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Drugs and media essays
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A person consciously or unconsciously chooses to consume alcohol and other drugs according to whether that person assumes that the positive consequences of drinking or consuming will be greater than not doing so. Also, individuals use addictive substances for a variety of reasons; for example, they consume to relax, to fix in certain group, for pleasure, may experiment out of a sense of curiosity, to avoid any kind of pain (physical or psychological), and others do so because they become addictive and cannot stop. Media influence on the perception and use of alcohol even though some research doesn’t agree with it; the fact is that alcohol portrayals are relatively common on film, television, and music videos conveying a positive or neutral
From the above facts it is clear that alcohol has a major impact on the lives of
The facts are plain and simple, that alcohol and driving do not mix. About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives. Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally preventable. To curb this national travesty, concerned Americans need to examine the problems, the effects, and the solutions to drunk driving. First of all, America has had a problem with drunk driving since Ford perfected the assembly line. Alcoholism is a problem in and of itself, but combined with driving can have a wide range of effects. The consequences of this reckless behavior can include a first time DUI or licenses suspension; a small fender bender, or worst of all a deadly crash. Most drivers that have only one or two drinks feel fine, and assume they are in control, which is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the body's ability to react and impairs judgment. To drive well, you need to be able to have a quick reaction time to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, people continue to drink and drive. However,...
Alcohol plays a major role in society today. It is constantly being in our minds through advertisements, whether its commercials or
The term addiction can be interpreted in many ways, concering both illegal and legal substances. Not only can one become addicted to a substance, but also activities like gambling, shoplifting, and sex. Prior to considering addiction, one must first understand what constitutes a substance. Levinthal (2002) describes a drug as a chemical substance that changes the functioning of the body when ingested (4). Although illegal drugs may come to mind when hearing this definition, alcohol and tobacco fit under this criteria as well. For the purpose of this essay, controlled and regulated (licit/legal) substances will be focused upon. Alcohol is a regulated substance that can be thought of as a social drug (Levinthal, 2002, p.192) and arguably tobacco
The multi-causal model of drug abuse takes into account social and individual causes of addiction, both distant and immediate, that lead to a disposition to using drugs, drug use and the social and individual consequences. Why a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol is different for everyone. Some are genetically predisposed, some learn it from their environment (i.e. family or friends), and still others use it to avoid a trauma they have experienced. The case history describes a client that had both social and individual causes for her alcohol use and subsequent dependence.
Today, on the other hand, Americans perceive addiction as an illness - an infection that can be dealt with. Alcohol abuse and drug reliance can influence all parts of a person’s life. The long term effects of alcohol and drug usage, both licit and illegal, can cause serious health complications affecting every organ in the body, including the brain. It can also damage emotional and mental stability, finances, careers, and impact family, friends and the entire community in which an alcoholic or drug abuser lives. This type of dysfunctional cycle is passed down from prior generations and the cycle is never
It is unfortunate that many people within our society and worldwide suffers from the affects of alcohol addiction. There are many issues associated with this addiction and many times it’s not only the victim that deals with the addiction but also the people in close association with the individual. Alcohol addiction can afflict anyone and knows no limits of its damage that it can do to a person’s life or the people in their lives. Most importantly are the ones whom seek help for their addiction as it becomes a lifelong healing period for them. It has become clear that constant consumption of alcohol leads to addiction. It has also become clearer with the laws and policies that have been drawn up to combat drunk drivers that it is not a normal thing to do anymore as was thought to be normal in the late 60’s and early 70’s. This is not normal behaviour and it becomes clearer as the laws for drinking and driving is enforced by law enforcement officers. It is a duty for addiction workers to help in the aid of these problems and its laws and policies that help in putting a stop to some of the problems that arise from this addiction.
Alcoholism is a disease in which the drinking of alcohol becomes uncontrollable. Compulsion and craving of alcohol rules the life of the alcoholic. Many of us drink alcohol to socialize which is not alcoholism. An alcoholic is a frequent habitual user. Alcohol, a central nervous system depressant, dulls the senses especially vision and hearing. Signs of alcoholism are tremors, delirium, inability to concentrate and many others. “According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, more than 13 million Americans abuse alcohol”(Mayo Clinic Health Information 1). There are many causes leading an individual to alcoholism. Alcohol damaging effects are physically, psychologically, and socially devastating.
