Hello my fellow classmate!
Welcome back. Chapter 7 talks about the use of alcohol and tobacco. The topics I found most intriguing and that I will be covering are alcohol and college students, drinking and driving, lastly environmental tobacco.
Alcohol and college students is a topic that the majority of us is far too familiar with. Personally for me alcohol is always around me because of the people I hang around with on a daily basis. On the weekends the consumption of alcoholic beverages increases immensely. According to the text “ 1,825 college students die each year because of alcohol- related unintentional injuries including car accidents.” I found this number surprisingly low. If I were to guess I would have guessed 5,000 casualties yearly. Since companies rely on our population to buy the drinks, they target us on their promotion.
Working at the emergency department I unfortunately see the use of drinking and driving far too often. People decide to get behind the wheels under the influence not realizing that their precious life can change drastically. That person not only hurts themselves but also those around them. Seeing their faces when the police officers are standing right next them at the hospital bed saddens me. I understand that everyone makes mistakes but some mistakes can be avoided. According to the text “ in the United States, adults drink too much and get behind the wheel approximately 121 milllion times (based in self reports).” We need to do better as a society. Although the numbers have improved throughout the years there is still work that needs to be done. 121 millions times means that there are 121 millions times a child, a parent, our loved ones can be involved in a drunk driving accident. We need to be better as a community.
According to the text “ exposure to ETS increases children’s risk of lower respiratory tract infections, leading to an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in children under 18 months.” People who smoke need to take into consideration their surroundings. Second hand smoking is just as gruesome has first hand smoking. The coronavirus pandemic has taught us how vulnerable people with respiratory issues are to infection. Compared to a normal immune system their body does not function properly. Smokers have to think about their environment before they start smoking. In my opinion, some of the victims that end up in the ICU or have died in this pandemic are the result of being exposed to smoking. We need to educate our loved ones that smoke when there are innocent individuals around.
In regards to my health aspect I am sleeping more due to the recent change of events. My classes are online and I cannot go to one of my jobs because of the coronavirus. Social distancing has allowed me to sleep more.
Stay safe everyone. Wash your hands. We got this!
Site Title 