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Alcohol, Tobacco & Drugs

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Alcohol, Tobacco & Drugs
Alcohol:

The legal drinking age in the state of Missouri is 21. The legal limit of blood alcohol concentration in Missouri is .08. If either of these laws are disobeyed you could face serious consequences or even death. When you drink you experience effects from it. There are two kinds of effects short & long term. Short term effects happen then, & continue for a short time afterwards. Short term effects include; nausea, vomiting, loss of judgment & self control, blackout, coma or even death. Some of the more serious effects are considered long term. Long term effects, appear from serious or heavy drinking and may not always be able to be cured. Long term effects include; heart damage, anemia, hypertension, liver & brain damage, or cancer. Before reaching the stage of alcoholic you go through three other stages. There are a total of four stages, problem drinking, tolerance, dependence, & alcoholism. It only takes one sip to keep you going. Once becoming an alcoholic it is hard to stop. Many people stop drinking by attending motivational therapy classes. One program designed to do this is Alcoholics Anonymous. Drinking alcohol while pregnant can be dangerous. One disease is FAS, which can cause physical & mental defects that effect a fetus. It can also cause physical deformities & mental retardation. People start drinking for many reasons. One of the main reasons is peer pressure. Other reasons could be from emotional distress, self medication or just because you want to try it. Alcohol can affect only yourself but everyone around you too. Guilty feelings, unpredictable behavior, violence, neglect & isolation, protecting the alcohol and ignoring ones needs. A Lot of families become broken do to alcoholism. Alcohol maybe fun at times but can also get you into serious trouble. Car crashes, death, jail, unplanned pregnancy, and STDs are just a few of the more serious affects. Mostly negative things come from drinking. Car crashes are a huge

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