General Substance Abuse and Its Effects on Society
Substance abuse is one of the most prevalent issues that the current generation is forced to face. It has been around for centuries and has afflicted millions of people around the world. It is mainly a health concern but over the past decades, it has escalated into one of the worst social ills.
Drug and alcohol addiction does not only affect the individual himself but everyone around him. Ultimately, the society is largely affected by his predisposition for substance use even when he’s just one person. It is a social ill because practically every country in the world is compelled to come up with legislation, policies and other ideas geared at addressing the problem.
Most experts agree that addiction has a ripple effect. It brings discord not only into the home but to the society as well.
Effects on the family
Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol tend to neglect their children leaving them to their own devices. Because they are preoccupied with their addictions, they fail to provide the proper guidance that children need especially during their growing years. Teenagers who grow up in homes where a respected adult or parent uses alcohol or drugs have a higher tendency for developing the addiction later on mainly because the household is more lenient in terms of substance use.
The community
According to statistics, drunk driving results to an injury every minute and one death every 32 minutes. In the United States, about 40% of traffic-related casualties are linked to alcohol use. Crime rates go up because of addiction related incidents. In 1992, over 25% of violent crimes and property crimes were attributed to drug and alcohol abuse. Three to four percent of social welfare cases in the country were caused by substance abuse. Income maintenance, cash assistance, foster care and other social welfare programs had to spend a lot on households affected by substance abuse.
Substance abuse impairs the individual’s productivity. It can affect his ability to maintain a full-time job. In cases where addicts are even able to maintain employment, the people around them are placed at risk.
Economics
Substance abuse causes the government to spend a lot of money that could otherwise be spent on education or other channels. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the US, the total economic cost of substance abuse has reached to a whopping $245 billion. This was spent on treatment and prevention costs, healthcare, losses on job productivity and crime and social welfare.
Health issues
Substance abuse can lead to the prevalence of more health issues. Crimes are just one thing but the spread of certain types of illnesses is another one of the many impacts of addiction. People who are addicted are apt to behave irresponsibly. This essentially translates to undertaking dangerous sexual activities and making wrong decisions that are otherwise prevented by sobriety. Irresponsible sexual activities can lead to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS.
Substance abuse, therefore, is a problem that has to be fully addressed. Its impact on the society is so massive that legislation is constantly being updated to ensure that this social ill finds sustainable resolution.
By: Chy King
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Sep 6th, 2010. 
Some statistics show that 1% of American women have anorexia nervosa, many people don’t have idea on how dangerous this disorder is. Thousands of teenagers die each year due to anorexia and eating disorders. Society plays an important role to help solve this growing problem and make adolescents aware of the dangers.
If we want to see the anorexia nervosa impact on society, its enough to see the death statistics and emotional problems that they have to understand how severe it is. There are groups of people especially online that support anorexia nervosa as a lifestyle and they give tips and advice to them to hide their problem from their family and keep a rigorous diet.
I think we need to change the way society values people, there are testimonies of teenagers that were very happy, but when they started dieting due to an emotional problem they had caused by a critique of their weight, their life became miserable. Adolescents want to be loved and accepted in society, so when people critiques their body or physical appearance, sometimes the frustration is so big, that they do anything to be accepted be liked.
The consequence is that adolescents start dieting and exercising with obsession, to the point that they starve themselves and hurt their body. They also see all the celebrities in tv as perfect and they want to be like them, very thin.
Anorexia is an emotional problem and cannot be solved just with medications, the person needs to understand that what she is doing is wrong and is damaging her self. She needs to feel loved and accepted by her family to recover from this disorder, she needs to change her self image.
Society is causing a negative impact on teenagers, they are acquiring the wrong values from the media and take celebrities as their role model of success. Parents have to make their child aware of this problem and its consequences.
By: Ray Andrew
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Sep 5th, 2010.
Obesity is growing problem within our society and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better over the coming years.
Although the world has woken up to the dangers of obesity still the majority of Western cultures appear to be getting bigger and bigger.
The obesity problem may lie with fast food becoming an accepted part of many people’s diets, it may lie with the growth in popularity of computer / console games that mean that children spend less time playing out but in reality it’s a mixture of many things.
One thing is for sure and that is that we need to do something soon for the sake of the health of our children and for our own health.
Society makes it too easy for us to say yes to temptation, advertising of junk food on television is an accepted part of life although guidelines are being brought in to limit the amount of advertising of these products that is aimed broadly at children, for example the offer of a burger and a toy from a fast food restaurant. Around one in four children are now believed to be obese in Great Britain and the figures for America are much worse. Governments can and must do more to kerb obesity.
There are many cultures which are traditionally more approving (to varying degrees) of obesity, including some African, Arabic, Indian, and Pacific Island cultures. But we should also start to consider childhood obesity a social problem, and take action now.
Obesity is on the rise in our society because not only is food abundant but the wrong type of food is abundant as well as this for many children physical activity is optional. But herein lies a problem, the fatter our kids get the less they want to exercise, it’s a vicious circle.
More and more research into child obesity, for example, links such things as the school run, with the current high levels of this disease. Something as simple walking to school with the kids can make a big difference to the health of a child. Just walking at 3 miles per hour for twenty minutes a day can burn up to 75 calories. Not that impressive really until you add that up over a period of time; 1500 calories a month or approximately 18,000 calories a year, now that makes a big difference to anyone. Obesity is mainly caused by taking in more calories than are used up in physical activity and daily life so by simply adding in a small dose of exercise can make a really big difference.
