addiction
Addiction to legal or illegal substances causes huge problems both for society and for the addict. The spiritual implications of addictions should not be overlooked.
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Drugs & alcohol: why should we care? (triple helix - spring 2010)
Derrett Watts challenges our attitudes to substance misusers - key points - From a seminar he gave to doctors and students from across Europe-Eurasia at the 2008 ICMDA conference, the author examines substance misuse from both medical and Christian perspectives, concentrating on our atitudes to the...
doctors call for tough alcohol measures (nucleus - winter 2009)
Doctors in the UK have called for a comprehensive ban on all forms of alcohol advertising to curb rising alcohol consumption. The call was made in a report published by the British Medical Association (BMA) in addition to other proposals, including a rise in the minimum price of alcohol, an...
CMF statement on alcohol and crime (15/5/2009)
The Government has launched a new consultation on a proposed mandatory code on alcohol sales, which aims to tackle alcohol-related crime/disorder, and also reduce the massive NHS bill caused by excessive drinking. The Home Office consultation runs for 12 weeks. Its proposals include: - banning irresponsible drinks promotions (eg 'all you can drink...Read Full Release...
Christian Medical Fellowship backs Chief Medical Officer in his call for minimum price for alcohol (16/3/2009)
The UK's largest organisation of Christian doctors has today backed Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson in his call for a minimum price for alcohol. Under this proposal, no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain. The Chief Medical Officer said this morning that the measure would add around £1 a month to...Read Full Release...
A harmless flutter? - Gambling (triple helix - spring 2008)
Key Points - UK plans for megacasinos are on hold, but have highlighted problem gambling: 'persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behaviour that disrupts personal, family or vocational pursuits'. Gambling affects individuals and the whole of society. It has a differential impact on the poor...
CMF joins its voice to the growing criticism of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England (1/9/2005)
The government's education-based 'sensible drinking' strategy for countering alcohol misuse is 'not evidence based' argues Chris Cook in this summer's edition of CMF's Triple Helix magazine. Cook, a former consultant psychiatrist working in the field of alcohol misuse argues that the government approach is built on false presuppositions. 'Research...Read Full Release...
Problem drinking – the bigger picture (triple helix - summer 2005)
The government’s education-based ‘sensible drinking’ strategy for countering alcohol misuse is not evidence-based and is built on the false presuppositions that an intemperate minority contribute the bulk of alcohol related problems in the community and that people make rational and objective...
Head to Head - Should we prescribe methadone for drug addicts? (triple helix - spring 2004)
John Latham and Robin Fisher explain their contrasting positions. - 'Yes!' John Latham is a GP trainer in inner-city Dublin - Heroin addiction is a chronic disease with associated morbidity and mortality as well as forensic, public health and social consequences. Methadone has been increasingly...
Ethical Enigma 6 (nucleus - spring 2004)
Response to Enigma 6: A 35 year old man comes to see you and asks for diazepam tablets. He says he hasn’t had a drink for 24 hours and is starting to feel rough. On questioning he admits to a bottle of vodka a day. He is unemployed and lives in a flat next door to a pub. How can you start to meet...
Addiction - a view from the frontline (nucleus - autumn 2003)
John Latham looks at substance abuse - 'Freedom is a word I seldom use without meaning' sang Bob Dylan. But freedom is a word and a concept that is frequently used in Scripture to describe the effect that God has on individual believers: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord...