With the
generation now days, it’s the new “it” thing for teenagers to get drunk or
high. But such thing is illegal for a minor and if caught with such item, you
can get arrested. That's why teens are turning to household items, manipulating
their purpose to get a high or drunk. Since drugs and alcohol are hard to
obtain, teens are turning to household items to abuse to get the “buzz” because
they’re cheaper and more easily accessible.
With this
topic not being too talked about, some might not even think this is a problem
because they’re focusing on the more mainstream topics that teenagers suffer
from. For example, alcohol, weed, and drugs. When people hear that teenagers
are abusing household products so get the “buzz”, they don’t really take it in
and consider the fact that this is a really dangerous problem that may get them
killed. Also, some people may even think that this isn’t as bad as other
growing problems out there such as alcohol abuse and drug abuse. Even though
those things are illegal or have an age limit, it doesn’t necessarily mean that
abusing household items isn’t as dangerous.
Because household items isn’t illegal and its very easy to attain, kids
are turning to the fact that they can search on the Internet to learn how to
abuse such items. For example, hand sanitizer. The California poision control
system received at least 60 reports of teenagers drinking hand sanitizer since
2010. Although, 60 people isn’t a very large number, it still should be
overlooked. Kids have figured out that there is a very high alcohol content in
the item and they go on the Internet to learn how to separate the item to only
get the alcohol. While other kids drink the sanitizer straight up.
Abusing
such items also causes some major health effects that may damage you both long
and short term. Some short-term effects
it may give you are dizziness, hallucinations, anger, dazed, excessive
tiredness, slurred speech and feeling light headed. Although you may not think these side effects
are not that serious, there are some long-term effects that may also occur when
doing such things. For example, severe mood swings, depression, becoming
suicidal, unable to concentrate, easily agitated, personality changes and
memory loss. Then of course with excessive usage of abusing household items
there is also the risk of brain damage ad death.
So why do
kids experiment with such things? Of course, for some it may be the main
reason, is because kids want to “fit in”. With the generation now days,
teenagers think it’s cool to get drunk or high because of media influence.
Especially rap music, it talks about the great things and come with doing these
types of drugs. Another way teenagers get sucked into doing these types of
things are because they want to fit in with their friends, be in with a certain
group, or they even get peer pressured in to it. From abusing these household
items, teens like the “effect” they get from it and they feel as if they’re
more “grown up”. Another reason why teenagers abuse household items is because
they are easily accessible and its sometimes very affordable. Since its very
easy to walk into a drugstore and buy these items, its not that hard to obtain.
And sometimes it may even be at your home. Some items that may be abuses are whipped
cream cans, aerosol, cough syrup, nutmeg, hand sanitizers and man more other
products.
Some may
think abusing household items still isn’t a problem after reading this, but it
is. With kids experimenting and willing to try new things, teens shouldn’t be
worries about not trying something just to fit in because in the long run, its
better for your life and you might just save your own.
