Addictions

Dependence upon anything becomes a habit when followed or practiced repeatedly. The habit of being dependent, at one stage, becomes impossible to break, making it an addiction. The more a person tries to break that habit, the weaker he becomes in will and the more dependent he becomes to that habit.

People become addicts either by their own will or by force. If a person inherits the trait of getting addicted to anything, it automatically comes to him or her by watching others in the family or at the slightest provocation by their own will. But some become addicts under the influence of others or due to social obligations by force.

The word addiction reminds us of drugs, smoking and alcohol addiction alone. But addiction does not confine itself to just these three but to various other things as sweets, coffee, tea, tobacco chewing, pain killers, nasal decongestants, antibiotics, antacids, laxatives, anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, harmone pills and YES, also food.

Many people cannot imagine a single day without having at least two cups of coffee or tea. Caffeine present in these drinks is an alkaloid drug which has the properties of stimulants that act on the central nervous system. Caffeine has an analgesic effect and so is extensively used in various forms to relieve headache. It increases the output of urine, and this reaction is forbidding under many conditions. It also disrupts the normal ability to sleep.

Caffeine is found in chocolates, coffee, tea, diet pills and drugs used for cold, congestion, etc. Kola nuts used in soft drinks contain fortified caffeine. It is also present in some processed and baked desserts in the form of flavouring agents.

Coffee and tea no doubt relieve headaches and give instant energy but excess use of the same produces headache in regular pattern which ultimately becomes chronic. At such stages, coffee or tea instead of relieving headache will further intensify the pain.

Caffeine addiction is increasingly becoming common even in very young children through their regular consumption of soft drinks and processed foods.

Since caffeine has the power to kill normal appetite, it is consumed by those who wish to skip meals. Its stimulant action makes it the favourite of those who do any type of strenuous manual or mental work. A moderate intake of tea or coffee does not show any perceptible bad reaction. But, caffeine addiction products ill effects or poisons in our system which erupt in the form of some other illness later in life.

Those who claim they do no drink coffee or tea, still consume caffeine through cocoa, chocolates and chocolate drinks. Even some nutritional drinks contain excess cocoa to give it the chocolate flavour. Many children refuse to drink plain milk unless large quantities of Cocoa is added to it. Children are encouraged to drink tea and coffee as well forcing them to caffeine addiction.

Alcoholic drinks have gained acceptance in many households. Even children and young adults are being introduced to them often by parents themselves in the guise of fashion and social prestige, not to speak of peer group pressures. Even women are taking to drinks considering it to be part of socialite life.

The very characteristics of alcohol should forbid its being classified as a drink for any occasion. It is an irritant, a narcotic and id destructive physically and mentally.

It has a local irritant action. This can be felt by fresh drinkers who during the initial days feel a repulsion to its taste as well as smell.

People get used to such unpleasant sensations due to its narcotic action on the central nervous system. This narcotic action is sought after when a person is unable to deal with tension and stress in daily life. What starts off as a social obligation often takes over one’s will and soon turns into addiction.

Its destructive action upon the tissues leads to many physical illnesses. It corrodes the linings of the liver, intestines and stomach. Tendency towards forming vile habits and indulging in violent action, extreme depression and lethargy are other disorders that afflict drinkers progressively. In addition to such physical problems, it also lowers intellectual powers and reasoning. It weakens the memory because its action on the central nervous system is exactly the same as an anesthetic like ether or chloroform. It reduces the ability to do even ordinary work and decreases muscular power, depressing the heart and circulation. Thus the body’s vital force and defense mechanism against diseases are restricted.

It is common to observe tremors in the hands of confirmed drinkers which becomes a great impediment if such persons are engaged in doing precision work requiring concentration and great steadiness of hand.

People also have a very wrong assumption that alcohol increases sexual capability. Though it builds up the urge, and stimulates the glands, the performance would be far below the normal during the act because of its retarding effect on nerves, leaving both the partners dissatisfied. Prolonged indulgence in alcohol even causes impotency in some persons.

The qualities and action of alcohol described above will surely make it abundantly clear that it is more of a poison than a desirable drink.

One more fancy habit, smoking cigarettes, has grown and spread like cancer through out the world. The more its injurious effect on health is advertised and propagated, the more people are drawn to smoking. It is not the smoker alone who suffers the ill-effects of cigarette smoking but the others around him are also affected. This is known as passive smoking.

The over-stimulating inhalations of the cigarette disturb the normal and natural rhythm of respiration. The nicotine and tar present in the cigarette cling to the lungs.

Smoking causes the heart to beat faster. The carbon monoxide present in the cigarette reduces the supply of oxygen to the heart by absorbing the oxygen in the blood. The muscles of the heart suffer great strain due to the inadequate supply of oxygen. A variety of lung disorders and other respiratory disorders like chronic cough, asthma, etc., are the consequences of smoking.