HINTS FOR RESPONSIBLE DRINKING

HINTS FOR DRINKING
Alcohol in the form of beer, wine, spirits, and ciders is consumed by many North Americans and by people in many other cultures around the world.  Drinking, like eating, or any social activity, has some guidelines to help the participant get more enjoyment out of the activity. Gobbling down half a chocolate cake at a party would not be considered responsible eating or even polite in most cultures. The same goes for drinking. Responsible choices concerning sensible drinking may mean not drinking, such as when a person is sick, taking medications or being the designated driver. Responsible drinking means that you never have to feel sorry for what has happened while you were drinking. Basically, this means not becoming drunk. The following are some hints to help you drink responsibly and derive more enjoyment and pleasure from drinking if you choose to consume alcohol.
1. Know your limit. If you do not already know how much alcohol you can handle without losing control, try it out one time at home with your parents or friend present. Explain to them what you are attempting to learn. Most people find that no more than a drink an  hour will keep them in control of the situation and avoid drunkenness. Have your parents or fried videotape you while you are attempting to see what happens when you consume more than the recommended one drink per hour.
2. Eat food while you drink. It is particularly good to eat high protein foods such as cheese and peanuts, which help to slow the absorption of alcohol into the circulatory system. Many cultures consume alcohol only with food to prevent various problems.
3. Sip your drink. If you gulp a drink for the effect, you are losing a pleasure of drinking, namely tasting and smelling the various flavors. This is particularly true for wine.
4. Accept a drink only when you really want one. At a party if someone is trying to force another drink on you, ask for ice or drink a non-alcoholic  beverage.
5. Cultivate taste. Choose quality rather than quantity. Learn the names of fine wines, whiskeys, and beers. Learn what beverage goes with what foods.
6. Skip a drink now and then. When at a party, have a nonalcoholic drink between the alcoholic one to keep your blood alcohol concentration down. Space your alcoholic drinks out to keep the desired blood alcohol concentration.

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Dont drink and drive

Drunk Driving

Drivers use their hands, eyes, and feet to control the car; but their hands, eyes, and feet must be controlled by their brains. Safe driving requires alertness and the ability to make quick decisions in rapidly changing situations. Drinking alcohol can have a profound effect on driving skills. For example, drinking can have a negative effect on any of these skills:

• Reaction Time – Alcohol can slow reflexes, which can decrease the ability to react swiftly to changing situations.
• Vision – Alcohol can slow eye muscle function, alter eye movement, and alter visual perception, possibly resulting in blurred vision. Night vision and color perception also can be impaired.
• Tracking – Alcohol can decrease the ability to judge the car's position on the road, or the location of other vehicles, center line, or road signs.
• Concentration – Alcohol may cause attention to driving to decrease and/or drowsiness to occur.
• Comprehension - Alcohol can hinder the ability to make rational decisions
• Coordination - Reduced eye/hand/foot coordination can be caused by drinking too much alcohol.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 young people in the United States are killed and 40,000 are injured in auto accidents when alcohol is involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates more than 26,000 lives have been saved since the drinking age was increased to 21.

NEW STI DETECTOR

These Teens Just Invented A Condom That Changes Color If You Have An STD

It’s called the S.T.EYE and it could help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

A group of 13- and 14-year-old students just developed a “smart” condom that glows in different colors if it detects a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Creators Muaz Nawaz, Daanyaal Ali, and Chirag Shah, from London’s Isaac Newton Academy, wanted to “make detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before” without invasive testing.

Their invention, cleverly named the S.T.EYE, nabbed them the top health innovation prize at the city’s TeenTech Awards, which are intended to promote science, engineering, and technology in schools. At the competition, groups of kids ranging in age from 11 to 16 attempt to create “technology to make life better, simpler or easier.”

The condom uses a built-in indicator that changes to a different color depending on the bacteria or infection it detects. The students said it may glow green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for human papillomavirus, or blue for syphilis.

Molecules in the condom attach to the bacteria of common STIs, causing the contraception to fluoresce in low light.

“We wanted to make something that make detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the invasive procedures at the doctors,” 14-year-old Ali said. “We’ve made sure we’re able to give peace of mind to users and make sure people can be even more responsible than ever before.”
Other top entries included a hair clip with Wi-Fi that changes color based on your outfit, and sneakers that can charge electronics.

The boys’ prize is £1,000 and a trip to Buckingham Palace, where they will be presented with their award.

It’s important to note the colorful condoms are still in the conceptual stage, with a spokesperson for TeenTech telling the Daily Dot they’re “very much a concept and… not a finalized design.”

facts to know about underage drinking

effects of alcohol abuse

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the harmful use of alcohol results in 2.5 million deaths each year globally. Alcohol is associated with more than 60 adverse health consequences and is ranked by the WHO as the third leading cause of death and disability in the developed world. This is supported by the latest data from the Global Burden of Disease report, which ranks alcohol as the third most dangerous health risk in the entire world. It is also the leading risk factor in the Western Pacific and the Americas and the second highest in Europe. Dealing with the problems of alcohol consumption is rated as more important than high cholesterol levels and obesity, 3 times more important than diabetes and 5 times more important than asthma.

