Pros and Cons

There are reasons that people think it is okay to smoke and use drugs and reasons why they are not okay. In health class we had to find five reasons for both sides. Five reasons why people smoke and do drugs are that they think it's cool, they try them once and get addicted, they are dared to, they have a family history of smoking and using drugs, and they would get teased by other kids who use them and start doing it so the teasing would stop. Five reasons why smoking and drugs are bad for you are they can make you sick, you can die using them, your friends might not want to see you anymore, you can get in trouble with the police for using drugs, and smoking can make your clothes smell bad and it can be hard to get rid of.

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a deposit of fatty substances that build up in the inside lining of a person's arteries. This causes heart attacks, strokes, and death. It is usually called plaque and it can get harder as people get older. If someone gets atherosclerosis, it can damage the arteries and it worsens if that person smokes. Some factors of the deposits are obesity, cigarettes, and high blood pressure. It can be hard to spot because some people don't show symptoms. You can prevent atherosclerosis by leading a healthy life of exercise and never smoking.

Drinking Reasons

In Health Class we had to find five reasons why we think teens drink and why drinking is wrong. I think that teens drink because they want to have others think that they are cool, they get depressed, everyone in their family does it, they grew up in a tough neighborhood, or they are dared to have some alcohol and are too afraid to lose. Five reasons for why it is not okay to drink are it ruins your liver, you can die from an overdose, you will not remember what you did while being drunk, you can hurt someone else, and you will probably get lost from your home.

Drug Abuse

On http://kidshealth.org there is a page with articles on certain hazards to your health. I went to that page and read an article on prescription drug abuse. I chose this article because I know about this risk. The article said that some people think that the drugs doctors prescribe are safe and they can use them even though they don't have symptoms the drugs help with. It is illegal and it can also hurt you or even kill you. The drugs are only safe for the patients the doctors prescribed them to. I learned that there are three classes in prescription drug abuse. They are Opioids, Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants, and Stimulants. Opioids are used to help cure coughing, diarrhea and relieve pain. CNS Depressants are used to help anxiety, panic attacks, sleeping problems, and tension. Stimulants are used to help ADHD and narcolepsy.

Smoking Summary

We went to the website http://kidshealth.org and read an article on how smoking is bad. The article said that there are short term and long term affects to smoking. Some long term effects are that it makes people feel like their throat is burning and also throw up. Smoking can also cause cancer, strokes and heart disease. Some short term effects are that it causes bad skin and your breath and clothes smell bad. A statistic shows that 23% of high school students smoke. I think that this article did a good job of telling people not to smoke. I think that smoking is wrong and that people should stop doing it.