The effects of certain unhealthy things

[uss]

I wanted to think about what I've tried and might eventually try in the future. I mean alcoholic beverages, smoke, drugs, and things like that.

I want everybody's personal opinion and judgement. Also there should be some people here who are experienced in this type of stuff. If any moderator should have to close this, then please do so. The purpose of this topic is to help people, including myself, in such situations. For a great majority of people, it's only a matter of time when they'll be introduced to.. things.

I remember I made one such post in the old days, but I want to refresh my memory, and get more into this conversation - who knows what you can stumble into in a night out with friends

I've had the pleasure of having waterpipe - the 27th of November. I felt a disgusting taste of charcoal with it. My friend said that I had that because I had never smoked in my life. So that was when I tried my first smoke. It felt ok, but I vowed not to take regular smoke again - at least in quite a while. Last Friday, I tried some waterpipe again - just to remember what it felt like.

Now my question is, how unhealthy is waterpipe? The person who gave me some said "It isn't unhealty at all - The smoke isn't unhealthy anymore once it goes through the water." Then again, I've asked some others, who don't smoke, and they said that it is, to an extent, unhealthy. So they all believe in what they want to

Alcoholic beverages: I recently was offered a bottle of dark beer. Without hesitation, I accepted the beer, since we all know Estonian beer is great(A Le Coq!) It was 7,5% alcohol, which is pretty much the average in Estonia. Although I've been drinking some from time to time, I got drunk from drinking even half of the bottle. I drank the rest of it, which made it quite fun to play WCIII:TFT Multi Player This was the second time I've got really drunk, the other one being from drinking about half a bottle of Russki Razmir, Russian vodka, which is 'supposed' to be one of the best there is(Pretty quickly I found out that Estonian vodka is much better than that bitter taste ). I've set my drinking priorities pretty low - To not getting drunk but drinking at least a small degree of alcohol per day, so my body would get used to it.

I also know a few people at school who grow marijuana - If my friend would offer some, should I..? I myself want to live in the lines of "First time for everything," but avoid the second time, especially if it's something very serious. What scares me a bit is if one has the willpower to avoid the second time - sometimes the effect is enough to leave a lifetime scar, and one might make a huge mistake trying everything in their grasp.


Any constructive comments appreciated,
Thank you.

[Firestormalpha]

Working from the view that this may be legal in your country, I'd say try it if you want to.

For health reasons I's say stay away from all the stuff you mentioned.

From the view of a concerned bystander I'd say avoid the stuff altogether; I've seen people screw up their lives completely because of it.

[Epona]

Mmmm, I have a suspicion this thread may end up locked!

I would say whatever you do, do it in moderation.

If you have an addictive personality, don't try stuff, and don't start smoking tobacco anyway - it's really bad for you and allegedly more difficult to quit than heroin (which I would also advise against trying! Personally I don't like it, but it's easy to get hooked)

I don't really want to be encouraging youngsters to start trying anything really, but if you're going to dabble then make sure it's from a position of knowledge rather than ignorance. And don't do anything just cos your friends say it's cool.

[johnny]

Stay away from it.

[Horatio]

Just carrying on with what Firestormalpha said...try it if you want, but all the stuff mentioned has the possibility to screw your life around.
The alcohal per day idea is not a good one, either Just enjoy a good drink from time to time, but don't go OTT on the stuff, mate

[Ghoul]

Perhaps most important, don't let someone talk you into trying stuff you intentionally decided not to try. This may sound silly, but it's much harder to say "no" when 5 people are around you (doing drugs, getting drunk,...) and tell you all the time to "give it a try". This one try may be enough to get hooked and ruin your live.

But if you decide to try it, always keep in mind that keeping control over yourself can get harder everytime you "try". [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[T/-/alali]

I would seriously advise against using ANY of the stuff you talked about. I've seen peoples lives change because of "one little try". I have never had the desire to try anything like that, maybe it's because I've seen what it can do.
Good luck on your responsible choice making.

[Stormymystic]

Smoking= black lungs, always coughing, bronchitis and emphysema when you are older

Alcohol=damaged liver, possible dialysis when you are older, also makes you look really stupid in front of friends

drugs=depending n they type, can either leave you comatose, dead, or someone who amounts to nothing

yes, I smoke and drink, no I no longer do drugs, I tried crack one time, did not eat for almost a week after trying it, husband was worried, parents were freaking out, and only a few people knew I had tried it, I will never do it again, used to smoke weed, but it makes me sick, as it does to alot of people after years of use, to be honest, if I could quit smoking, I would but I do not have the want or willpower to do it, I know it is bad, and gross, and sometimes can not stand the taste, but I have to have it or so I believe, and have panic attacks if I do not smoke, tell you another good reason not to try it? it is highly addictive is started at a young age, the younger you are, the more you will be addicted to it when you get to be alot older, I know it seems cool to try, but is it not better to look at the long run of things? my parents although they told me it was bad, they bought them for me, with good intentions I promise, their reasoning was that they would rather buy them for us, than to have us get it off the street and not know what was in it, had a friend who bummed one off a guy, turned out to be laced with PCP, almost killed him, so you also have to think of that as well, if you do start, where will you get them? off the street? or will a family member buy it for you? all said, I regret ever smoking in the first place, but when you are 11 years old, and every one you know smokes, what are you going to do?

[Lord of Alcohol]

Originally posted by johnny: Stay away from it.

I echo Johnny on this one, despite my screen name. Trust me when I say your are better off without any of them

[Bungleau]

Just came back from a thought-provoking discussion, and I'll toss this in:

If you've figured out what you want to do with your life, even if it's just a fuzzy picture of the future, use that as a guideline and ask yourself what doing or using "X" will do to help you get there.

If you can see where it will help you accomplish one of your goals or objectives, then go ahead and pursue it (subject to legal considerations and such).

If it will not help you get where you want to go, then you might seriously ask yourself why you're doing it.

Note that this applies to anything, not just "experiences" as noted above.

I'll also add that I didn't know what I wanted to do for quite some time, and in some ways, I still don't. But I do have an idea of possible futures, and of some that I want to avoid. It's all about choices... and you're responsible for your own.