For the sake of a twenty minute walk a day you could help stave off such obesity related diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, certain types of cancer such as prostate and colon, gallstones, gout, degenerative joint disease and sleep apnea.
A change of diet will also help, changing from a diet of processed food to a diet consisting of fresh produce such as of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, fruit and vegetables as found in simple Italian cooking [http://www.nike-trainers.com/] will help to reduce the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar in the body which all have a negative affect on health.
A few simple steps can really go a long way in improving the health of the world; it’s really up to the world whether or not they can be bothered to make the change for the better.
By: Harwood E Woodpecker
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Sep 1st, 2010.
Approximately 30-40 percent of men experience Premature Ejaculation at some point in their lives, while others are experiencing erectile dysfunction, according to the statistics prepared by researchers. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection, although ejaculation causes premature ejaculation for men too quickly during ***********. Although each state is different, men with both conditions often go through tests and similar treatments.
A correct diagnosis is important for erectile dysfunction and Premature Ejaculation. A doctor must perform a physical exam and a number of tests to rule out medical problems that may contribute to sexual dysfunction, says the Cleveland Clinic. Certain types of these tests include work to assess blood hormone levels and vascular evaluation to assess blood flow to the *****. A doctor may also perform a test to monitor ********* that occur naturally when people sleep. These tests can help doctor to determine whether psychological problems could contribute to the problem. Sensory analysis to measure the strength of nerve impulses may also help diagnose the condition properly.
Men with sexual dysfunction can often benefit from advice. In the case of Premature Ejaculation, men may have unwittingly trained themselves to ejaculate quickly. The cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people unlearn that behavior. Erectile dysfunction, on the other hand, is often due to anxiety, depression or stress in the relationship. Working individually with a therapist or participate in couples counseling can solve these problems and make obtaining and maintaining an ******** more likely.
The condition would become more severe when a male trying to make his spouse pregnant and could not succeeded due to the problem of Premature Ejaculation. In this condition both the members are sexually unsatisfied. There is always been advised that the male member or the couple should consult their family doctor or a professional of this field who can give them better treatment. Most importantly no one should feel shy in sharing this problem with their partner or their doctors. Research in this field has developed many ways to eradicate this problem. The problem of Premature Ejaculation can be completely overcome.
By: Charlene Mattson
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Aug 26th, 2010.
Obesity is rapidly becoming one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century. No disease is more common and causes more unnecessary illness or early death than obesity.
Filed under Health And Fitness by on Jul 28th, 2010.
Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by a pronounced fear of gaining weight and being fat. People confronted with this condition become obsessed with food and engage in exaggerated acts of preventing weight gain. It is very important to understand that anorexia doesn’t involve loss of appetite. Anorexics willingly refuse to eat properly, continuously pursuing their goal of having a slim body. People who suffer from anorexia keep very strict diets and often over-exercise in an attempt to become thin.
The main problem of anorexics is that they are never satisfied with their efforts and regardless of how much weight they may lose, they continue to indulge in self-restrictive food behaviors. In many cases, people affected by anorexia develop an altered perception of their bodies. They always complain about their physical appearance, referring to themselves as fat. People who suffer from anorexia often try to suppress their hunger by taking diet pills or they even try to replace food with energy drinks. Due to their very scarce diet and the poor intake of nutrients, anorexics often develop serious illnesses. Many people with anorexia eventually develop anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, or osteoporosis (deterioration of bones).
Anorexia has a very high incidence among teenagers worldwide. Statistics indicate that in the United States alone, anorexia affects more than 10 million people. Although anorexia can occur in both sexes, the disorder is very common in the female gender. Research results indicate that more than 90 percent of people diagnosed with anorexia are women. Anorexia is mostly common in teenagers and young adults, rarely affecting people at more advanced stages of life.
The actual causes of anorexia haven’t yet been clarified. The disorder seems to occur on the background of inherited genetic abnormalities, and the main triggers for anorexia are suspected to be various environmental factors Anorexia is more prevalent in well-developed societies, which suggests a pronounced environmental feature of the disorder. However, this type of eating disorder has been identified in virtually any ethnical group and culture, hence contradicting existing environmental theories.
Anorexia affects people on multiple levels and there are various signs that can point to this type of disorder. Physical signs of anorexia are: pronounced weight loss, body weakness, fatigue and anemia. Recidivating menstrual problems are clear indicators of anorexia in the female gender. From a behavioral perspective, the signs of anorexia are: strict dieting, refusal to eat in the company of others, excessive exercise, abusive use of diet pills and diuretics, refusal of social interactions. The emotional aspect of anorexia can involve depression, low self-esteem, inaccurate perception of body image and sudden changes in mood.
In time, people affected by anorexia become the victims of their own actions. Although they may not realize it, anorexics actually engage themselves in self-destructive behaviors. It is very important to pay attention to any signs that may suggest the presence of anorexia in your friends or family members. Anorexia can be treated and people can recover completely from the disorder if they receive appropriate encouragement and support.
By: Groshan Fabiola
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Jul 4th, 2010.