Spilyay Tymoo
Page 8 December 11, 1981
Report drunken drivers at toll free number
Keeping Oregonians from
Being hurt o r killed on the
state’s highways is the purpose
o f a new program o f the
Oregon State Police and the
O r e g o n T r a f f i c S a fe ty
Commission. I f you See a drunk
driver, you are urged to report,
the individual immediately by
calling a to ll free number, 1-
800-452-7888.
The new progam called
R E D D I (R eport Every D runk
D river Immediately) features a
2 4 -h o u r - a - d a y t o l l fre e
number. A call to the R E D D I
phone puts the caller in touch
w ith the State Police main
office in Salem. From there
personnel can be alerted from
different State Police field
stations around the state about
the drunk driver.
Governor Vic Atiyeh said
T ra ffic Safety Com m ission
statistics show that over 50
percent o f Oregon’s traffic
fatalities involve alcohol abuse.
“ We must get drunk drivers
o ff the highway before more
people are hurt o r kille d ,” he
said. “ In the first eight weeks
since the number o f State
P o lice O ffic e rs has been
reduced (due to the cut in the
Oregon State Police budget by
the state le g is la tu re ) the
number o f traffic fatalities has
gone.up 27 percent over the
same period a year ago.”
How to report drunk drivers
(C all to ll free I-8OO-452-7888)
1. Describe drunk driver’s
vehicle
2. Vehicle license number
3. Location o f vehicle
4. D irection vehicle is traveling
(You don’t have to identify
yourself)
H ow to spot a drunk driver
1. Very fast o r slow speed
2. Jerky d riv in g , rocking
accelerator
3. Frequent lane changing at
high speed
4. Im proper passing w ith not
enough clearance; slowing or
swerving when passing
5. Overshooting o r ignoring
traffic control signals
6. Approaching signals too fast
or slow; je rky stops and starts
7. D riving at night w ithout
lights
Spilyay File photo by Rangila
8. Failure to dim lights to
oncoming traffic
9. D riving in lower gears
w ithout any reason
10. D riv in g to o close to
shoulders o r curbs; hugging
edge o f road o r straddling
center line.
11. D rivin g w ith windows
down in cold weather
12. D rivin g w ith head out
window
Realities of alcoholism shouldn’t be ignored
The Illness o f Alcoholism
he should stop o r n ot.”
W h a t is a lc o h o lis m ?
Everyone seems to have her or
his own definition, but most are
fra u g h t w ith m yths and
misconceptions that distort the
real nature o f the illness.
A n a lc o h o lic p e rs o n ,
according to M ark K ellor o f
the Rutgers U n ive rsity o f
Alcohol Studies, is “ one who is
unable to consistently choose
whether he should d rin k o r not,
and who, i f he drinks, is unable
consistently to choose whether
Alcoholism has very little to
do w ith when you d rin k, how
long you've been drinking, or
even how much alcohol you
consume. But it has a great deal
to do w ith how im portant
alcohol is to you in particular
situations and how seriously
drin kin g is affecting the basic
realities o f your life: your
health, y o lir emotional well
being, your personal relation
ships, your w ork, and your
financial situation.
T he m o re d r in k in g is
interfering w ith these areas o f
your life, the more serious your
alcohol problem.
aspects o f the problem. F or
example:
1. Alcoholism is a treatable
illness, as defined by the
American Medical Associa
The Facts
tio n , the B ritish M edical
A lcohol use is almost second Association, and the N ational
nature to many segments o f Institute on A lcohol Abuse and
society. Perhaps because it is so Alcoholism . It is no more a sign
commonplace, some o f us feel o f w eaknesses o r m o ra l
threatened by the dangerous, dissipation than diabetes or
tragic potential o f the drug we G e r m a n m e a s le s . A n d
are using. We don’t like to although some persons w ith
think about alcoholism, and as alcohol problems say they feel
a result, many o f us aren’t like they’re “ going crazy,”
aware o f some im p o rta n t alcoholism is not a symptom o f
basic mental instability.
2. Âs illnesses go, alcoholism
is fa r fro m uncommon. It is
simply that many people—
especially women— hide their
reasonably safe from having an problem to protect themselves
Antabuse alcohol reaction.
fro m the irra tio n a l social
While extremely uncom fort stigma associated w ith it. W ith
able, these effects "are seldom some 10 m illio n Americans
dangerous in the sense o f suffering fro m the illness,
causing permanent damage or a lcoholism is the nation's
death. Care should be taken
number one drug problem.
particularly by fam ily and
3. Only about five percent o f
others not to give the person
the alcoholic persons in the
on Antabuse alcohol w ithout
United States fit the “ skid row ”
his o r her knowledge o r
stereotype o f the homeless old
conversely the drug w ithout his
man on the p ark bench.
o r her knowledge. It is possible
A lc o h o lis m
a ff e c ts a l l
fo r a person to be accidentaly
economic groups and does not
injured while in an alcohol-
discriminate according to sex,
A n ta b u s e r e a c tio n , f o r
age, o r race. M ore then 70
example, in an auto accident
percent o f alcoholic persons
while driving or as a pedestrian.
hold down steady jobs, are
The responsibility fo r the
living w ith their families., and
daily does is w ith the patient;
m a in ta in ties w ith th e ir
thus they alone decide to
community.
actively support their decision
4. M any alcoholic people
to stop drinking. Im portant
start out as social drinkers. A
here is the conscious wish o f
pattern o f taking a few drinks
many alcoholics to stay stober.