A nation's consumption of alcohol directly impacts on the health of its citizens. The European Comparative Alcohol Study has found that for all European Union (EU) countries, any rise or fall in alcohol consumption runs parallel to the harm caused by it.*

This especially applies to the UK, where deaths from liver cirrhosis (largely caused by alcohol) increased – as did consumption levels – between 1987 and 2001. Cirrhosis deaths more than doubled over the period in Scotland alone, and are now among the highest in Western Europe.

But alcohol does not just impact on the body; it affects mental health too. Alcohol is the second most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world, (caffeine is first). Some of the most frequently cited reasons for drinking involve bringing about a change of mood in order to feel better (e.g. drinking 'to relieve stress', cheer oneself up, etc). But alcohol is actually a depressant, and when it is consumed to harmful levels it becomes one of the leading risk factors for depression and suicides. As a result, virtually every system can be affected by the consumption of alcohol.

Shocking details of drug abuse in schools

hocking details of drug abuse in schools

Reports by the police on drug abuse are worrying, with more than 100 cases of drug abuse every month in Harare alone.

 

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The problem of under-age drug abuse goes deeper than school policies.

Statistics from the Anti- Drug Abuse Association of Zimbabwe (ADAAZ) say up to 43 per cent of students know of schoolmates found in possession of cigarettes. This could be your child’s best friend or, even worse, your son or daughter.
Kenneth Moyo was an angry man. Last year, the head teacher of the school his Form One daughter attended had just called him and accused his daughter of the unthinkable.

The suspension letter his 14-year-old daughter brought home said it all.

Warning

She had been “found in possession of a banned substance which was also found in the possession of several other students” and “the school was investigating whether she was involved in distributing it”.
It was during the two-week suspension that Moyo got to know the extent to which his daughter – the apple of his eye – abused drugs of every kind. “She downed bronco, smoked cigarettes and mbanje and I suspect she was even into harder drugs,” said the shocked father.
The reality today is that four out of five school-going children are abusing drugs without the knowledge of their parents. According to police, the statistics should be a cause of worry for the entire nation.
But experts warn parents are taking little or no notice. “Some of us are catalysts of these behaviours. We have increasingly adopted a laissez-faire parenting method where we think our children are old enough to make the correct decisions. There is a reason why we are parents and they are children. They need firm guidance,” says counsellor Eunice Kwaramba.
Some parents acknowledge the difficulty in policing their child’s every move.

Give guidance

Whether the children are at home, at school or transiting between the two, it is never easy to keep tabs on what exactly they are doing and in what company. “Parents have come to accept a lot of grey areas in their parenting and this is where the children get loopholes to exploit,” said Kwaramba.
Mary Wamba is a mother of three. She says she tries her best to give guidance to her children, but she can never be sure if it is enough. “It becomes hard as a parent to monitor your children especially if they are into their teenage years. As a parent with two teenage boys in high school, I try my best to monitor their progress and ensure they do not end up in bad habits, such as abusing drugs and alcohol,” she said. “I do not give them huge amounts of money. I only give what I feel is enough for them to sustain them till when I am able to visit them in school. This is one way of ensuring that they do not easily access illegal substances. As parents, we have a big role as far as the fight against drug abuse among students is concerned,” she added.

Bronco only $2

Many boarding schools end up stipulating the amount of money a parent can give as pocket money. But today a child can access several illicit drugs for a fraction of that amount. For the price of a loaf of bread, a cheeky student can get two portions of marijuana. With $2, another can get Bronco or access cheap intoxicating liquor.
Is money really the issue? ADAAZ says a lot more than pocket money contributes to the problem, including the schools’ set up and rules and regulations. Some schools are not strict enough while others are located in environments that enable drug abuse - such as near bars.
Loice Nhengo, a psychiatrist, believes the problem of under-age drug abuse goes deeper than school policies. “The fundamental thing is to address the psychological pressures the student is undergoing. Seldom would you find a student waking up and downing a whole bottle of alcohol just for fun. In almost all cases there is an underlying psychological issue,” she said.
These may include abuse, stress over school performance or the experiencing of a traumatic life episode. “For instance, children who have undergone some form of sexual abuse are more likely to develop a drugs-related disorder,” added Nhengo.

Not supportive

Despite the recognition of devastating effects of drugs and alcohol on students, many schools have not instituted measures to prevent the onset of alcohol and drug consumption in schools. But homes and communities where students come from have not been supportive either.
Although most schools conduct searches on opening day, most students still beat the system. They are introduced to drugs and alcohol through many ways including peer pressure, the desire to experiment, cheap and accessible drugs and alcohol, the environment both at home and school, poor role models from parents among other factors.
“Students conceal alcohol and drugs in drinks, powdered milk and even detergents. Some students mix alcohol in juices by extracting some part of the juice from the bottle and pour in the alcohol such that there is a higher percentage of alcohol in the bottle.
“Some drugs even pass as sweets or chewing gum, some are put in the back side of the actual toothpaste and the tube carefully sealed back into its normal shape and in sanitary towels. Some students go as far as creating a hole in bar soaps and hiding the drugs in there,” explains Ntakuka.
Highly addictive drugs such as heroin and cocaine also make their way past school authorities to the students via school staff.
Investigations revealed that some drugs such as cocaine and mbanje are stocked in margarine containers and inside torches aimed at the student market. Alcohol is also smuggled in bottles of liquid detergents.

 article from the Zimbabwean