Tag Archives: drugs

The 10 Most Common Addictions

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David Duchovny Sex Addiction David Duchovny of X-Files – Hollywood’s Most Famous Sex Addict

The term "addiction" may vary in context. It may refer to an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological dependence. In medical terminology, “addiction is defined as a chronic neurobiological disorder with psychosocial, environmental and genetic dimensions”.

In no particular order, the most common types of addiction that people deal with are the following:

1. Alcohol Addiction
Considered a legal substance for adults and readily available, alcohol intake can be excessive or prolonged and lead to an addiction. More often than not, people may get addicted to alcohol as they consider intake of it as a way a way to self-medicate. Approximately 50% of accidents and crimes may be attributed to excessive alcohol drinking. Alcohol addiction is also a major factor to getting health problems such as liver or heart diseases, brain damage and cancer.

2. Smoking
Technically speaking, the act of smoking is not making people addicted to it, but it is the nicotine contained in cigarettes that smokers struggle to fight against. Nicotine is a substance that is naturally highly-addictive, which makes it difficult for most to quit smoking. To aid in the quest to end this addiction, modern society has become less tolerant of smokers by designating non-smoking areas. There are prescribed and over-the-counter drugs that help smokers control nicotine addiction. Also, several support groups have also been formed to help smokers quit.

3. Drug Addiction
Drug addiction does not pertain only to craving and abuse of illegal narcotics but also legal drugs. Contrary to the widely accepted perception, spotting a drug addict may not be easy due to different physical or behavioral drug symptoms. A good example is cocaine abuse which may be evident in persistent nasal problems, but may not affect others in the same way. Addiction to the marijuana substance may cause addicts chronic cough or memory loss, while others suffer no apparent ill effects.

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The Five Most Common New Year’s Resolutions

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Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make.

Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make.

Every New Year marks a celebration of new beginnings. Most people associate this occasion with commitments to reform old habits or make lifestyle changes, usually for the better, effective January 1. As 2009 comes to a close, people make pledges to resolve certain practices or issues and experience a fresh start as they welcome 2010.

Check out this prominent list of recurring New Year’s resolutions. Is yours one of them?

1. Get fit.
People vow to put on the right weight by paying attention to what they eat and exercising more. Depending on a person’s need, getting in shape may mean losing or gaining weight. However, this drive for healthy living sparked by the freshness of the New Year normally takes a backseat as people start leading their busy lives. As weight loss or weight gain becomes less of a priority, fitness becomes a lifelong underachieved goal.

2. Quit drinking and smoking.
Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make. Fact is, not everyone is equipped to make drastic lifestyle changes all at once. Over the years, the availability of over-the-counter nicotine replacement drug and a world of quit-drinking therapies are proving to be effective as vice-quitting aids. However, About.com says that on the average, drinkers and smokers make at least four attempts before finally quitting for good. People repeatedly commit to quit and fail, keeping this New Year’s resolution always on the list.

3. Manage finances wisely.
To say that money is a source of stress is an understatement. The year 2009 was plagued by unstable and unpredictable global economies, thus getting a handle on finances was no easy job. Spending less, spending just right, paying debt or securing the finances for oneself or for the family is a promise that makes it to the top yearly resolutions. It is expected to be part of the list many times over in the coming years.

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Prevent Cancer Naturally

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Prevent Cancer Naturally

breast cancer cells (in pale violet) attacking healthier cells (in blue green)

It is already a fact that cancer is one of the deadliest diseases that has ever hit the world. Despite what we know of cancer and how it affects the body, not much is known as to why it occurs in the first place. Adding to people’s concerns are the current strategies to treat and hopefully cure cancer. Available options for cancer patients include radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Not only do these processes cause great discomfort to the patient, their success rate has never been much acceptable.

As such, the best way to fight cancer would be to stop it from taking place. Surprisingly enough, one does not have to take drugs in order to prevent cancer.

It is sometimes a paradox that our ancestors never had to face the wrath of cancer and be able to live longer than us, even though we are supposedly medically superior to them. At the same time many veterinarians concede that there are only a tiny amount of animal deaths were caused by cancer tumors. These striking data only confirm the belief that it is not just destructive cells that divide rapidly that is the cause of cancer. Cancer is the end result of our mismatched lifestyle.

It is true that cancer attacks almost anyone, but trends have started to show that cancer cells are encouraged by how we live our lives. If you eat too much, drink a lot, and smoke several times a day, you are more likely to have cancer.

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Top 10 Wonder Drugs

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Since ancient man first discovered the therapeutic (or otherwise) use of plants, drugs have evolved from simple leaf concoctions to complex synthetic chemicals that modern man uses to treat ailments. The following are some of the greatest drugs that man has come up with.

Penicillin

Penicillin

1. Penicillin.
This most common of drugs is probably the most underrated. Its discovery is generally credited to Alexander Fleming of Scotland, who in 1928 demonstrated that by letting penicillium notatum grow in the proper substrate, it gives off material that has antibiotic properties. He called it penicillin. His discovery won him a Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1945.
The Australian Howard Walter Florey, however, is the one who gets credit for developing penicillin as an antibiotic. Florey shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine along with his colleague Ernest Chain the same year Fleming did.

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