Doing drugs and drinking alcohol is as bad as going skydiving without a parachute. Who would want to do that? It is deadly and definitely something to regret. “Every eight seconds, someone dies from tobacco use,” (Martin, 1). Getting into drugs and alcohol doesn’t only hurt the one doing the acts; it hurts other people as well. “More than 4,000 toxic or carcinogenic chemicals have been found in tobacco smoke,” (Martin, 1). Releasing all of those chemicals into the air is definitely not healthy for anybody. Some teenagers get into these bad habits without knowing the long term consequences, internal damages, and causes for their behavior.


The long term consequences for drug and alcohol use consists of losing respect, ruining one’s future, and grades going down the tubes. Parents and teachers expect students to make the right decisions; so, if they mess up, some respect is lost. When drugs and alcohol are in the system, all that is on the mind is when to get that next high or that next bottle. “Between 80,000 and 100,000 children worldwide start smoking every day,” (Martin, 1). Grades are the last thing on most teenage addict’s minds, causing their grades to suffer. If drugs are not in the system, school is more of a priority and students are more focused. Goals are easier to reach when the system is clean.

The internal damages the body goes through with drugs and alcohol in it is tremendous. Cancer, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, brain damage, anxiety, and even death are all possibilities. “Cigarettes cause more than one in five American deaths,” (Martin, 1). The body can only take so much destruction before it shuts down. Being considered “cool” is not more important than the life expectancy. “Every cigarette smoked cuts at least five minutes of life on average - about the time taken to smoke it,” (Martin, 1). People always say “I’ll quit once I get something life threatening,” when a lot of times, it is too late. “Half of long-term smokers will die from tobacco,” (Martin, 1). There is not a cure to every disease.

The reason so many teens do drugs and drink alcohol is because of peer pressure, family troubles, and denial of all the garbage that comes with it. “About 15 billion cigarettes are sold daily - or 10 million every minute,” (Martin, 1). So many people get pressured into doing drugs because they don’t have enough will power to say no. “Among young teens (aged 13 to 15), about one in five smokes worldwide,” (Martin, 1). When things aren’t going so good at home, sometimes people feel like they don’t care anymore and just want to rebel when that is not a good way to handle things. They should talk to somebody about it or find other activities to do to keep their mind off things and keep themselves busy. When they are doing the drugs, they just think it is fun and not a big deal when it is damaging the body so much and it will all add up eventually. “Evidence shows that around 50% of those who start smoking in adolescent years go on to smoke for 15 to 20 years,” (Martin, 1). Nobody wants to be a smoker for 15 to 20 years. “Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death,” (Martin, 1). The smokers are in denial that anything is happening to them and they think they can just continue what they are doing and nothing bad will happen.

Drugs and alcohol don’t benefit anybody in any way. All they do is ruin people’s future and bodies. Never starting leads to never getting addicted. Once somebody starts these bad habits, they are just asking for cancer or some other disease. Misuse of drugs and alcohol ruin families and peoples’ lives every single day.
Works Cited
Martin, Terry. "Global Smoking Statistics." Quit Smoking | Quit Smoking Support | Smoking Cessation. 28 Jan. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.