Narconon Drug-Free Lives

Drinking habits increase or decrease with the company you keep

As reported in HealthDay News, data taken from the 32-year Framingham Heart Study regarding the drinking patterns of more than 12,000 people was examined by researcher Dr. J. Neils Rosenquist and others at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  The new study showed that the alcohol consumption of individuals has a direct correlation to the people they associate with.

The recent study, appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concludes that people are 50 percent more likely to drink heavily if they have friends or relatives who are considered heavy drinkers.

The article states the researchers also found in general that being surrounded by heavy drinkers increased the reported alcohol consumption by about 70 percent, while being surrounded by abstainers decreased reported alcohol consumption by half.

Many treatment programs warn former addicts to stay away from alcohol-abusing associates, and the Narconon® drug and alcohol rehabilitation program takes this a few steps further by examining characteristics in people that may influence their sobriety, defining their own personal ethics, and applying specific steps to improve their conditions in life.

"Identifying both risk and support factors of groups and other individuals is a key component to permanent recovery," remarks Narconon International president Clark Carr, "Former addicts who associate with people who share their new-found desire for sobriety are much more likely to stay drug-free.  This is one reason why our rehabilitation program helps clients to regain control over themselves and their surrounding environment."

The release of the study coincides with Alcohol Awareness Month, when doctors, researchers, treatment and prevention professionals and other advocates focus on reducing the damage caused to individuals and to society by heavy alcohol consumption.

The U.S. Narconon network participation in this campaign has included Public Service Announcements (PSAs), educational presentations and other awareness measures with its centers across the country.  The highly effective long-term Narconon rehabilitation program uses the drug-free methodology based on research by the late American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.  The organization now has over 150 centers and groups in more than 40 countries throughout the world.

For more information about Narconon’s involvement in Alcohol Awareness Month or to get help for a loved one in need visit www.narconon.org today.