Drug portrayal in the media is increasing at an alarming rate, we can see drugs in a variety of different media outlets from original series on Netflix like “Orange is the new black” that is continuing to grow in popularity to movies and commercials for prescription drugs on television. Drug portrayal in the media is most influential to growing adolescents and can increase the use of illicit or licit substances that can be harmful and have potentially deadly affects to children at a young age. Often, the portrayal of drug use in the media today undermines our programs in schools that promote the awareness of the use of these substances and stresses to young children the idea to “just say no” to drugs and alcohols. Young adolescents are at more risk to engage in drug use, alcohol, or tobacco use at increasing rates due to the portrayal of these substance that they examine in the media. According to the research, the effects of all of this advertising are increasingly clear. A sample of 9- to 10- year-olds could identify the Budweiser frogs nearly as frequently as they could Bugs Bunny (Strasburger, V. C. 2010). It is clear that adolescents are engaging in riskier and unhealthy behaviors due to the use and portrayal of substance use in the media.
I walked into the house where the "party of the century" was going to be held. I was psyched to be going. At the time I was a little naive freshman invited to my first official high school party at a senior’s house. I was at the party no more than 30 minutes when this boy offered me a drink. Thinking nothing of it, I agreed. He brought back a half-filled cup.
“For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.
Alcohol is something that people use to help with multiply different things and some studies have shown that alcohol may help protect our bodies from cardiovascular disease. Alcohol does have side effects to our health the surroundings around us and can cause violence, vehicle crashes and even suicide. Alcohol does have an effect on people that many social drinkers may not realize. Many people usually have tried alcohol around 13 years of age and high school students consume more wine coolers that are sold in the U.S. and they drink more than 1 billion beers a year. To understand the effects of alcohol, it begins with the brain. It is a curiosity as to why people feel the need to drink and drive. The way the brain works while influenced with alcohol has always fascinated me. Drinking and driving is one of the biggest decisions that alcohol leads to. The National Public Services Research Institute (NHTSA) did a study on 600 people who admitted driving while under the influence of alcohol. They described in detail the decisions they made leading up to the occurrence of driving while impaired like whether to take part in a drinking event, how to get to the event, how much to drink, and how to get home. The people being interviewed revealed more than 2,000 individual decisions that led to alcohol impaired driving. The decisions were then broken down into several categories as shown on the graph attached. Little is known as to what leads people to continue to drinking and driving. But as research shows, people do think, prior to drinking, how they will get home. It’s after they have already had been drinking that they decide to get behind the wheel.
Alcohol abuse is the most common problem, nowadays. In fact, majority of people drink alcohol repeatedly to the point where they have difficulty to stop. Statistics show that, as much as, “40% of college students report drinking five or more drinks in one episode” (Walters & Baer, 2006). Alcohol has become more popular over the years as advertisements, simultaneously with commercials of it, filled the media. It also is easily accessible and cheap in comparison to other psychoactive substances. On the other hand, alcohol safety awareness programs are barely noticeable. My research will present how alcohol and its abuse gets into people’s lives and how it influences their physical and mental health, as well as, social existence.
Alcohol is considered a drug for multiple reasons. People, when under the influence, can get either very angry, or are all-around happy people. However, it usually unfolds in the event that when they become happy drunks, they become very grumpy and mean people when they are sober, usually looking for getting more alcohol. Alcohol also ruins people?s bodies, especially their liver. It can impact their body so much that it sometimes brings them to death. People also make very un-educated decisions when they are drinking, and sometimes even when they are sober. When people are under the influence of alcohol, they make bad decisions like driving, even though they can?t see straight, becoming loud, and sometimes even too rowdy. However, ev...
Decisions always have a consequence no matter who the person is that made the decision, decisions affect people’s lives. These decisions normally affect their lives in a negative way, and can cause more harm than good. For example, drinking alcohol has many negative effects on people, whether it be in their lives or their neighbor’s life. Alcohol has many negative effects on people like their health, family life, and safety of others.