Taiwan’s first alcohol and addiction center has helped about 1,000 people in its first year of operations, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced yesterday.
The ministry said it commissioned Mackay Memorial Hospital to establish the Taiwan Alcohol Abstinence and Addiction Prevention Center last year with an initial budget of NT$40 million (US$1.23 million).
Center director Fang Chun-kai (方俊凱) said that of the nearly 1,000 people the center has helped, 178 have been referred for further treatment.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
These issues show that quitting alcohol cannot be done through willpower alone, Fang said.
At a news conference titled “Healthy Taiwan! A Guide to Quitting Alcohol,” Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) and baseball star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) also spoke.
Chou talked about the three essentials to avoiding alcohol addiction — awareness, prevention and quitting — while sharing personal anecdotes about how the pressure of a professional sports career can lead people to depend on alcohol and drugs to rest.
Fang said that of the more than 1,000 inquiries the center has received, more than half were initiated by the person’s friends and family, 30 percent by the drinker themselves, and about 10 percent through community social workers and family centers.
Of the 178 people referred to hospitals for further treatment, about 40 percent had a history of drunk driving, 30 percent had records of alcohol-related violence and 20 percent reported suicidal thoughts, he added.
Quitting alcohol requires a method, he said, adding that it is a myth that addicts can rely on willpower.
Wanting to consume alcohol is not just about desire, and successful treatment could require therapy, behavior change, group therapy or medication, Fang said.
Alcoholism can be divided into two categories, “happy drinking” or “depressed drinking,” which require different treatment plans, Fang added.
The COVID-19 pandemic had hampered efforts to promote new anti-alcohol medication that was introduced in 2019, Fang said.
The ministry since 2015 has promoted its alcohol addiction recovery plan, which subsidizes medical institutions to establish referral channels, promotes new treatment options for addicts and provides social resources to help drinkers reintegrate into society.
Results have shown that about 90 percent of cases have seen a reduction in the frequency or quantity of alcohol consumed after treatment, the ministry said.
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