Be Healthy and Drug Free To be healthy and drug free means much more than it sounds.

It means turning down peer pressure, not using drugs, and not feeling the need to use drugs. Many people have died from drug overdose; including Roger Clinton, Bill Clinton's brother. There are many different types of drugs. Some drugs are good for you and some could kill people. Some good drugs are anesthetics, hormones, vaccines, and antibiotics. Some bad drugs are narcotics. These are sleep inducers. Examples of this are codeine, heroin, and morphine. Other drugs include cocaine, nicotine, and marijuana. Nowadays, drugs are a big problem in our society. The only drugs that you should take should be drugs that your doctor prescribed for you. And you should only take the amount of that drug that he tells you to. Every drug can be poisonous if you take too much. Peer pressure is hard to turn down. Peer pressure is when your peers (the people around you) egg you on to do something, generally something that is not right. It is very hard to say "NO!" to. This usually would result in either a rumor or something against this person. When this happens you should just remember that you know the truth. Many laws have been passed prohibiting the use of unhealthy drugs. In addition to this, the D.A.R.E. program was started. This class is offered in many schools. It is a program talking about drug abuse resistance. According to a recent survey, one in every three people between the ages of twelve and twenty have used drugs at least once. As you can see, drugs are very dangerous substances. It is very important to be drug free and healthy. You could be the next one to die if you take illegal drugs. Everyone agrees that something must be done about the tremendous physical and emotional health problems that drug abuse causes. Concern about the abuse of drugs is so widespread that recent polls indicate it to be one of the most serious problems in today's world, threatening the security and freedom of whole nations. Politicians, health experts and much of the general public feel that no issue is more important than drug abuse. America's other pressing social problems- disease, poverty, child abuse and neglect, and corruption- often have a common element; that is drug abuse. The use of illegal drugs such as cocaine, crack, heroin and marijuana cause extensive harm to the body and brain. Yet, even after knowing this many people want illegal drugs to be legalized in every aspect. The last thing we need is a policy that makes widely available substances that impair memory, concentration and attention span; why in God's name foster the uses of drugs that make you stupid? The campaign for drug legalization is morally disgusting.The number of people who are addicted to illegal drugs or are users of these drugs is quite shocking. Drug abuse is clearly an injurious and sometimes fatal problem. The leaders of the international economic summit in Paris in July 1989 concluded that the devastating proportions of the drug problem calls for decisive action. On September 5, 1989, President Bush called upon the United States to join in an

all-out fight against drugs. The United States Congress reports an estimated 25 to 30 million addicts of illegal drugs worldwide. Not all users are addicts, but some of the 26 million regular users of illegal drugs in the United States are addicted. Reports of child abuse to New York social services tripled between 1986 and 1988 and most of the cases involved drug abuse. Approximately 35 percent of the inmates of state prison were under the influence of illegal drugs at the time they committed the crimes... Teenagers, Drugs , and Peer Pressure Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the teenage years, these years are the most crucial in the maturing process. During these years adolescents are faced with the difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority figures and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn lead to depression and suicide. One of the most important reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that effect adolescents, it can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on the person's social group. We are greatly influenced by the people around us. In today's schools, drugs are very common, peer pressure usually is the reason for their usage. If the people in your social group use drugs there will be pressure a direct or indirect pressure from them. A person may be offered to try drugs, which is direct pressure. Indirect pressure is when someone sees everyone around him using drugs and he might think that there is nothing wrong with using drugs. Person might try drugs just to fit in the social norms, even if a person has no intentions of using drugs, they might do it just to be considered "cool" by his/her friends. Today drugs are considered to be acceptable by many teenagers. In today's highs schools the availability and variety of drugs is widespread. There is a demand for drugs and the supply is plentiful. Since drugs are so easy accessible, a natural interest in them may develop. A person may hear about...

Teen Smoking Due to peer pressure, propaganda and availability, teenage smoking has been on the rise since 1986. Three thousand children start using tobacco each day because of the negative influences aimed toward them. Our President and the American Medical Association have taken action and have urged tobacco companies to do the same against under age smoking. Despite all positive actions against it, "pack-a-day" smoking has risen thirty-three Percent in the past ten years among high school seniors. Throughout life children and adults are being persuaded to do or try something that goes against what they believe. Peer pressure is common place in grade school, where children are constantly being exposed to smoking. Cigarettes are being smoked everywhere authority is not, during school or any other place kids congregate. Kids smoke because they want to feel like they 'fit in' and they want to rebel at the same time. "U.S. News discussed the smoking issue with twenty teenagers from suburban Baltimore. Half were boys, half girls, and all were between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. Over more than four hours of conversation, it became clear that most teens smoked for two seemingly

contradictory reasons: They want to be part of a peer group, while rejecting society and its norms. They want to reach out and rebel at the same time."(Roberts 38) Tobacco companies spend four billion dollars each year in advertising and promotional costs and claim there is no health risk. Six hundred thousand people die every year from smoking related illness, and others quit. Teenagers are not concerned about their health. The tobacco industry tries to appeal to the youth. The earlier kids get hooked, the more secure the companies' sales are. "For the tobacco industry, these youngsters are an essential source of new customers. While cigarette makers deny it, advertising and promotion of youthful smoking clearly helped attract the attention of teens. The rate of youthful smoking...