Smoking and drinking are the most common forms of substance abuse among all adult age-groups. Often seen as a "cool" social activity, many individuals partake in these substances on reaching adolescence. Many people do not realize how easily addictive these substances are and what harm this can cause them in the long run. What starts as a one-time thing with friends can soon turn into a life-long habit impossible to kick.
Smoking is a leading cause of death worldwide. Cigarettes contain many toxic chemicals, including tar, carbon monoxide, DDT, arsenic, and formaldehyde. Besides these, cigarettes are a dose of nicotine, which is highly addictive. Smoking is a leading cause of a host of diseases. Smoking increases your chances of developing lung cancer, having a heart attack, and stroke. It can also cause extensive damage to almost any organ in the body, causing leukemia and diseases of the kidney, pancreas, bladder, throat, mouth. Prolonged exposure to smoking can damage the lungs' airways and air sacks, leading to chronic bronchitis and breathing difficulties. It can lead to many issues with reproduction, leading to infertility, stillbirth, and sudden infant death syndrome. Besides being harmful to the smoker, second-hand smoking can cause many of the same problems to those around them as well.
Drinking is also a substantial contributor to health problems in the body. Heavy drinking can lead to acute intoxication, which is usually characterized by nausea and vomiting, impaired physical and mental ability, blurry vision, and in extreme cases, alcohol poisoning. Regular drinkers are at risk of higher blood pressure, liver, and gastric problems, cancers of the liver and pancreas, permanent memory impairment. Alcohol is also a very addictive substance, causing many people to develop a dependence on it. This creates a whole host of psychological and physiological problems in the body as well. Additionally, every year, countless people die under the influence of alcohol, drunk driving, and other mishaps.
We need to be aware of the foreign substances entering our bodies and their impacts on us and those around us. We should do our best to avoid excessive drinking and smoking, as it can have a lot of detrimental impacts.
