Promotion Campaign Successful Compulsive Gambling Is Not Cureless Sing Tao Daily March 31, 2001 Gambling has become a problem. According to an informal study, the percentage of Chinese who are addicted to compulsive gambling is higher than the mainstream population. In order to help families that are bothered by this problem, NICOS Chinese Health Coalition started a promotion campaign with the theme "When one person is addicted to gambling, the whole family suffers" two months ago. They have also set up a toll-free Chinese helpline (1-888-968-7888), and more than 50 people have called for help so far. As a member of NICOS and the executive director of Richmond Area Multi-Services Center, Evelyn Lee said that Americans spent almost 600 billion on gambling, much more than the amount they spent on groceries. Gambling was especially common among Chinese communities. According to a study conducted with 1800 Chinese in San Francisco four years ago, 70% of the interviewees thought that gambling was a serious problem. Evelyn Lee said that their organization did not oppose recreational gambling,instead they oppose compulsive gambling. She said that when a person was addicted to gambling not only that his/her financial and interpersonal conditions would be affected, but his/her family would also be greatly harmed. According to the statistics, 1/3 of family violence was related to gambling.Comparing to the American society, where only 5% to 10% of people are addicted to gambling, the rate of compulsive gambling among Chinese was as high as 14% to 20%. How to determine whether a person is addicted to gambling? Clinical Psychologist at Richmond Area Multi-Services Center, Dr. Eddie Chiu, said that there werecertain symptoms that we would observe. First, is lost of control. Peoplewho were addicted to gambling found it difficult to control themselves. Regardless of winning or losing, they would bet more and more,and the only thing they would think of all day would be gambling.Next, is dependence. Dr. Chiu said that addictive gamblers tend to use gambling as a way to escape problems or relieve depression. Sometimes, they would even neglect their families or work because of gambling. If this behavior continues, it would eventually lead to serious destruction to their financial situation, daily lives, families and interpersonal relationships. Although addictive gambling is devastating, said Dr. Chiu, it can be cured with proper counseling. That's the reason why they started this promotion campaign in the community and set up the Chinese helpline.Ever since the "When One Person is addicted to gambling, the whole family suffers" ad was put up in various Chinese media starting Chinese New Year, responses from the community have been promising. Over 50 people have called for help in just 2 months. Sister Paulette Yeung from St. Mary Chinese Center's Gamblers Family Support Program said that the participants of the support groups were mainly gamblers or their family members. Through sharing their experiences and receiving counseling, half of them were able to solve their problems successfully. Cameron House social worker Tina Shum talked about the effects of gambling on families. She pointed out that addictive gambling not only caused financial problems in family, destroyed relationship between spouses, and scared the children. A person might actually engage in illegal acts like embezzling or robbing, in order to pay off the huge debt from gambling.When Evelyn Lee analyzed the reason why problem gambling among Chinese community was more serious than other communities, she said that Chinese were more receptive to gambling than to other bad habits like drug abuse or drinking. Chinese saw gambling as a kind of recreation, plus the promotion from HK movies and casinos, gambling was not really a bad habit to them. Besides, as immigrants from another country, Dr. Chiu added, Chinese did not have a lot of entertainment in the U.S. Being a place that provided excitement without the requirement of fluent language ability, casinos had become a place where Chinese often visited. Evelyn said that some gamblers who were in lower socioeconomic status even thought that the only time they felt that they were equal to others and that they were getting attention was the time when they placed their bet on the gambling table. However, this might be too big of a sacrifice.