Problem Gambling Awareness Week: Shining the Light on Problem Gambling's Impact on Crime

Problem Gambling Awareness Week: Shining the Light on Problem Gambling's Impact on Crime

Governor Charlie Crist has proclaimed the week of March 1st through 7th as Problem Gambling Awareness Week in the State of Florida, to coincide with the nationally declared awareness week. The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) is joining forces with the Governor, numerous mayors and organizations across the state, to raise public awareness about the effects of pathological (commonly referred to as compulsive) gambling, and spread the message of hope that gambling addiction is treatable for those who seek help. The theme for this year's PGAW is Shining the Light on Problem Gambling with a focus on the impact compulsive gambling has on crime.

(PRWEB) February 25, 2009 -- Today, the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (www.gamblinghelp.org) (FCCG) announced that Governor Charlie Crist has proclaimed the week of March 1st through 7th as Problem Gambling Awareness Week in the State of Florida, to coincide with the nationally declared awareness week. The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) is joining forces with the Governor, numerous mayors and organizations across the state, to raise public awareness about the effects of pathological (commonly referred to as compulsive) gambling, and spread the message of hope that gambling addiction is treatable for those who seek help. The theme for this year's PGAW is Shining the Light on Problem Gambling with a focus on the impact compulsive gambling has on crime.

According to statistics from the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling 24 Hour HelpLine from January 2008 through January 2009:

•    Almost one in every three callers (30%) admit to committing illegal acts to finance their gambling, committing crimes that are linked to money.

•    Almost two out of three callers (62%) reported committing fraud, writing bad checks or forgery

•     One out of five callers (21%) stated they had embezzled money for employers

•    One out of five callers (21%)claimed to have committed larceny or theft against friends, family members or strangers

•    One out of 14 callers (7%) stated they had been involved with other illegal activities such as selling drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling (booking) and others

Further legal actions had been enacted against the gambler for their activities in 20% of the contacts

•    One out of ten (11%) had been arrested and given probation

•    Almost one out of every four callers (24%) had been arrested and sent to jail/prison and received probation

•    One out of three callers (64%) had civil actions brought against them such as lawsuits for failure to repay debts (credit cards, loans, and child support), divorce, foreclosure of residence and others

According to Pat Fowler, Executive Director for the Council, "There are more than one million Florida residents who struggle with difficulties due to gambling. As the number of people addicted to gambling increases, a new population of those committing crimes is created. Many of these individuals have no prior history of violating the law, and appear to have done so only as a result of their gambling addiction. Just review some of the recent media reports."

DCF SUPERVISOR gets 17 years in prison for embezzling 1.54 million dollars. The money was used by the DCF supervisor and her 2 friends to gamble, each of whom were sentenced to 10 years in prison. The DCF supervisor took advantage of knowledge of the DCF system to fraudulently gain access to funds that were set aside for social services and underprivileged people. Sun-Sentinel, 2008

LUXURY AUTO DEALER embezzles $500,000 to fuel gambling habit (online and sports betting). He would funnel petty cash funds ($20,000 at a time) in his accounts. St Petersburg Times, 2007

CLEARWATER ACCOUNTANT steals 1.6 million dollars to fund addiction (horse betting). He was an accountant for a law firm and transferred firm funds to his personal accounts. Tampa Bay 10, 2009

DELRAY BEACH PRIESTS embezzle over 8 million dollars to fund gambling trips and lavish lifestyles. Palm Beach Post, 2009

WEIGHT WATCHERS is suing a casino where ex-bookkeeper lost large amounts of money she embezzled. The branch she worked for was the main location for Southern Alabama and Northern Florida. The worker embezzled almost 1 million to fund her gambling addiction. Clarion Ledger, 2009

FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPER loses his job after admitting that he took money from people, he believed to be illegally in this country, during traffic stops. He admitted that he used the money because of a drinking and gambling problem. Orlando Sentinel, 2009

These are just a few of the stories that recently made headlines involving embezzlement and white collar crime.

Problem Gambling Awareness Week provides the Council with an opportunity to partner with the state and local organizations to raise the awareness and shine the light on problem gambling. We hope numerous others will join the FCCG in this initiative to raise awareness of the issue, so that those in need can find help. For more information, call 888-ADMIT-IT, or visit us online at www.gamblinghelp.org.

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Contact Information Pat Fowler

The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling

http://www.gamblinghelp.org

407-865-6200

Clinical Guidelines for Treating Chronic Pain Highlight Opioid Addiction Risk Assessment

Clinical Guidelines for Treating Chronic Pain Highlight Opioid Addiction Risk Assessment

Expert panel finds that SOAPP® is likely to be helpful for risk assessment and stratification

Newton, MA (PRWEB) February 25, 2009 -- Inflexxion, Inc., a company that creates scientifically validated and cost-effective solutions for critical areas of health care, is pleased to announce that its Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (SOAPP) has been identified by an expert panel as likely to be helpful for assessing the risk of opioid addiction in patients with chronic non-cancer pain.