“ to loosen up” on social
Antabuse is not an answer, but
occasions is followed by a
a “ chemical fence,"and its ideal
period o f increasingly heavy
use is w ith regular counseling.
drinking. Gradually, depen
Antabuse helps the patient
dence on alcohol increases u n til
arrive at a stage o f coping w ith
fin a lly, the person can no
feelings he may not have
longer function w ithout it.
identified consciouslyor could
not express. It gives him time to
Your Health
re-organize his life w ith the
help o f A .A ., therapy, church,
A lcohol is an addictive,
o r other sources o f help.
anesthetic drug which may be
It is recommended that every
affecting your health in ways
p e rs o n ta k in g A n ta b u s e
you don’t realize. When you
regularly carry an identifica
d rin k large doses over long
tio n card stating the fact and
periods o f tifne, you risk
the seriousness o f his condition
damage to your heart, muscles,
i f found ill, warning against the
.liver, and digestive system.
use of- alcohol-.
Antabuse can aid alcoholic
Since the introduction in
1948, Antabuse (disulfiram )
has been used by thousands o f
alcoholics both in Europe and
N orth America to.keep dry fo r
prolonged periods.
“ In effect, Antabuse acts as a
positive chemical curtain to
protect the alcoholic w ith a
sincere desire to remain sober
from taking the ‘firs t’ d rin k
which may be the in itia l step on
the road to s till another
‘bender’.” (D .J. Feldman).
According to D r. Ruth Fox
“ a man not on Antabuse who is
fighting the urge to d rin k may
have to choose between
drinking and not drin kin g
several hundred times a day,
while the man on Antabuse
makes the decision ju st once.
Antabuse is one o f many aids
available to help in the
rehabilitation o f the chronic
alcoholic. Properly used, it
helps maintain sobriety so that
the patient may be receptive to
psychotherapy, regain self-
confidence, re-adjust socially
and, all in all, is enabled to
adopt a life in which alcohol
can play no part.
Antabuse alone has no ill
effects, though on firs t taking
it, some m inor side effects may
be e xperienced, such as
drowiness, headache, fatigue,
gastrointestinal symptoms and
halitosis (m etallic o r garlic-like
a fte rta s te ). These w ill
disappear as the system adjusts
tp the m edication. These
unpleasant side effects and
se ve re a lc o h o l- A n ta b u s e
reactions are rare w ith the low
dosage usually now used (500
mg. firs t week then 250 mg. as
maintenance dosage)..
It is considered inadvisable
fo r a person with heart damage
o r w ith severe high blood
pressure to take Antabuse
b e c a u s e o f t h e p o s s ib le
damaging effects o f an alcohol-
Antabuse reaction. Persons
w ith severely damaged livers
are also not good subjects fo r
Antabuse therapy.
A patient who takes this drug
regularly and takes a d rin k w ill
quickly experience a flushing o f
face (even extending down over
the neck and chest), a pounding
headache, palpitations, nausea
a n d s o m e tim e s v i o le n t
vom iting. These effects are due
to th e a c c u m u la tio n o f
acetaldelhyde in the blood
from the delayed metabolism
o f the ingested alcohol.
The severity o f the reaction
and duration, which w ill occur
even several days after stopping
A n ta b u s e , is e s s e n tia lly
proportional to the am ount o f
alcohol ingested. A person
should not take Antabuse u n til
at least 24 hours has elapsed
s in c e th e la s t d r i n k .
Conversely, the person who
decides to d rin k should wait at
least ten days a fte r last
Antabuse before d rinking to be
Heavy d rin kin g over the years
may also result in serious
mental disorders o r permanent
damage to the brain. Y our
mental functions, including
m e m o ry, ju d g e m e n t, and
learning a b ility, can deteriorate
severely.
Your Family
You may fear outside help
p a r t l y b e c a u s e o f th e
hum iliation you th in k your
fa m ily w ill face— and fam ily
members may even strongly
oppose treatment fo r fear o f
“ w hat the neighbors w ill
th in k .” But consider how much
more seriously you are hurting
them by not getting help. I f you
have children, they are likely to
s u ffe r p a rtic u la rly p a in fu l
e ffe c ts fr o m a d r in k in g
problem in the fam ily.
M any women have emerged
from an alcoholic blackout to
find their children seriously
neglected— or even physically
abused. Even i f no violence
o c c u rs , a c h ild w h o is
dependent on an u n p re
d i c t a b l e , p r e o c c u p ie d ,
sometimes incoherent parent
can’t help but suffer extreme
anxiety and frustration that
may have lasting effects.
Your Baby
I f you are o f childbearing
age, you should also consider
the effects heavy d rin kin g may
have on unborn children.
U n iv e rs ity o f W a sh in g to n
researchers have studied the
babies o f e ig h t a lc o h o lic
mothers and found that all the
in fa n ts show ed p h y s ic a l
abnormalities, including small
head size, jo in t problems, heart
defects, and low b irth weight
and size.
None o f the children “ caught
u p ” when given adequate
postnatal care and nutritio n .
Other studies indicate that
m any infants o f alco h olic
mothers suffer w ith d ra w a l
symptoms at birth.
Reminder: A A and Alanon
meeting’s are On Thursday
nights at 7:00 p.m.