and is the tube which links the back of the mouth to the stomach.

The UK's high rate is partly due to high levels of alcohol consumption and obesity - known risk factors for the disease.

The league table was compiled by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) using World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates.

Around 8,000 oesophageal cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK each year and the disease kills more than 7,000.

Just 8% of men and women are still alive five years after diagnosis.

Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the WCRF, said: "The fact that the UK has the highest rate of oesophageal cancer in Europe is a real concern because it is a type of cancer that has a particularly low survival rate.

"It is also a particularly preventable type of cancer and most oesophageal cases in the UK could be prevented through a healthy diet, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.

"The problem is that we have the highest obesity rate in Europe and we drink more alcohol than the European average.

"This means that thousands of people every year are being diagnosed with an oesophageal cancer that could have been prevented.

"The good news is that not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, cutting down on alcohol and eating more of a variety of fruits and vegetables will not just reduce your risk of oesophageal cancer.

"It will also reduce your risk of other types of cancer, as well as being good for health generally."

The second set of statistics published today, from the British Liver Trust, shows that since 1997 liver cancer deaths have risen by 74% in England and Wales.

Both Scotland and Northern Ireland are also experiencing increasing numbers of deaths from liver cancer.

Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said: "Liver disease seems to be the poor relation to the other big killers yet is the only health problem out of the big five showing an increasing trend.

"The situation is now at breaking point and we need to see direct action to prevent the daily death rate from liver cancer increasing."

Liver disease is influenced by obesity and alcohol but can also result from hepatitis.

"At the moment all we are seeing are weak policies or no action at all, however there are so many solutions to the problem," Mr Langford said.

"Almost all liver disease is preventable yet we are met with a sheer resistance to tackle it.

"We are still awaiting the National Liver Disease Strategy, our Government-led alcohol policies are a joke and despite nearly every other developed nation having universal vaccination for hepatitis B we are still debating whether we should. While this debate continues many are being infected and for some this will lead to them dying of liver cancer. "

The figures show that 1,968 men and 1,371 women died from liver cancer in England and Wales in 2010, as did 230 men and 132 women in Scotland.

In 1997 in England and Wales, the figure was 1,133 men and 848 women.

Across the whole of the UK in 2010, an average of 10 people a day died from the disease

experts agree that a war on drugs is ineffective in reducing drug production and often has extreme negative long-term impacts on development and human rights.

In 2003 the illicit drugs market was worth an estimated $320 billion with over 5 per cent of the world's populations aged between 15 and 64 years of age, or nearly 250 million people, consuming illicit drugs.

East and Southeast Asia is home to about a third of the global population and is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Economic development in the region is leading to new infrastructure and trade initiatives. However, the accelerated movement of people, trade and goods has given rise to many opportunities for drug traffickers to exploit to make their business prosper. As raised in recent United Nations reports, there is a real challenge facing the region from amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and other synthetic drugs. ATS drugs, particularly methamphetamine, are widely used and it is now estimated that up to 20 million people in the region have used amphetamines in the past year.

Although opium production has plateaued, its production increased by 80 per cent between 1998 and 2009. Afghanistan accounts for almost 90 per cent of the world's opium supply, although recent intelligence suggests that production in Burma is increasing after years of decline. The policy of eradication of poppy crops in many countries has seen an unintended negative and rapid increase in drug injecting as people change from smoking the drug to seek a bigger effect from the drugs they are able to obtain. It has also contributed to a rapid increase in the number of people switching to ATSs which are far cheaper and easier to produce.

In the aid arena, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) were adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 for realisation in 2015. They provide a benchmark for tackling extreme poverty and provide a framework for the international community to work together. However, reductions in poverty do not necessarily address gender equality and environmental sustainability, and the expansion of health services does not automatically mean improvement in quality.

The MDG is where the worlds of development aid and illicit drugs collide. The negative impact of illicit drugs on achieving the MDG cannot be overstated. Drug users are not necessarily poor but the poor are disproportionately affected by drugs.

Widespread production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs not only affect health, livelihoods and governance but also impinge on national and regional economies, legislation, basic human rights and life itself.

For too long there has been limited recognition of the relationship between illicit drugs and social and economic development. Lack of development and the lack of education and employment opportunities exacerbate drug use and drug trafficking while rapid development and the accompanying social and economic changes creates problems for some groups that can result in greater involvement with drugs. Countries within Asia, and increasingly the Pacific, provide many examples of the relationship between rapid change, displacement, poverty, migration, violence and involvement in illicit drugs. Many of the reasons for increased drug use in countries like Burma, Pakistan and Afghanistan are very much related to economic development - whether it is truck drivers taking drugs to drive all night or those needing drugs to cope with being forced into commercial sex work - the impact of drugs can be seen. The impact on migrant groups is often particularly severe as they rarely have access to a health system or community support.

Aid programs must address the fact that development is about change and that better and more attractive alternatives to drugs need to be a part of that change. In Asia and the Pacific, programs dealing with illicit drugs are often too narrowly focused on law enforcement, with some occasional focus on prevention, harm reduction or treatment. An approach that is integrated with reducing drug supply, providing attractive livelihood alternatives, reducing drug use and demand, reducing the harms caused by drug use and the provision of treatment for existing drug users is needed as part of the development process.

Adding to these problems is conflict and the resultant instability, which not only helps to facilitate illicit drug economies, but can sustain the conflict. We see this in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, and Myanmar, where rebel and pro-government forces have used illicit drug economies to finance their activities.

Most experts agree that a war on drugs is ineffective in reducing drug production and often has extreme negative long-term impacts on development and human rights. Unfortunately, while drug users are seen as the problem and not as people that need assistance they will continue to be imprisoned, victimised and disenfranchised. This only exacerbates HIV and other health problems.

As a world leader in drug policy and treatment, and the funding increase for AusAID, Australia has a unique opportunity to assist our region.

Academics found that women who had high IQ scores in childhood were more likely to take illegal drugs when they are in their 30s.

INTELLIGENCE early on in life among women may be linked to drug-taking as they get older, Welsh researchers have discovered.

Academics found that women who had high IQ scores in childhood were more likely to take illegal drugs when they are in their 30s. One of the theories they give for being behind this is that those people with a high IQ are more willing to try new experiences.

Dr James White, who led the research, said: “Although most studies suggest that higher child or adolescent IQ prompts the adoption of a healthy lifestyle as an adult, other studies have linked higher childhood IQ scores to excess alcohol intake and alcohol dependency in adulthood.

“Although it is not yet clear exactly why there should be a link between high IQ and illicit drug use, previous research has shown that people with a high IQ are more open to new experiences and keen on novelty and stimulation.

“There is a clear need for future epidemiological and experimental studies to explore these and other pathways.”

The study, by the university’s Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), examined data from just under 8,000 people in the 1970 British Cohort Study, which is a large ongoing population-based study, looking at drug use and other factors in society.

The IQ scores of the participants were measured at the ages of five and 10 years, using validated scales, and information was gathered on self reported levels of psychological distress and drug use at the age of 16, and again at the age of 30.

Drugs assessed at 16 included cannabis and cocaine; and at 30 years of age included cannabis; cocaine; amphetamines; and ecstasy.

By the age of 30, 35.4% of men and 15.9% of women had used cannabis, while 8.6% of men and 3.6% of women had used cocaine, in the previous 12 months.

A similar pattern of use was found for the other drugs, with overall drug use twice as common among men as among women.

Men with high IQ scores at the age of five were around 50% more likely to have used amphetamines, ecstasy, and several illicit drugs than those with low scores, 25 years later.

The link was even stronger among women, who were more than twice as likely to have used cannabis and cocaine as those with low IQ scores. The same associations emerged between a high IQ score at the age of 10 and subsequent use of cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines, and cocaine, although this last was only evident at the age of 30.

Recognised risk factors for drug use, such as, levels of anxiety and depression during adolescence, parental social class, level of education, social class at 30 years and monthly income were all taken into account during analysis of the study’s findings.

rising number of lawyers, doctors, dentists and vets in Britain are turning functioning alcoholics

rising number of lawyers, doctors, dentists and vets in Britain are turning “functioning alcoholics”, experts have warned.

Addiction specialists have given them the “functioning alcoholics” label because they do not fit the typical image of down-and-out street drinkers, the Daily Mail reported.

There has been a surge in demand from professionals who are seeking rehab treatment abroad so as to avoid being recognised in nearby hospitals or clinics, it is claimed.

Alistair Mordey, who runs a substance abuse clinic in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said the demand for treatment from doctors was growing at twice the rate of any other occupation.

“We are seeing a lot of professionals coming in, particularly from London,” he said. “They are in workplaces where you really wouldn’t want them to be.”

According to the British Medical Association’s estimate, one in 15 doctors will develop an addiction problem at some point and they are three times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver than the general population.

Cirrhosis of the liver is a chronic disease interfering with the normal functioning of the liver; the major cause is chronic alcoholism.

Research has also suggested that up to 24 percent of lawyers will suffer from alcoholism during their careers.