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I Decide I will Not
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SAY “NO” TO DRUGS by Dr. Shakuntala Dawesar, School Counsellor
Dr. Shakuntala Dawesar qualified from The Armed Forces Medical College in Pune and trained at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. She has been in the practice of Family Medicine and Counseling for the past three and a half decades.
She was awarded The National Science Talent Scholarship in 1966 in the year in which it was instituted. She Received The Scroll of Honour for Outstanding Contribution to the Community and the Medical Profession from the South Delhi Branch of the Delhi Medical Association in 1989 and again in the year 2008. In 1995 she was recognized for her tremendous contribution to the Polio Immunization Programme in the city. In 1991, she pioneered the formation of the world’s first All Women’s Rotary Club and in 1995 led a Rotary Group Study Exchange Team to North Carolina, USA, where over a period of four weeks she delivered over 50 public lectures on various subjects.
For many years, Dr. Shakuntala Dawesar wrote a weekly column for the Hindustan Times entitled “ Help Mate “ and later “ Talk it over “ in which she addressed the medical, emotional and social queries of the readers.
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Medicines are also called drugs. They are generally prepared by extraction from plants or through chemical compounds in the laboratory. The study of drugs is called Pharmacology and this branch of Science deals with the effects of a drug on the human body. This effect is the basis of treatment of symptoms and diseases. Every drug has many effects and side effects and should only be taken under the supervision of a prescribing medical practitioner.
Some substances and drugs have an effect on the mind and mood of an individual. They create abnormal sensations in the body and alter the mental state of the person and are taken for non curative purposes. These are commonly referred to as “drugs” and are extremely harmful as they possess the characteristic of causing dependence or craving. A person who takes such drugs without medical indication is termed a drug abuser and anyone who abuses drugs, becomes a drug addict. Drug addiction destroys the mental and physical health of a person.
Every youth must have knowledge about the harmful effects of drugs and their highly addicting nature. They make the user a slave who loses all control over his own mind and body. NEVER submit to any offer to “try it just once “ You have control over your choice to take a drug but once you take it, the drug controls your mind and your behaviour. It is a frightening thought. Every single person who has abused drugs has regretted it. Drugs have harmful effects on all parts of the body. From heart disease to cancer, they cause many ailments and they slowly destroy one’s health and well being. They bring sorrow to the person who uses them and to those in the family. Eventually, a drug user is shunned by all and suffers his agonies alone. The nicotine in cigarettes and the alcohol in drinks, are also addictive substances and should be avoided.
The horrors of drug addiction cannot be imagined. My earnest plea to all adolescents is to steer clear of this menace. Everyone must understand fully the seriousness of trying out even once any addictive substance, starting with cigarette. Peer pressure in such matters is an absurd reason for consent to try it out. If, indeed, there is such peer pressure then an adolescent must know it is time to change one’s company and move on.
The human being is one of the greatest marvels on this earth. Let us preserve our minds and our bodies by leading healthy lives with a balanced diet, adequate exercise and a purposeful existence. Knowledge gives us the power to make wise choices and be in control of our lives. Use this power to surge ahead and realize your goals. Say NO to drugs.
Dr. Shakuntala Dawesar
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I Decide - I Will Not Take Drugs
Drug addiction is really self-destructive. This self-destruction may take some time but it is a sure death, as 'Drugs bring misery and ruin'. This addiction is very much prevalent among the youth especially those studying in professional colleges, like engineering and medical institutions.
Sometimes, they take a puff of a cigarette having marijuana and brown sugar just for some 'relief'. This 'relief' is for freedom from boredom, they think so but soon they become its victim and from here starts the life of self-destruction. 'Drugs may thrill, but they only kill'.
You may find those addicted to drugs beginning at bus stands, railway stations or even before religious places, but before it, they have used all sources for getting money to buy these drugs. For example, they sell their books and acquire the habit of theft. In fact, they have exhausted all avenues of getting money to buy this killer. They reach a stage where they can't live without taking a shot. If this is not possible they undergo horrible pain in the body. They are so desperate and addicted to take one shot that they even sell the costliest item. As it is a fact that 'It is very easy to get in and impossible to get out'.
The addiction makes physical wreck. They get many deadly diseases. They now live only for these deadly drugs. 'Break drugs before drugs break you'. Nothing matters to them except the means of how to get money and buy drugs. What was first fun is now a death trap for them. So 'Shun drugs for yourself before they shun you'. As someone rightly said ' It is better to go home than a nursing home'.
Recently it was in the news that the Samsung heiress was caught red-handed with 1500 kg of coke.
People who indulge in drugs and are really addicted to it getting to know its pros and cons, they try avoiding it. Avoiding drugs is really impossible as the lust for drugs never dies. So they are sent rehabilitation centers where they are made to accommodate and fit into a drug free environment, far away from the cities to overcome their lust for drugs and they are made to start a new life in a different way and they are made to love life. But it is very rare that people in rehabs survive because more than 90 percent of such people commit suicide, as it is really difficult for them to leave drugs. As you know 'Bad habits die hard'. Thus I decide that I will never take drugs.
PRANAV MOHINDRU
CLASS XII B
The Indian Express, 22 July 2010
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DRUGS
It lies in the moment
The feeling “high”
You wish to escape later
But you can just try.
It ruins relations,
Self esteem can die
And doesn’t even spare you
a moment to say goodbye.
Things fall out of place
Shatters the peace around
You lose control of yourself
Its emptiness that sounds.
The world of drugs
Beckons one and all
But the one who gets lured
Is the one inviting his fall
An inescapable terrain it is
The phase starts with no end.
The mistakes committed unknowingly
Are the ones that one can’t be mend.
Our existence is to serve a purpose
Unravel all that IS
But everything gets blown away
‘cause of drugs momentary bliss.
The words that have yet not been spoken
The things I need to convey
Are the ones going on in my mind
I just can’t find a way.
You get lost within the dark
For long you see no light
Holding on to the memory
Of a time when things were right.
There are substitutes to make you fly
You know worries end, when you are high
But you also know drugs hit so fast
All you say is “this will be the last”
Depression is the key of all
For the addicts, drug is the call
They start thinking they want to die.
There is no one who cares or questions why.
You decide to take that last shot once more
Then you are gone, there is nothing to live for.
The fight is yours and yours alone
No matter what we do
For we cannot save any
The one who can is you.
MANSI KABRA
CLASS XII A
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