Growing up everyone changes. Each individual starts to learn more about who they are. As we get older we begin growing our own personality, voice, and style. Sadly, some begin forming habits, which may not be necessarily morally acceptable to others. These morally unacceptable habits are typically: drinking or smoking. These habits are proven to affect lives in terrible ways for many years to come. I am proud to say, I am currently nineteen years old, almost twenty, and I have not yet taken drugs or consumed alcohol. The largest reason I have not done so is not only because I believe it is morally unacceptable, but it is simply – my family. You may ask yourself, how has she never consumed alcohol or at least smoked once in her life? How did …show more content…
We sent him many topnotch places, where many well-known individuals gave testimonials, and took him to talk to many legendary people, but these special places and people could never fix his problem. It always seemed to be a repetition of the same things. Most would use card stacking and the rehab centers propaganda told us, “He needs more help than we can give him.” Some places or people he went to would say this phrase by using common, plain folk, but most would say it with exigent. They believed he was using and drinking so much they thought he would never be able to live to see his 30s. Hearing this news and learning nobody is helping us, we took it upon ourselves to motivate him to quit. We decided to make a PowerPoint that would use logical appeal to help him grasp the number of people who were at the stage he is and were able to quit, but he would just use red-herring to drive us away. At our last resort, my parents and I thought if we used emotional appeal and spoke to him from our hearts he would listen and change. We were right! He finally admitted that his decision to quit because to us that our heart to heart talk, common dissonance resulted in him lying awake at night as he thought about making a change. He broke down that night, and promised us he would quit. Even though some of our persuasion methods failed, we knew one was going to work one
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
Cigarettes have become a national icon, as big as the likes of cooperating giants such as Coca-Cola, as people are familiar with the idea of smoking from such a young age, becoming so addicted and subservient to seeing the act as normalcy in modern day America. Therefore certain solutions are needed to, at the very least, help make this icon less harmful to this country’s health. Both online articles, “Are Herbal and ‘Natural’ Cigarettes Safer?” by Ennis Thompson Jr.’s and “Marlboro Introduces Vitamin-Infused Cigarettes” by The Daily Currant argue that the so called “healthy” or “natural” cigarettes actually have a few health benefits and are only just a way to slow down the dangers of smoking. The Daily Currant makes a valid argument through
Imagine America today where alcohol is banned. People would think that this would help control order in America but banning alcohol would not be the best idea. Alcohol were those kinds of beverages that was used for centuries but is widely accepted by most people today. Most people would even want to try drinking alcohol in their lifetime. However, alcohol is one of the main social issues in America, being the cause of accidents, health deterioration, and crimes. There are people who are in favor of liquor, but there are others who are against the idea of alcohol. This brings us to the roaring twenties where the eighteenth amendment was in effect. The eighteenth amendment of the constitution, also known as “The Noble Experiment”, was an establishment of prohibiting the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States. The purpose of this amendment was to reduce the crimes and violence that involved the consumption of alcohol. The purpose was to also improve health and to prevent people from poverty. Thus began the Prohibition era. The amendment was a law that backfired in gaining control within America. Once the prohibition era started, it changed everything. There was organized crimes and corruption in the United States, the economy went bad, saloons were closed, leaving most owners in poverty, and violence had increased since mobsters smuggled and fought each other for the marketing of alcohol. The twenty first amendment which repealed the eighteenth amendment, thus making alcohol legal again. The prohibition era failed to control alcohol consumption because of the increase in organized crimes and that the government spent billions of dollars trying to prevent drinking in the United States .
