Z. K. Pahrii Pou
BTC Pfutsero
I am not expert on this topic but I have great concern for those persons who are being hooked by drugs especially alcohol and tobacco. Many Christians keep asking, “Is drinking alcohol or smoking or chewing tobacco ‘sin’? But that is not an important question. The more important question is: can we live without using alcohol and tobacco? Is drinking alcohol or smoking is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and whether using them have helped an individual and society to live a fuller and respected life? Let’s reflect on the effect of using alcohol and tobacco in our society today.
Drug: A drug is, in the broadest sense, a chemical substance that has known biological effects on human or other animals. In other words, it is a medicine or other substance which has physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. For instance, alcohol, caffeine, aspirin and nicotine are all drugs. The vast majority of drugs are used to treat medical conditions, both physical and mental. Some, however, are used outside the medical setting for their effects on the mind. These are referred to as recreational drugs.
Psychoactive drugs: Drugs that affect a person’s mental state, whether prescribed for a medical condition (for example, antidepressants), or taken for recreational purposes (such as alcohol and heroin), are called psychoactive drugs. These drugs affect the way a person thinks and feels- which may also affect the way they behave. The most commonly used psychoactive drugs, apart from drugs taken on prescription, are alcohol and tobacco. The most commonly used illegal psychoactive drug is cannabis (marijuana). People use psychoactive drugs for many reasons- for fun or excitement; to feel good, better or different; to counteract negative feelings; because they are bored or curious; because their friends or family do it; because they have dependence on the drug. Friend’s pressure is a strong factor in leading people to drug habit.
Drug Dependence: Drug dependence may occur when a person continues to use drugs- legal or illegal-even though their drug use causes them significant problems. It is regarded by many as a medical condition or a disorder not directly under the control of the individual. The ‘term’, with its negative implications, is not used any longer.
Drugs and young people: Young people take drugs for much the same reasons as older people, often with the added element of rebellion. However, the consequences can be much worse. Childhood and adolescence are critical times for brain development, and the brain is more sensitive to the influences of drugs and alcohol during these periods. For example, there is evidence that alcohol use in young people can lead to impaired learning and memory which can affect them for the rest of their lives.
Alcoholism: There are 62.5 million alcohol users in India. Gujarat, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland prohibits sale of alcohol. Recently Bihar joined this group and Tamil Nadu is on its way to total ban on alcohol. About 2 billion people worldwide consume alcoholic drinks, which can have immediate and long term consequences on health and social life. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol use disorders, such as alcohol dependence and abuse. Alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths a year. Worldwide alcohol causes a loss of 58.3 million DALYs annually (disability-adjusted life years). 34% of those who attempted suicide were abusing alcohol. It accounts for 3.2% of all deaths worldwide.
Effect on Individual: Use of alcohol, leads to unintentional & intentional injuries and death. It accompanies aggression leads to violence and causes traffic injuries. It causes preventable deaths such as falls, and fires.
Diseases related to drinking: According to experts, alcohol consumption has been linked to more than 60 diseases. These diseases include alcoholic psychoses, alcohol-dependence syndrome, alcoholic polyneuropathy (disease affecting the nerves), cirrhosis (liver disease/cancer), breast cancer, increase high blood pressure, cause depression, and so on.
Social and Economic Problems: Alcohol consumption can have adverse social and economic effects on the individual drinker, the drinker’s immediate environment and society as a whole. It is of utmost concern that many of our leaders are heavy drinkers. They look for partying wherever they go and totally failed their responsibility as leaders. Drinking and leading does not lead society to safety.
Work performance: In Costa Rica, an estimated 30% of absenteeism may be due to alcohol. In India about 40% of work accidents have been attributed to alcohol consumption. Heavy drinking at work may reduce productivity. Heavy drinking or alcohol abuse may lead to unemployment and unemployment may lead to increased drinking.
Family: Drinking can cause home accidents and violence/breaking down of family. Drinking leads to child abuse. Non-drinking family members develop anxiety, fear and depression. It also is a cause of divorce for many families. There is a huge financial cost of alcoholic purchase and later one for medical treatment. It leads to lose of labour and wages. It increases the risk of transmission of HIV infection. It is the cause of many domestic violence.
