Drugs

If you're below 16, it is illegal for you to buy tobacco. But the fact of the matter is that many young people, regardless of their age, do smoke. Why? Look at these smoking myths:

• Smoking calms you down - Well, the act of smoking might distract you from a problem, but the nicotine in the cigarette will stimulate your body. In the end, having a fag will not calm you down.
• Smoking keeps your weight down - Nicotine can take the edge off your appetite, it's true. But stopping smoking doesn't mean you'll put weight on. If you do eat more when you stop, it's because you're looking for substitutes for smoking. So, once you've stopped if you eat healthily, and don't just camp outside your fridge, you'll be fine!
• Smoking is cool - How cool is having hair and clothes that smell, teeth and fingers that are yellow and no breath for running for a bus?

Kicking the habit

We all like to have a laugh and a good night out. Although you don't need alcohol to have a great time many young people choose to drink, most drink alcohol without experiencing serious harm or injury. But there can be risks for you if you are under the influence of alcohol.

• If you are in your early teens or younger, alcohol will affect you more because your body isn't fully-grown.
• The immediate effects of drinking can be: Nausea, vomiting, headaches and hangovers.
• It can also affect your mental health through: anxiety, insomnia, depression, attempted suicide, suicide.
• On a social level it can lead to: Criminal damage, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, arguments with your partners or family and domestic violence.
• Female drinkers are affected even more due to biological differences between the sexes. Binge drinking is on the increase and is very bad for you.

Binge drinking is -?Any drinking session which involves the consumption of at least eight units of alcohol, if you are a man, or six, if you are a woman.' Binge drinking increases your risks of accident, getting injured as a result of a fight, damage your health and it has been linked to strokes, kidney damage, memory loss and an increased breast cancer risk in women.

Drug laws are very complicated indeed. But if you get caught, not knowing the law won't make any difference.

• It is illegal to possess, produce or supply the following drugs (called controlled drugs): LSD; Cocaine and crack; Ecstasy; Amphetamines; Heroin; Cannabis; GHB; Magic Mushrooms; Anabolic Steroids.
• It is illegal to possess tranquillisers (also a controlled drug) without a personal prescription, and it's illegal to supply them to others.
• It is illegal to possess GHB, it is not illegal to posses poppers - but you could be arrested if you share poppers with others.
• It is not illegal to possess gases or solvents, but shopkeepers cannot supply gases or solvents to under 18's if they suspect or know they will be used for abuse purposes.

Cannabis and the law

The pressures on young people to buy and take drugs are growing, so it's to your advantage to know the facts. And here they are... a rundown of the main drugs and their effects.

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide):

What is it? LSD is an hallucinogenic drug that comes in tiny squares of paper, often with a picture on one side or as very small tablets

What does it do? LSD can have a powerful, often unpredictable effect on your mind. Users may experience their surroundings in a very different way, including the distortion of objects, movement, vision and hearing. Hallucinations are also common. The effects are commonly known as a -??trip', and may last for 8 to 12 hours. Much depends on the strength of the drug, the user's mood, their location and surroundings. Some users experience flashbacks of past -??trips' for a long time afterwards.

Addiction is a term used to describe a situation where someone feels that they have to use a substance just to be able to feel normal. Although not entirely accurate, it can be useful to think about dependence or addiction in two ways:

Physical addiction: Drugs like heroin and tranquillisers work by changing the way your body works. The more you take, the more you'll need to feel normal and before too long your body will physically require the drug to function. Withdrawing from substances causes unpleasant physical effects. These include severe flu like symptoms for heroin, and fits and convulsions that are potentially fatal for alcohol and tranquillisers. Physical withdrawal should be carefully managed.