A staggering 80% of college students consume alcohol and around half of those students are frequent binge drinkers (“College Drinking”). The excessive consumption of alcohol has became a widespread issue at universities nationwide, causing many people to wonder where the problem got its roots. However, the problem of underage drinking is not exclusive to college campuses. By the time a student graduates high school, there is a 65% chance that they will have consumed at least one alcoholic beverage. Some researchers could claim that this epidemic is due to the historical time period of Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s. The eighteenth amendment, ratified in January 1919, outlawed the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” and caused drastic changes in American society (qtd. in Anderson). The ratification of the eighteenth amendment not only affected citizens
Today, teenagers grow up in a world that glamorizes underage drinking. We see it in television advertisements, movies, magazines, snapchat stories, you name it, and we have probably seen it. In the United States the minimum limit drinking age (MLDA) is 21, but in many other countries such as Canada and almost everywhere in Europe, their MLDA is 18 or 19. Many criticize the United States, having one of the highest MLDAs, due to the fact that teenagers haven’t had the opportunity to learn how to drink safely and responsibly. In America most students reach college from the age of 17 to 19 and are drawn into the world of parties, which almost always includes alcohol. The only prior knowledge students have on the subject is what they have gathered from watching their parents, or more likely what they have seen on television or
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Experiencing the death of a loved one is never easy, especially when the cause is something self-inflicted, such as cigarettes. Imagine if that loved one was your parent or even worse, your own child. Now, imagine watching the demise and physical incapacities that transpire while you see them deteriorate right in front of you. Feel the anger that would coarse through your veins if you were to see an add that glamorized such deadly instruments, particularly once you realize that the areas being marketed are lower class. Cigarettes are legal killers that cripple many individuals and families alike. They are a highly addictive substance that benefit no one. I am against cigarettes in every capacity as I have dealt with the effects of it on a personal level. Cigarettes leave a distaste in the mouth literally and figuratively. I am also a firm believer that
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
There are a number of reasons why teenagers feel the urge to drink. Social environment, peer influence, stresses, and even factors such as media influence contribute to underage drinking. Peer pressure is as well known use among teens. Americans have a burning desire to be accepted and liked by their peers. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging. Many adolescents feel that they need to drink alcohol to gain this acceptance by the others around them. Stress is also another reason why teens may feel apt to drink alcohol. Stress causes teenagers to look for a quick escape from the problems, which they face, in their day-to-day lives. This quick escape can be found in the shape of a bottle. In the eyes of an underage drinker, alcohol is the cure to all problems, a way to forget all of stress and pressures that are facing them. They feel that it will numb their pain and continuing to use alcohol will result in maybe another problem, substance abuse.
Alcohol has been in the world for many centuries and has become a pain but also somewhat of a solution to society. It can be viewed as something to be a social gathering that brings friends together or it can be taking as destruction to someone. Over the years alcohol has played many roles in the world but it plays an even bigger role in substance abuse. Doctors have made several points that it is okay to have a drink every now and again but people need to realize when one drink has become too many. The ideal of having a drink with friends or going out and having an occasional drink is acceptable; However, is it still acceptable when a person find their selves having a drink first thing in the morning or runs to a drink to solve their people.
As the current legal drinking age remains to be 21, adolescents today are increasingly drinking large amounts of alcohol behind the backs of others. Along with this being illegal, alcohol-related dangers within our youth like dependency, disease, and irresponsible behaviors are problems that many are finding ways to prevent by increasing awareness; some people have even suggested that raising the drinking age would be the ultimate solution. However, is the constant routine of warning adolescents and preventing them from drinking really working? Based on the vast number of anti-alcohol programs in schools and existing laws forbidding the use of underaged drinking, today, there are still increasing reports. Instead of repeatedly preventing our
Smoking is a nasty habit. Cigarette smoke is toxic and harmful to breathe. People gag and choke just by getting a whiff of cigarette smoke of a passing smoker. Others can have life-threatening reactions. People have the right to clean air and to enjoy life without the stink of smoke. A smoking ban will solve this problem.
One of the biggest problems that people are faced with on a day-to-day basis is cigarette smoke. The sole cause for 480,000 deaths each year just in the United States is accredit to cigarettes(CDC). For a lot of the smokers the habit of smoking happens to assist them when under stress and dealing with issues that are unmanageable. Some smoke to appeal to their peers or simply because it “feels good.” Smoking one cigarette can lead to a major addiction. The effects of smoking hurt oneself and those amongst us. Smoking Kills as the ad portrays this revolver and cigarettes as the bullets, and also lists the side effects of smoking. Cigarettes causes cancer, increases the risk of you getting a stroke, highly addictive and causes a lot of health problems. Nearly 16
Smoking cigarettes is a very deadly addiction that, unfortunately, 42.1 million adults in the United States and 6.4 million children have. The reason why so many people get addicted to cigarettes because of nicotine. Medicinenet.com says that nicotine is “Made by the tobacco plant or produced synthetically. Nicotine has powerful pharmacologic effects (including increased heart rate, heart stroke volume, and oxygen consumption by the heart muscle), as well as powerful psychodynamic effects (such as euphoria, increased alertness, and a sense of relaxation). Nicotine is also powerfully addictive.”