I chose substance abuse because I feel that it is one of the nation's largest overlooked problems. Yes, people are aware of the problem, but have they gotten any closer to solving it? I do feel that illegal drugs are a growing problem, but I am focusing mainly on alcohol and tobacco because they are what mainly effect my life. Obviously, eliminated alcohol and tobacco is definitely out of the question, but it would be nice to increase awareness on the serious issue of substance abuse. That is why I think that it is valuable to learn, acknowledge, and use the term- moderation. Obviously, the activists and congressmen know people will always use these substances, available or not, but they a

There is possible legislation for lowering the blood alcohol content limit form .10 to .08. The founder of MADD, Candace Lightner, disagrees. She says, "Half the drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes have a BAC of .17 or greater. Even among young people aged 16 to 24, the great majority of deaths involve drinkers with a BAC of at least .15." She, and many others, agrees that there needs to be stricter enforcement of the laws already in place. The laws that we have are about all that we can do, and the punishment needs to be more severe because the things done are wrong and need to be put across that way.

There is also a call for new awareness on the fight because people are realizing that they need to put their goals into perspective. Activist groups want awareness increased on the dangers of substance abuse.

Now that scientists have discovered that some people have a predisposition to having a substance abuse problem it is easier to detect these problems and get them treatment. Families are also seeing a trend if the parents have a smoking or drinking problem because it often is seen in their children.

The overuse of these two stimulants can cause many major heath problems. Problems caused by alcohol include liver disease, and then, basically, anything imaginable. Alcohol can lead to any health problem, including death, because it causes you to do things that you would normally not do. Many people do not even realize that you can get alcohol poisoning, which generally leads to death. Alcohol poisoning is the overdosing of alcohol. The problems caused by tobacco usually are never seen until it is too late. Smoking can lead to emphysema, asthma, heart disease, ulcers, and lung cancer.

For a college student, being a smoker and a drinker will probably require you to take out a student loan for that purpose only. Each year college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more than they spend on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee, or books combined. Cigarettes seem to go up in price every day. Say a person smokes one pack a day- that's $21 a week, $1,090 a year! Poor grades are connected with the increased use of alcohol. College students who reported D or F grade point averages consumed and average of 10 alcoholic drinks per week, while those who earned A's consumed three drinks per week. Also, the majority of college students diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease were drunk at the time of infection (Core Institute 1997). Clearly, alcohol and tobacco cause a question of concern for college students. They are to be preparing themselves for their career; would you feel very safe knowing that someone whose job is protecting your life spent a good majority of time "getting drunk"?

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Approximate Word count = 2859
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)