#DryJanuary
is a great opportunity to reflect on your relationship with alcohol and jump-start a changes in your drinking patterns. Here are some tips to help you have a successful Dry January.
Rural America faces major shortages of qualified treatment professionals for substance use disorders. As many as half of all US counties – all of them rural areas – have no addiction treatment services.
Many of the words commonly used to describe alcohol-related problems are stigmatizing. Instead of addict, use person w/ alcohol use disorder. Instead of recovering alcoholic, use person in recovery from alcohol use disorder.
#TreatmentWeek
#EndStigma
It's
#AlcoholAwarenessMonth
.
#DYK
nearly every organ system of the body is affected by
#alcohol
misuse? Learn more -- see our special feature, "Alcohol and You: An Interactive Body"
Over time, drinking to cope with stress—while it may provide temporary relief—tends to enhance negative emotional states. These changes can motivate further drinking & cause a person to become stuck in an unhealthy cycle of alcohol consumption.
Learn more:
Alcohol use disorder or
#AUD
is a chronic relapsing
#brain
disease marked by compulsive alcohol use, loss of control over alcohol intake, and a negative emotional state when not drinking
See NIAAA's exciting new resource: the Alcohol & Your Brain
#VR
experience, an immersive rollercoaster ride through
#brain
regions affected by alcohol.
Headset users 13+ can find it free at the App Lab:
Or view a non-VR video:
Join us for NIAAA’s 50th Anniversary Science Symposium—celebrating 5 decades of advancing research on
#alcohol
use disorder & alcohol-related problems. Don't miss our expert guest lectures, w/ live Q-&-A. Tune in Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, at 1pm daily
#NIAAA50
Some people drink alcohol for stress relief, but did you know that alcohol actually activates brain stress systems? Read more about how alcohol and stress affect the brain in a new review by
@MarcusWeera
and
@The_Gilp
in Alcohol Research: Current Reviews
"The need for inclusiveness and
#diversity
in our alcohol research community is critical to the future of our research and our health." Read the new blog post from Dr. George Koob.
In NIAAA Director's Report to the Advisory Council (May 12): Dr. Vijay Ramchandani
@VijayR_One
, Chief of the Section on Human Psychopharmacology, Div. of Intramural Clinical & Biological Research, has been promoted to tenured Senior Investigator
@IRPatNIH
Congratulations to Dr. Paule Joseph on winning the 2021 Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation! Dr. Joseph is the Chief of the Section on Sensory Science and Metabolism at NIAAA, and we’re very proud of her accomplishment. Learn more.
@NINR
Binge drinking refers to 4+ (women) or 5+ (men) drinks over ~2 hours. Some people drink at levels 2-3x above this threshold – called high-intensity drinking. This Alcohol Research review summarizes research on this risky pattern of drinking:
Stigma created by the language that is used to describe alcohol problems can decrease many people’s willingness to seek help for alcohol problems. Learn why words matter in the latest issue of NIAAA Spectrum:
Alcohol Awareness Month is a good time to reflect on your drinking patterns and the role that alcohol plays in your life. Visit to assess your drinking habits and to get tips to help you cut back or stop drinking if needed.
When it comes to treatment for alcohol use disorder treatment, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on their situations, different people will have different routes to recovery.
Learn more about David Lovinger, Ph.D., NIAAA's Scientific Director for the Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research - see the
#NIAAASpectrum
.
New from
#NIAAA
& offering free CME/CE credits, the Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol is a one-stop center for information & resources to help healthcare professionals provide evidence-based
#alcohol
care. Get started:
#AlcoholTreatment
Roughly 95,000 deaths resulted from alcohol misuse in the U.S. between 2011 & 2015, and 46 percent were associated with binge drinking. Learn more at NIAAA's fact sheet on
#bingedrinking
:
Dr. Veronica Alvarez, an NIAAA senior investigator & laboratory chief, has been honored as an Agent of Change in
@NIH_EDI
's blog for her distinguished service as a scientific mentor and leader at
#NIH
:
#HispanicHeritageMonth
Dr. George F. Koob, NIAAA Director: "Alcohol is a growing women’s health issue. The rapid increase in deaths involving alcohol among women is troubling and parallels the increases in alcohol consumption among women over the past few decades." NIH news
The NIAAA community mourns the passing of Dr. Linda Spear, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emerita, Binghamton Univ. “Linda Spear was an outstanding researcher, a pioneer in her field, a wonderful human being and for me a dear friend" - Dr. George F. Koob.
