The harm of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs to individuals is a common topic of discussion. However, their abuse is increasing as people continue not to consider them with the necessary seriousness. The influence of external factors – television or the environment – has a powerful impact on the image of substances. Drugs are less, but smoking and drinking appear as regular habits that bring calm and promote active social interaction. As a result, addiction spreads – a mental disorder that contributes to the repeated abuse of harmful substances. About 21 million American citizens suffer from at least one type of addiction, and the number of deaths has tripled over the past 30 years (Yerby, 2021). Although tobacco, alcohol, and drugs cause severe physical and mental health problems and spoil a person’s social life, the image created for them contributes to harm underestimation.
Substance abuse causes serious damage to the human body and often leads to irreversible adverse effects on physical health. For example, chemicals and substances in cigarettes harm almost every organ in the body, especially the respiratory tract, often causing cancer (Chia, 2020). Alcohol abuse can be unpleasant not only in the long but also in the short term. Its excessive amount disrupts coordination, causes nausea and vomiting, and inhibits thinking (Chia, 2020). Prolonged use harms the stomach, liver, and brain, making the body weak and accelerating aging. Drugs also affect all body organs and sometimes lead to disability or death (American Addiction Center, 2021). Thus, pain, illness, and weakness become companions of the person who uses tobacco, alcohol, or drugs.
Despite painful sensations and other unpleasant manifestations, some people continue to use the discussed substances, and addiction arises. This mental illness causes the body to constantly demand a new dose, despite any consequences (Tyler, 2018). It manifests itself when a dependent person cannot give up cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs and is constantly looking for opportunities to get them. Changes in behavior, constant stress, and depression appear, and the absence of a new dose causes discomfort and sometimes physical pain. Thus, people, who continue to choose abuse, give control over their condition to nicotine, alcohol, and drugs.
Physical consequences and changes in behavior due to abuse do not pass without an impact on the person’s social life. The effect of tobacco in this aspect is not so profound besides causing inconvenience to others and requiring much money to purchase it. Disorders that alcohol and drugs cause, in turn, can lead to more severe consequences. Their immediate impact disrupts human coordination and thinking and leads to crimes – attacks, car accidents, or conflicts – fights or disputes with others. The occurrence of addiction spoils relations with loved ones, as it makes a person deceive in search of a new dose, force to cause pain. Thus, for the sake of a few minutes of imaginary satisfaction from substances, people bring suffering to themselves, relatives, friends, and other people nearby.
Tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are substances that cause significant harm to the human body. However, despite the negative consequences they bring, television and other people often present them as attractive habits. As a result, their abuse is increasing, bringing suffering to hundreds of people. The stories of the show and those who incite smoking, drinking, and drugs are silent about terrible consequences for human health and life. All these substances damage the human body, causing weakness and soreness, and in severe cases with drugs – death or disability. Substances can also cause addiction, change behavior and seize control over a person’s psyche. All these changes lead to a deterioration in the quality of life and, in some cases, even to crimes. For these reasons, it is crucial for people, especially impressionable adolescents, to learn to act following their desires and values without succumbing to adverse external influences.
References
American Addiction Center. (2021). The permanent effects of drugs on the body. Web.
Chia, S. (2020). How smoking and drinking affect the body. Mount Elizabeth Hospitals. Web.
Tyler, M. (2018). What is addiction? Healthline. Web.
Yerby, N. (2021). Statistics on addiction in America. Addiction Center. Web.