SOAPP is a brief paper-and-pencil self report tool that allows clinicians to assess a patient's risk of addiction before initiating opioid therapy.

The multi-disciplinary panel of experts, convened by the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine, conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence to develop a set of authoritative clinical guidelines on the use of opioid medications to treat chronic non-cancer pain. The guidelines, published in the February 2009 issue of The Journal of Pain (Volume 10, Number 2), recommend that clinicians routinely conduct a complete benefit-to-harm evaluation before starting opioid therapy, and do periodic follow-up screenings of patients who may be at risk for abuse or addiction.

"Proper patient selection is critical and requires a comprehensive benefit-to-harm evaluation that weighs the potential positive effects of opioids on pain and function against potential risks," write the authors. "Thorough risk assessment and stratification is appropriate in every case."

According to the authors, screening tools that assess the potential risks associated with continuous opioid therapy (COT) based on patient characteristics are likely to be helpful for risk stratification. The authors identify SOAPP Version 1 and the revised version, SOAPP-R, as among the tools that appear to have "good content, face, and construct validity."

In addition to SOAPP, the guidelines highlight the utility of Inflexxion's Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM)®, a complementary tool for identifying whether a patient, throughout the course of long-term opioid therapy, may be exhibiting aberrant behaviors associated with abuse of opioid medications.

"We at Inflexxion are very pleased to see both SOAPP and COMM included in these recommendations," says Kevin L. Zacharoff, M.D., Director of Medical Affairs at Inflexxion. "These guidelines underscore the importance of risk assessment and reassessment in this patient population. The inclusion of the SOAPP and COMM in these recommendations helps to validate Inflexxion's mission, which is to help to reduce health-related risks, enhance clinical outcomes, and positively influence quality of care."

The SOAPP and COMM tools are available for download at no cost through Inflexxion's PainEDU website (www.PainEDU.org), along with a clinician tutorial that includes video case examples.

SOAPP was developed by Inflexxion with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and an unrestricted educational grant from Endo Pharmaceuticals.

About Inflexxion, Inc.

Founded in 1989, Inflexxion creates innovative behavioral health solutions for prevention, education, and disease management. Our clinically tested programs address substance abuse and addiction, chronic pain management, college health, and other health and wellness issues. Our pharmaceutical risk management division provides Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) assistance to companies that research, manufacture, and market opioid pain medications and other therapeutic agents with potential abuse problems. Key offerings include NAVIPPRO(TM), PainEDU.org, painACTION.com, and SOAPP®. Inflexxion is based in Newton, MA.

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Contact Information Lara Romanowski

Inflexxion

http://www.painedu.org

617-614-0406

How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely

How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely

Taper off antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and ADHD Medication without withdrawal side. The new fourth edition book "How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely" by James Harper, researcher and founder of The Road Back Program, details a proven successful method for tapering off these medications with separate chapters covering each of several classes of drugs.

(PRWEB) February 25, 2009 -- Millions suffering the myriad side effects caused by antidepressants, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics and ADHD medications - from extreme weight gain to a dulled life - want to stop taking the drugs, their doctors would like to have their patients off the drugs, but cannot endure the emotional and physical pain involved with withdrawal or by what is known as discontinuance syndrome. Drug companies now state in the drug descriptions the medications must be tapered off of slowly to help avoid this debilitating withdrawal syndrome. The common withdrawal side effects include; electric brain zaps, nausea, anxiety, strange behavior, insomnia even relapsing into conditions these drugs are supposed to address.

The new fourth edition book "How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely" by James Harper, researcher and founder of The Road Back Program, details a proven successful method for tapering off these medications with separate chapters covering each of several classes of drugs, from antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-anxiety medications to ADHD drugs and benzodiazepines. Employing specific vitamins and nutritional supplements, this exact tapering method has been successfully used by more than 30,000 people and is endorsed by doctors across the US, as well as the UK and Europe.

Anyone can use the information in this book, in conjunction with their physician, to come off psychiatric drugs virtually pain-free while often regaining a zest for life and without returning to the condition the drugs were intended to handle. Doctors, who have previously too often been forced to watch patients suffer through withdrawal side effects, can now successfully walk them through this tapering process.

Before the dust could settle on the fourth edition of How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely, James has taken tapering off psychotropic drugs to a new level. February 23, 2009, James released six additional books titled, How to Get Off Cymbalta Safely, How to Get Off Effexor Safely, How to Get Off Lexapro Safely, How to Get Off Paxil Safely, How to Get Off Prozac Safely, and How to Get Off Zoloft Safely.

Each of these new books directly addresses the side effect nuances found with these specific medications. James plans to publish a new book for each psychoactive medication during 2009.

Available now on amazon.com. "How to Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely" can help anyone successfully break the choke hold of psychiatric medications; providing a road back.

James Harper can be reached for interviews and further details at:

(818) 446-2214

www.howtogetoffpsychiatricdrugssafely.com

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Contact Information James Harper

The Road Back

http://www.howtogetoffpsychiatricdrugssafely.com

818-446-2214