National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week 2016

 

 

January 26 -31, 2016 is National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week.  This event, which is co-sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), teaches teens the effects of drug use on the brain and body through local events and online chats. The information provided has been thoroughly researched by National Institute of Health (NIH) scientists.

Chat Day is January 26th.  On this day, high school students and scientists from the National Institute on Drug Abuse hook up online to discuss the dangers of drug use. Students can get answers to all of their questions from actual scientific researchers.

This is an important event because researchers have found that teens who use drugs on a regular basis are at high risk for developing cognitive disorders and learning disabilities since the teenage brain is still maturing. And some drugs are so dangerous, they can cause permanent psychiatric disorders.

For more information, check out these websites:

http://teens.drugabuse.gov    (NIDA for Teens)

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov      (NIAAA)

http://www.drugabuse.gov   (National Institute on Drug Abuse)


Thanks!

Dawn Pisturino, RN

Copyright 2016 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.

Don't Choose Death

 

 

 

 

As a healthcare worker, I can vouch for the fact that smokers, alcoholics, and drug addicts contribute greatly to my job security.

 

And yet, despite this, I cannot condone these vices because I've seen the results of their prolonged use on the human body.

 

I've watched a number of people die slow, agonizing deaths from substance-related cirrhosis of the liver, alcoholic hepatitis, pancreatitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 

Some of these people were over fifty years old; some of them were in their thirties or forties.

 

It may appear that some people are resistant to the effects of smoking, drinking, and using drugs. If so, they must be in the minority.

 

Substance abusers are a drain on the insurance companies, a drain on society, and a drain on themselves. The only people who benefit from their bad habits are the tobacco companies, liquor companies, and illicit drug pushers.

 

While Americans are free to make their own choices, they should be aware that they could be choosing death over life in the choices they make.

 

Dawn Pisturino

Published in The Kingman Daily Miner, September 27, 1994.

Copyright 1994-2014 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.