"It is difficult to argue with those who state that the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is the nations number one community health program."
Not only is consuming drugs and alcohol bad for ones health, it also effects the people surrounding the individual and poses a problem on the community in general, both socially and economically. If not the number one problem in community health, it certainly is one of the most expensive with a total of $487 billion dollars spent each year.
When thinking of drug use, most people think of the most common being tobacco and alcohol, however prespcription and nonprescription drugs are also a cause for concern.
There are several factors that make some people more susceptible to drug use than others such as personal, home and family life, social and peer groups and sociocultural environment.
Whenever something poses a problem, a solution is always a work in progress. In this case, there are three different levels of prevention:Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. The four principal elements of drug abouse prevention and control are, education and treatment, public policy and law enforcement. In addition, there are federal, state, and local agencies and programs that help enforce these measures.
Reflection: This chapter seemed to trigger alot of thoughts among "Fab Five." We all kind of came to the agreement that growing up in Maine, we didn't really realize how big of an issue drug use actually was. The statistics about how much money is spent each year, really blew our minds.
Something else we discussed was why alcohol was actually legal. You always hear on the news about a car accident involving the use of alcohol, and read countless names in the newspaper everyday for DUI. Whats worse is the media glorifying the use, and portraying that if you smoke or drink you are someone "invincible" and will look "cool." Overall, we were all very intrigued and the chapter provoked some great conversation in our group discussion.
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I agree with them when they say it is difficult to argue with someone ont he abuse of alcohol or drugs. Normally alcoholics wont admit that they have a problem same goes for drugs. I feel that sometimes people get addicted to drugs or alcohol without even recognizing it. And by the time they finaly do recognize it then its too late. If we all are more careful with the use of each other these substances then we wouldnt have to worry about it.
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