During his life, Swedish psychiatrist and addiction specialist Nils Bejerot riled many individuals in the research community with his unique views on the origins and risk factors for addiction.

While most research stated (and continues to state) that addiction is the result of a combination of personal issues and socio-economic conditions, Bejerot contended that there were five external factors that represented the most significant risk factors to drug addiction and alcoholism.

Bejerot’s Five Risk Factors:

• Availability of the substance
• The money to acquire the substance
• The time needed to use the substance
• Models of the substance being used in the immediate environment
• A “permissive ideology” regarding using the substance

What was so revolutionary (and controversial) about this theory was that Bejerot believed that entire communities could be impacted by these factors, thus creating epidemics of addiction within a given society.

Bejerot believed that it is up to a society to punish drug addiction, not through the legal system but through social means.  This, he believed, was the only way to reduce the spread of addiction.

Individuals who are suffering from drug addiction or alcohol addiction, no matter what the circumstances or root causes, need to seek help from an addiction treatment facility immediately.  Through detox, counseling and aftercare, these facilities can help the individual develop the required skills to conquer addiction.

For decades, individuals who have tried to overcome alcohol addiction have aided their cause by smoking.  Cigarette smoking represented an alternative behavior to fill the void left when that person stopped smoking.  While the dangers of smoking are well documented, it was always seen as “the lesser of two evils” when compared to alcohol abuse.

But a recent study by the American Society of Addiction Medicine has found that individuals who stopped smoking during their alcohol rehab were more likely to recover vital brain functions than those who continued to smoke during this same period.

Michael Miller, president of the ASAM is seeing some encouraging news in the way rehab facilities are handling the situation.  “I would say that over half of chemical dependency treatment agencies now talk about nicotine, encourage patients to stop smoking and provide them assistance to stop, such as with nicotine-replacement therapy or prescriptions for Zyban or Champix,” the well-respected addiction professional says. “So that’s a tremendous advance.”

If you have drinking problem, or love someone who does, contact an alcohol rehab facility immediately and get life-saving treatment from addiction specialists who know how to save lives.

Already serving time in prison for driving while under the influence of heroin, Garret Reid, the son of Philadelphia Eagles’ coach Andy Reid, was recently sentenced to two years probation recently for trying to smuggle drugs in the Montgomery County jail where he was incarcerated.

The verdict is yet another dark moment for the Reid clan.  Last year, Garret’s younger brother Britt Reid served a prison sentence for a road rage/DUI incident in which he pointed a gun at another individual involved in the dispute.  Britt Reid is currently enrolled in a drug rehab program.

While many feel for Reid Sr. and everything his family has been through, the coach also has his detractors, many of whom wonder how the man can continue to work an 80-plus hour a week job while his sons were busy destroying their lives.  And although family matters such as this are really nobody’s concern but the family, it does raise some questions about where Reid’s priorities truly lie.

When a young person is involved with drugs or alcohol, it affects the entire family.  That’s why alcohol and drug rehab facilities often include family counseling as part of their treatment program.  These counseling sessions work to rebuild trust among family members and rebuild the relationships that drugs and alcohol helped to diminish.