Please respond....this is urgent!

I was just wondering, would it help to reduce alcohol-addiction if senior students in my college got together and counseled their juniors about the negative effects of alcohol and nicotine? I understand that they can't totally get rid of it. Perhaps they wouldn't even want to. In my college, at least a little bit of social drinking is considered important training for future life. Besides, alcohol plays a very important role in college politics, so there would be heavy opposition to any suggestion to reduce its consumption. However, I do hope to achieve at least this much:

1. There would be no forcing of liquor on juniors/friends (by maroing sento or otherwise)
2. Before the first daru-party, the negative effects of alcohol would be explained to all juniors. After them it would be up to them to decide whether they still want to drink or not. In either case, the importance of drinking responsibly would be explained to them.
3. The seniors would ensure that any junior who shows signs of addiction gets proper medical help.
   

I don't know how achievable these goals are, so I request whoever reads this to give their feedback. If there are any seniors who can help me with this please do leave your contact details.

Before I end, I think I should also state the reason why I think this might work. See, your juniors look up to you. If the Director or the Dean make such an attempt, they will get laughed at, but your juniors will listen to you. Even if they ignore all warnings, your advice will always remain at the back of their minds. And, well, it might just save their life someday. So, please give this a thought. And do give your feedback.

Alcohol destroys families...don't let it destroy yours

Pam

Cute Anti-smoking Ad.....what part of it do You not understand?!

Free website design guide.

Another Rakhi without you Bhaiya. Well.......watever

Even One matters!!

There was this article in the Scientific American, May 2008 issue, about how the brain can get addicted to nicotine(the substance smoked in cigarettes,etc. ) with just one cigarette. The author Joseph R. DiFranza, talks about how some of his teenage patients developed nicotine-addiction with just two months of smoking @ only a few cigarettes a week. The kids were unable to quit smoking despite making serious effort(Sounds like some of my friends in college. You listening, people?). He also discusses a new theory to explain how withdrawal symptoms can develop in novice smokers. He also lists a set of questions, which he calls the 'Hooked on Nicotine Checklist' or HONC, that he uses to detect addiction. I summarize both the theory and the HONC here.

The Theory
Dr. DiFranza suggests that in non-smokers, the brain's systems for generating and inhibiting cravings are in balance. The craving-generation system triggers a craving, like for food when a person ought to eat, and the craving-inhibition system stops it when the person is satiated. Now, nicotine stimulates the craving-inhibition system and increases its activity. So the brain tries to balance the system by correspondingly increasing the activity of the craving-generation system. When the effects of nicotine wear off, the craving-inhibition system returns to its normal state, but the craving-generation system is still in overdrive and produces an intense desire for more nicotine.

A single cigarette can suppress withdrawal symptoms (result of the craving-generation mechanism) for weeks, even though the nicotine is no longer present in the body. So the novice smoker can stay symptom-free for a long time. With repeated use, however, tolerance develops and one needs to smoke more frequently. You might think," Hey! One would do no harm. I am in full control of myself.", but it is ensnaring your brain, slowly but surely.

The Hooked on Nicotine Checklist
This is the checklist. An answer of 'yes' to anyone of the questions indicates that addiction has begun. I dare you to take the test, specially questions 4 and 5. Most of the people who smoke usually tell me that they need to smoke because they are feeling 'low' or because they need to stay awake at night. Go ahead, here's the HONC:

1. Have you ever tried to quit smoking, but couldn't?
2. Do you smoke now because it is really hard to quit?
   
3. Have you ever felt like you were addicted to tobacco?
4. Do you ever have strong cravings to smoke?
5. Have you ever felt like you really needed a cigarette?
6. Is it hard to keep from smoking in places you are not supposed to, like school?

When you tried to stop smoking(or, when you haven't used tobacco for a while):
7. Did you find it hard to concentrate because you couldn't smoke?
8. Did you feel more irritable because you couldn't smoke?
9. Did you feel a strong need or urge to smoke?
10. Did you feel nervous, restless or anxious because you couldn't smoke?

Yeah....it was too bright for me too, specially in this weather. So it's cool blue for now. :)