A new tussle started between the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the inauguration of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University in East Delhi.

Delhi education minister, Atishi had announced the inauguration of the university by the Delhi CM which prompted the Delhi LG to issue a statement saying, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself was aware of the fact that the L-G was scheduled to inaugurate the campus. In fact, they were also aware that they were supposed to be present in the function as Guest of Honour and distinguished guest, as desired by the L-G and had also consented to it.”

“Moreover, even on the day when Atishi made this claim in a press conference, i.e. 06.06.2023, earlier during the day, the VC of GGSIPU had announced on stage at the Convocation of GGSIPU, where Atishi was present as a Guest of Honour, that the East Campus of the University was scheduled to be inaugurated by the Lt. Governor on 08.06.2023,” it added.  

Reacting to this Delhi education minister, Atishi said that the L-G should not forget that education, higher education and technical education are all transferred subjects.

Even Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj reacted to this, saying that the L-G should focus on inauguration of buildings which come under Police, Land and Public order.

“The construction of this campus started when he (VK Saxena) was not the L-G. Manish Sisodia started this work and our elected government took it further. It is strange now for the L-G to say that he was asked by officials to inaugurate the university campus,” Bhardwaj said.

“At this rate, the L-G could say tomorrow that he would inaugurate Saurabh Bhardwaj’s office. That’s why L-G has kept all officers under his control and wants to keep it going. The CM is the one vested with the moral authority to inaugurate the campus. Such thoughts should not even come to the L-G’s mind,” he added.

Tensions have been rising between the Delhi L-G and Delhi CM for the past few years over various matters. Notably, in May this year a Supreme Court judgement had ruled that the Delhi government had powers over civil services in the Delhi after which the Centre had brought in an ordinance regarding civil services giving more power to the L-G, creating more friction between the two posts.

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Binge drinking hits record high among adults 35 to 50 years old in US

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US adults are binge drinking more than ever before

Shutterstock/Aleksandar Karanov

Binge drinking rates in the US reached an all-time high last year among adults between the ages of 35 and 50. This reflects a decade-long pattern of escalating alcohol use in this age group.

Megan Patrick at the University of Michigan and her colleagues collected data on substance use in US adults between April and October 2022 as part of the Monitoring the Future study. This annual report has tracked substance use in the US since 1975, and surveys approximately 28,500 adults each year. All participants join the cohort during their last year of secondary school. Therefore, the study doesn’t capture substance use in those who dropped out of school or were abroad for that academic year.

In the latest report, researchers analysed data in two age groups: young adults between 19 and 30 years old and “midlife” adults between 35 and 50 years old. They found that about 29 per cent of those in the older demographic reported binge drinking – defined in this study as having five or more drinks in a row – within the past two weeks. That is an increase of almost 4 percentage points from 2021 and an increase of more than 6 percentage points from 2012. Meanwhile, less than 31 per cent of younger adults reported binge drinking in 2022 – a decrease of almost 5 percentage points from a decade ago.

“We have seen a shift in the ages at which binge drinking is most prevalent,” says Patrick. “It used to be that the highest levels of binge drinking were more concentrated among those in their early to mid-20s. Prevalence is now much more similar for young adults and midlife adults.”

This could partially be due to younger adults increasing their use of drugs other than alcohol, such as cannabis and nicotine. “The younger age group may be doing similar kinds of behaviours, but they’re just using different substances,” says Denise Hien at Rutgers University in New Jersey. For instance, marijuana use among 19 to 30-year-olds reached a record high last year with more than 43 per cent reporting marijuana use in the past 12 months..

But the drop in younger adults using alcohol could also be a move away from substances in general. There has also been a growing interest in sober living among younger generations, says Joshua Gowin at the University of Colorado Denver.

The reasons for binge drinking increasing in midlife adults are less clear. One possible explanation may be that people are using alcohol to cope with stress. “We know that the pandemic was a stressor for many people, and that, in general, use of all substances increased for certain populations,” says Hien. Today, people may also be dealing with upheaval in the workplace, job loss or even worries over climate change, she says.

Celebratory events are also linked to binge drinking. “People are getting back out there and living life again,” says Gowin. “They are going to weddings, having bachelor parties. Something like that could certainly be associated with increases in binge drinking.”

Regardless of the cause, an uptick in binge drinking is concerning given its association with health conditions like heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Prevention and intervention efforts for young adult alcohol use are still important, but we also need to think more about the needs of adults in midlife,” says Patrick.

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