Tobacco: Most people know tobacco is really bad for them. It is indeed a strange habit of human beings that inhales smoke deliberately into one’s system, and continuing the process again and again to derive satisfaction. Its use is the leading cause for many preventable diseases in the world. Tobacco is devastating to human body and secondhand smoke is equally damaging to those around it. According to a research, tobacco kills more than AIDS, road accidents, murder, legal drugs, illegal drugs and suicide combined.
Nicotine: Nicotine is a very strong addiction, and it becomes a very difficult to quit tobacco dependence. When you use tobacco products, nicotine is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. Within 10 seconds the nicotine reaches your brain. It causes the brain to release adrenaline, creating a buzz of pleasures and energy. The buzz fades quickly though, and leaves you feeling tired, a little down, and wanting the buzz again. This feeling is what makes you light up the next cigarette. Since your body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, you’ll need to smoke more and more cigarettes in order to get the nicotine’s pleasurable effects and prevent withdrawal symptoms. This ups and downs cycle repeats over and over, leading to addiction. Children and teens are especially sensitive to nicotine making it easier for them to become addicted. Cigarette makers know that nicotine addiction helps sell their products. Cigarettes today deliver more nicotine more quickly than ever before. Tobacco companies also use additives and chemicals to make them more addictive.
Effects of smoking on health: The effects of smoking are serious. It can harm nearly every organ of the body. Smoking weakens body’s immune system from protecting itself from infection and diseases. It leads to respiratory infections, doubles the risks of developing rheumatoid arthritis, 30% to 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, decreases bone density leading to fracture, harms blood cells and damage the function of heart, affect lungs and cause breathing problem, affect eyesight/vision. Tobacco smoke contains more 7,000 chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer. It had negatively impacted male and female fertility and is harmful to pregnant women and their unborn babies.
Secondhand smoke: Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of the cigarette and the smoke exhaled by smokers. When you are around a person who is smoking, you inhale the dangerous chemicals as the smoker.
Smokeless tobacco: Smokeless tobacco is tobacco that is not burned. It includes chewing tobacco, dip, snuff, and betel quid. At least 28 chemicals in these products have been found to cause cancer. Smokeless tobacco may cause tooth decay in the exposed tooth roots. It can also cause your gums to pull away from your teeth. In India, tobacco chewing accounts for 30% of the total consumption, beedi smoking (54%) and cigarette smoking (16%). Paan, paan masala, gutka, khaini, gul, bajjar, etc are other forms of smokeless tobacco.
Some facts and figures about tobacco effects: There are nearly 1.3 billion smokers in the world. One out of two smokers died of smoking related diseases. India has more than 300 million smokers. India has the highest rate of oral cancer in the world with 90% of the patients being tobacco chewers. In 2010, 930,000 adults died due to tobacco in India. Over 60% of those suffering from heart disease below the age of 40 years are smokers. Approximately half of all cancers in men in India are tobacco related. The profit made by the tobacco companies is equivalent to the medical expenses spent by smokers.
Measures taken by Indian government to discourage smoking: Government prohibits and restricts advertisement in mass media (movies) about tobacco. It imposes heavy tax on the production and sale of tobacco. The State also prohibits smoking in public places (like railways station, Bus stations, schools, colleges, etc) with heavy fine or imprisonment. It requires 75% of tobacco packet being devoted to create awareness about the danger of using tobacco. Life is once-for-all. Be safe, friends.
Reflection: Hunger and thirst is the foremost human experience that needs to be addressed before meeting any other needs. Therefore, food and drinks are important for survival and for health. Be wise, foods and drinks bring life and unity but at the same time it can bring division and death. Bible taught us to be as wise as ‘serpent’ by choosing life over death. Use of alcohol and tobacco affect not only individual’s health but also lead to total collapse of family and its economy, destroys social cohesion, and lead to moral and spiritual bankruptcy. The Bible says that our body is the temple of God and that we should not destroy it (I Corinthians 3:16). Have we chased out God from us by pouring in alcohol and inhaling smoke? We are not only ‘the temple of God’ but we are made in the image of God. Are we destroying the image of God through food, drinking and smoking habits? If yes, then destroying the very image of God not ‘sin’? May God help you to find the right answer.
