Week 8/Ch. 7

Chapter 7 played off of the previous chapter a little bit by discussing two substances, alcohol and tobacco. They can both cause addiction and harmful effects, both short term and long term. As a college student who has been legal to drink for two years now, I could relate to the alcohol portion of this chapter, because even if it is something I haven’t experienced, I’ve seen someone around me experience it.

Alcohol is harmless if you drink it occasionally and in small quantities. Even the best of us have one too many sometimes, and that is harmless as well. However, long term excessive consumption of alcohol is very unhealthy and dangerous for many reasons. For more obvious reasons, alcohol is a substance that can seriously impair your judgement. It affects your ability to drive, make appropriate decisions, and even just function properly. For example, it can cause you to slur your words, stumble when you walk, etc.

Some short term effects of alcohol consumption include a hangover the next morning, weight gain, and alcohol poisoning. There are some serious long term effects of alcohol consumption including memory loss, cirrhosis of the liver, and if you are pregnant- fetal alcohol syndrome.

It is very important for yourself and for others that you drink responsibly. This includes pacing yourself while drinking and recognizing your tolerance, not operating a vehicle and not putting yourself in any other potentially harmful situations. You should always eat before drinking and drink water to avoid dehydration.

Tobacco is found in multiple products such as cigarettes and cigars. It contains an addictive component called nicotine. Not only do people continue to smoke cigarettes because they are addictive but it also becomes a behavior or habit, and some people even smoke to keep their weight down.

Smoking tobacco products can be incredibly harmful. Smoking raises your blood pressure, can cause clots, gum disease, and can also cause cancers such as lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S. There is even risks from secondhand smoke. Many places ban cigarette smoking for this reason.

However, the good news is that there are several methods of quitting such as patches, gum, and other nicotine replacement products.

Relating this chapter to my personal health goal this semester, I have never smoked a cigarette or any tobacco product, but I do drink. To be honest, a night of drinking sounds great after a stressful day or week. I know that drinking is not the best way to deal with stress, but having one glass of wine or something like that is okay to take the edge off. I also try to shy away from beers because I know they cause weight gain, as do the really sugary drinks. Like I said earlier, drinking in moderation is okay and you just have to know your limits.

This is my last semester so it’s actually been extra stressful because I need to make sure I pass all my classes and get all my credits. I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself due to this. I make it to the gym a couple times a week but at this point I have shied away from committing to meal plan and eat healthier. I haven’t been eating incredibly unhealthy and I still have cut out sweets and whatnot, but I am just not putting as much effort into that aspect as I would have liked due to my crazy schedule.