100 Unit 2 Setting and Reaching Life Goals
as capable of interpreting messages. Since his or
her judgment will be poorer, using alcohol makes
it more diffi cult to make good decisions.
Use of alcohol affects a person’s social and
emotional responses as well. Brain cells control
these responses. Brain cells dulled by alcohol result
in fewer inhibitions. That means a person has a
harder time saying “no” to impulses. For example,
a person may feel happy and relaxed but also more
jealous, quickly angered, and aggressive. Actions
under the use of alcohol may hurt relationships,
bring embarrassment, and even result in arrest.
A person’s desires to reach goals may be dulled
by alcohol. That may lead to skipping school or
ignoring homework. Overall social and emotional
growth will be stifl ed if alcohol is used to escape
problems rather than solve them. People can become
dependent on alcohol. About one out of every
10 drinkers is at risk of becoming an alcoholic,
meaning they are addicted to alcohol and cannot
control their use of it.
Decisions About Using Drugs
If you look in your medicine cabinet at home,
you may fi nd a variety of drugs used for various
purposes. A drug is any substance that chemically
changes structures or functions in a living organism.
Over-the-counter drugs are those you can buy with-
out a doctor’s prescription. Prescription drugs are
those prescribed by a medical doctor and pur-
chased at a pharmacy. Both of these kinds of
drugs can be used to cure or control a medical
problem. They are used to improve physical or
mental health.
When drugs are used in ways for which they
were not intended, this is drug abuse. For instance,
if a person uses a cold medicine to get to sleep,
that drug is being abused. If a person uses a tran-
quilizer to avoid facing problems, it is drug abuse.
The drug is being used for a purpose other than
its intended use.
What are some drugs that are commonly used for
medicinal purposes in the home? Could any of
these be abused?
Decisions About Tobacco
Choosing not to use tobacco, for instance,
can help you avoid the consequences of stress
on the heart and increased risk of cancer. The
health-related consequences of smoking led the
U.S. surgeon general to require tobacco products
be labeled with health warnings. To protect those
who want to breathe clean air, many laws prohibit
smoking in public areas. Young people under the
age of 18 cannot purchase cigarettes. This is a fed-
eral law.
By choosing not to use tobacco, you are choosing
the right to healthy lungs and clean air. But the
benefi ts of not using tobacco go beyond the risk of
ill health. If you do not use tobacco, your clothes
will not smell, and your teeth will not yellow. In
addition, you will save a lot of money compared
to a person who uses tobacco.
Decisions About Alcohol
Choosing to avoid alcohol can help you avoid
the consequences that alcohol has on the body
(Figure 4.14). Alcohol is a powerful depressant. A
depressant is a substance that slows the activity of
a person’s brain by knocking out control centers.
Someone who drinks alcohol has slower refl exes
and reduced coordination. He or she will not be
Figure 4.14 Before taking an alcoholic drink, consider
the consequences. Drinking alcohol can cause many
types of physical and mental health problems.
Consequences of Alcohol Use
Alcohol can
• impair thinking and reasoning
• affect coordination
• be addicting
• stifl e emotional growth
• hurt relationships
• cause embarrassment
• harm reputation
• produce hangovers
• cause absenteeism from school and work
• result in arrest
• cause health problems, including birth defects,
cancer, brain damage, mental disorders, loss
of sexual function, liver damage, and death
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