Narconon Arrowhead Announces New Year's Resolution Initiative

Canadian, OK (PRWEB) December 28, 2007 -- Narconon Arrowhead, one of the leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, is using this time of year to help younger adults make better choices by reducing risky sexual behavior brought on from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol dependence in the young is associated with higher numbers of sexual partners, says a study published by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. According to one of the authors, the more sex partners, the higher the risk of sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies.

There have been previous studies that linked heavy drinking with high-risk sexual behavior but this is the first study to focus on the number of sexual partners. All the members of the study were unmarried adults between 18 and 25 years old. Forty-five percent of those who met the criteria for alcohol dependence had 10 or more sexual partners. But only 32 percent of problem drinkers and 22 percent of non-alcohol dependent subjects had ten or more sexual partners.

In the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking published in 2007, the Acting Surgeon General pointed out that the more 18 to 20 year olds are alcohol dependent than any other age group, followed closely by those 21 to 24 years of age. And while those between 12 and 20 years of age drink less frequently than those who are older, they have more drinks on each occasion.

The picture that is painted is that of our young adults running a very high and very real risk of drastically changing the course of their lives through alcohol abuse or dependence. Sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, unwanted pregnancy or assault are all common consequences of the kind of high-risk sexual activity that occurs when a person abuses alcohol.

Nationally, an estimated 5,472,000 young adults between 18 and 25 years old needed treatment for alcohol abuse in 2005 but were not able to find it. Another 1,393,000 Americans under 18 needed but did not get treatment. This compares with the three-quarters of a million Americans of any age that were able to find treatment during 2005.

"These figures indicate a crisis among our young people," stated Ryan Thorpe, Director of Admissions at Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country's leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. "Without effective treatment, many of these young people are going to strain the medical and social welfare systems with unplanned children or serious illnesses. Treatment that works to end alcohol dependence and increase self-confidence and intelligent decisions is the humane solution."

Narconon Arrowhead has also launched an initiative for people to use their 2008 New Year's Resolutions as a reminder to be responsilble in their consumption of alcohol and to remember that alcohol use can lower a person's inhibitions, leading them to choices that would not make under normal circumstances. Through this initiative, Narconon plans on getting this message into the hands of millions of Americans before the New Year.

To save someone from alcohol or any kind of substance abuse, call Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or go to www.stopaddiction.com. The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program was founded in 1966 by William Benitez in Arizona State Prison, and is based on the humanitarian works of L. Ron Hubbard. In more than 120 centers around the world, Narconon programs restore drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to a clean and sober lifestyle.

###