Alcohol plays a prominent role in deaths of despair, contributing to overdoses & suicides. Raising awareness of the health risks posed by alcohol and the dangers of using alcohol to cope with challenges in life could help reduce the number of such deaths.
Alcohol problems have a societal cost of $249 billion each year, which includes about $134 billion in lost productivity and $26 billion in medical costs
#AlcoholAwareness
Dr. George F. Koob,
@NIAAAnews
Director, discussed research on
#alcohol
and women’s health – see “Women Are Drinking More Alcohol and It’s Killing Them,” in the
@washingtonpost
A recent
@NatMetabolism
pub suggests that (in addition to the liver) alcohol metabolism occurs in the cerebellum in mice. Author &
#NIAAA
researcher Dr. Li Zhang says he hypothesizes “this pathway mediates some behavioral change.”
@TheScientistLLC
:
Studies show that
#women
start to have alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower drinking levels than men. Get all the facts this
#AlcoholAwarenessMonth
Some people try to use
#alcohol
to deal with
#pain
, but research has shown that it can make pain worse. Understanding the complex relationship between alcohol & pain is an important area of research for NIAAA. Learn more: April is
#AlcoholAwarenessMonth
.
We are proud to announce that NIAAA's
@Dr_Paulevj
joins the prestigious ranks of
@SigmaNursing
2024 Int’l Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. Her groundbreaking work has revolutionized global healthcare. Learn more about her research:
Watch interviews with
#NIAAA
Director Dr. George F. Koob and
#NIH
scientist Dr. Lorenzo Leggio (
@NIAAANews
&
@NIDANews
) on researching medications to reduce alcohol cravings via
@nbcnews
Introducing "Short Takes with NIAAA," a new series of 60-second videos that explain, in an easy-to-understand way, the meaning of commonly used—but often misunderstood—alcohol terms. What's
#BingeDrinking
? Alcohol
#blackout
? Alcohol
#overdose
? Learn more:
Nearly 50% of all liver disease deaths are attributable to
#alcohol
misuse. Among males, 52,499
#liver
disease deaths occurred and 45.4 percent involved alcohol. Get the facts about alcohol and
#health
:
Concerned about the
#drinking
of someone close to you? See "Starting the Conversation -- How to Talk with a Loved One about Getting Help" at NIAAA's
#Alcohol
#Treatment
Navigator
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control
#alcohol
use despite adverse social, occupational, or
#health
consequences. Learn more
Congrats to
#NIH
Lasker Scholar Dr. Paule V. Joseph! selected by the National Minority Quality Forum as a 40Under40 Leader
#nmqf40under40
.
@Dr_Paulevj
has a joint appointment w/ the National Institute of Nursing Research & NIAAA
@IRPatNIH
More:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (
#PTSD
) and alcohol use disorder co-occur often. Research suggests that people w/ PTSD are more likely to develop problems with alcohol; having
#AUD
may increase the likelihood of experiencing trauma. Learn more:
Nearly every organ in our body is affected by alcohol, including the brain, heart, pancreas, and liver. Drinking can take a serious toll on your health, increasing the risk of strokes, heart attacks, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis. Learn more:
For some good news: Teens’
#alcohol
use continues to drop. In 2019, rates of past-year alcohol use by students in 10th and 12th grades were at a 5-year low. You can make a difference!
#ShatterTheMyths
.
#NDAFW
@NIDAnews
#DryJanuary
is a great opportunity to reflect on your relationship with alcohol and jumpstart a lasting change in behavior. Here are some tips to help you have a successful Dry January.
#RethinkingDrinking
#DryJanuary
Words like "alcoholism" or “alcohol abuse” can be stigmatizing & create barriers for treatment. Instead, use “alcohol use disorder.” We can help reduce
#stigma
by using accurate language & terms.
