I have wondered this and I hope others have too. Does trying a drug make you addicted to it or do you need to continually use them to become addicted. I came across an article that helped me understand it a lot better. Research has shown that for most drugs, more than half of these people did not continue to use the drug in the year following their first use. For example, after first using heroin, 69 percent of the people no longer used it and 75 percent of people who used crack cocaine did not continue to use it. In fact, alcohol and marijuana were the only substances in which the majority of people who tried these drugs continued to use them in the year following their first use. In particular, 71 percent of people who used alcohol continued to use it and 52 percent of people who used marijuana continued to use it. It is also clear that most people did not get addicted to the drugs, and the highest rates of addiction occurred with heroin (13 percent got addicted), crack cocaine (9 percent) and marijuana (6 percent). If anyone has any personal stories I would love to hear about them. :)

I would feel so stupid if I got into a car accident with a celebrity, let alone being drunk and hitting them. I really don't understand why people drink and drive..Where I live they are setting it up so that their are cabs waiting outside bars so they can take you home. I think that's a good idea, hopefully we see a decrease in alcohol related accidents.

The thing that bothers me is, if you decide to be famous so young there will be consequences for her and she needs to live with them. When she took the role on the show Hannah Montana and started getting famous with her music, it is expect for young girls to look up to her and want to be just like her so when Miley screws up and starts lap dancing a guy at 15 years old what is that telling our children. It may be true that teens are rebelious as this age, but once you are famous you aren't a normal teenager and society makes them act like adults and they aren't and they aren't ready to be so famous so young.

Vito Fossella was arrested Thursday with his blood alcohol level at .17. He was driving in Alexandria, VA, which has an alcohol limit of .08. He faces a mandatory minimum of 5 days in jail if convicted and revocation of his driver’s license for one year. Fossella has already issued a statement of "apology" in which he says, "last night, I made an error in judgment."  Fossella, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in the U.S. House, faces a strong challenge from Democrat Stephen Harrison, who told WNBC.com Fossella should "consider taking himself out of the race. This isn't just an embarrassment," Harrison said, "it's a crime."

I heard they are creating a second season of this show with Dr. Drew. Has anyone else heard this or know who will be on the show? I think it's a great idea, but lacking in areas because many from the first season went right back into their addiction.

I’m not sure how accurate these stats are, but I thought they were interesting so I wanted to share: http://www.quitguide.com/index.html

AUSTRALIA

• Smoking statistics for 2005 show that 17% of Australians smoke. In 1993 this figure was higher at 25%.


• Other drugs: Ecstasy has become popular and figures have risen in recent years. Other drugs have declined in use. Marijuana is tried by 11 % of Australians.

CHINA
the facts about smoking in China are scary and getting scarier by the minute:

• It produces more tobacco than any other country.


• It has an estimated 350 million smokers – that's 1 in 3 of the world's smokers.


• 36% of the population smoke, including 70% of all Chinese men. Most of them have no knowledge of the facts about smoking or any awareness of the consequences they face.


• More than one million people a year die in China from tobacco-related diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease.


• These 1 million smokers were mainly aged 35-69 and this figure is predicted to increase to 2 million in just 15 years.


• In fact the biggest killer in China in 2005 was lung cancer, beating road accidents

ENGLAND & WALES

• 45,000 people die each year from COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), or diseases precipitated by COPD, such as pneumonia, heart disease and stroke. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. A smoker is 10 times more likely to die of COPD than a non-smoker. Global deaths are estimated to be 4.8 million

UNITED STATES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publish interesting smoking facts. Here are some 2005 smoking statistics:

• Approximately 20.9% (44.5 million) adults currently smoke. Of these, 81.3% (36.1 million) smoke every day, and 18.7% (8.3 million) smoke some days. Among those who currently smoke every day, 40.5% (14.6 million) report that they had stopped smoking for at least 1 day during the preceding 12 months because they were trying to quit. Among the estimated 42.4% (90.2 million) of persons who had ever smoked, 50.6% (45.6 million) were former smokers.


• More interesting smoking facts about population sub-groups in the US:




• Education: The highest group of smokers are those with the basic General Educational Development diploma (GED) – 40%, and 35% people with a 9th–11th grade education smoked, and smoking prevalence kept decreasing with increasing years of education. The lowest percentage of smokers was among those with graduate degrees at 7.5%.


• Gender: Current smoking was higher among men (23.4%) than women (18.5%).


• Rac

Tommy,

Thank you so much for sharing this information with me, well us-users on this site. It must be so hard to share such a private time in your life with other people. Your response really answered my question and I appreciate the time you took to answer. I am sorry to hear that you are struggling again in your addiction. Are your parents aware of it? Can you go back to a detox facility? I came across on this site the zip code locator thing where you just put in your zip code and it finds the closest rehab time facilities around where you live. I found a ton and was able to share it with a friend I knew who needed help. Of course, I will keep you in my prayers. I really pray that God gives you the strength and the resources to fight this disease. I know He can too. He is such a great God who loves us all so much and doesn't want to see us like this. I know something that has been so difficult for me is letting go of control and giving it to God. I think as humans it's hard to think someone we can't physically see can do so much more for us than we ever could. Are you attending church? Maybe that might help or even meeting with a church counselor. Was there something that happened to you that triggered your use? I know when people try to quit smoking when they feel stress or something happens in life they go back to what they know that makes them feel better and it’s smoking a cigarette. I encourage you to keep posting on this site for encouragement from other users. I read somewhere once that support groups is one of the best ways to beat an addiction. I hope this somewhat helps you and your situation. Keep in touch!

Thanks,

Baylee

I found this online, thought I would share it with you guys. No cheating :) answers are at the bottom

1. A standard drink is equal to:
A. 16 ounces of beer, 12 ounces of malt liquor and 8 ounces of wine.
B. 12 ounces of beer, 8 ounces of malt liquor and 5 ounces of wine.
C. Anything on the happy hour special.

2. Women vs. men:
A. Drink for drink, a woman will get as drunk as a man.
B. If they consume the same amount of alcohol, women will become more drunk than men.
C. Women make better choices when they are drunk.

3. Health benefits:

A. A couple of glasses of wine taken daily is recommended for everybody for their heart health.
B. Moderate alcohol intake may reduce risk of heart disease, but alcohol also has been linked to sudden death in people with heart disease, and excessive alcohol leads to damage of the heart muscles.
C. Alcohol makes you irresistible to the opposite sex.

4. You are probably drunk and should not drive by the time you are showing signs of:
A. Clumsiness, impaired speech, excessive emotions, inability to walk.
B. Feelings of relaxation, reduced social inhibitions, euphoria.
C. Having a conversation with a potted plant.

ANSWERS
If you answered "B" to all the questions, congratulations - you got them right. For clarification on the last question, remember that more than one drink in an hour makes you unsafe to drive - and it may take the body up to two hours to clear one standard drink.