#TreatmentWeek
#EndStigma
Learn more:
Recovery from alcohol use disorder is achievable. The route is not always straight; setbacks and repeated attempts are common. Long-term progress is what matters, and there are many options available for treatment. Learn more during Recovery Month:
There is no known safe level of
#alcohol
use, or time to
#drink
, during
#pregnancy
. Alcohol can disrupt
#fetal
development at any stage during a pregnancy – even before a woman may know she is pregnant. Learn more about prenatal alcohol exposure.
It's
#NationalCollegiateAlcoholAwarenessWeek
. Many are unaware of the dangers that can come w/ alcohol. Alcohol misuse can put students at greater risk for injuries, violence, sexual assault, and alcohol use disorder. Learn more:
#NIH
researchers:
#COVID19
means long stretch of stormy weather for people with
#alcohol
and
#substanceuse
disorders: see the commentary online in the American Journal of Psychiatry -
Please join us on July 28, 2021, at 12 pm EDT, for a free webinar, "Innovations in Treating
#Stress
and
#Trauma
in Women with
#Alcohol
Use Disorder" on NIH Videocast:
RSVP to dana.west
@icf
.com
Congratulations to
#NIH
researcher Dr. Lorenzo Leggio (
@Lorenzo__Leggio
) of the
@NIAAANews
and
@NIDAnews
@IRPatNIH
intramural program, who has received the 2020 Jacob P. Waletzky Award from the Society for Neuroscience! Learn about Dr. Leggio’s research:
People who start drinking before age 15 are four times as likely to develop an alcohol use disorder at some point in their lives -- Join NIAAA and
@ASAMorg
for an
#AlcoholYouthChat
about AUD risk factors and prevention, Oct. 25 @ 1 p.m. ET
People of color experience disproportionate harms related to
#alcohol
misuse, and
#stigma
is often a barrier to accessing treatment. Join
#NIAAA
for an informative free webinar on Mon, March 21, 2022, 1:00-2:15pm EDT: .
RSVP by 3/18: dana.west
@icf
.com
The consequences of underage drinking can affect everyone, regardless of age or drinking status. We all feel the effects of the aggressive behavior, injuries, violence, and deaths that can result from underage drinking. It is a nationwide concern:
#NDAFW
Join us for Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® March 22 - 28, 2021.
#NDAFW
helps to provide the facts about how drugs & alcohol affect the developing brain & body. Learn how you can participate virtually this year:
Many of the words commonly used to describe alcohol-related problems are stigmatizing. Instead of addict, use person with alcohol use disorder. Instead of recovering alcoholic, use person in recovery from alcohol use disorder.
#TreatmentWeek
Learn more.
On Sept. 9th, we recognize
#FASDAwarenessDay
as a reminder that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders IS preventable.
In a study in 1st graders in 4 U.S. communities, FASD affected about 1-5% of kids.
To learn more about FASD visit: and
@FASDUnited
Stigmatizing labels like "alcoholic" or “alcoholism” can create barriers for people seeking treatment.
Help reduce
#stigma
by using accurate language & terms.
Learn more:
#DryJanuary
is a health & wellness trend that emphasizes taking a break from
#drinking
#alcohol
. It's a chance to evaluate your relationship w/
#alcohol
& its impact on your health. Learn more in the NIAAA Director's Blog:
The neurotransmitter
#glutamate
, involved in memory, is particularly susceptible to even small amounts of
#alcohol
. Drinking interferes with glutamate action -- contributing to temporarily “black outs” (forgetting what happened during a night of heavy drinking)
September is
#SuicidePreventionMonth
. Read about the links between suicidal behavior and alcohol use in the latest review article from Alcohol Research: Current Reviews:
Understanding the relationship between
#alcohol
& pain is an important area of research that may have implications for the
#opioid
epidemic. Learn more about NIAAA collaboration with the
#NIH
Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative:
Alcohol use disorder (
#AUD
) is a common but undertreated health issue in the U.S. Nearly 15 million people age 12+ had AUD in the past year -- less than 10% received any treatment.
Join
@NIAAAnews
on 12/13, 12-1pm ET for a free webinar, “Harnessing Tech & Social Media to Address
#Alcohol
Misuse in Adolescents & Emerging Adults” at .
RSVP by 12/4: dana.west
@icf
.com
New web feature from NIAAA:
#alcohol
has the potential to further complicate the
#COVID19
pandemic In multiple ways. Find helpful links to important resources for the public, clinicians, and researchers: