Motivation
For years in America we've been talking about the drug problem and "winning the war on drugs," yet we continue to lose the "war." It's true - drug usage temporarily declined, but recently the use of marijuana, heroin and LSD has substantially increased and teenage girls, especially, are taking up smoking in ever-increasing numbers. This is preparation for disaster.
I say this because virtually every destructive habit starts gradually, perhaps "innocently," before escalating into something far more serious. Obesity, promiscuity, gambling, hard drug use, alcoholism, smoking, profane language, violence, etc., all begin casually or with no serious thought of where the habit will ultimately lead.
It is a well-known fact that in virtually every instance the person involved in hard core drugs started with either smoking or drinking. Drugs, including nicotine, have a dramatic effect on a young person's brain chemistry. That effect, while satisfying at first, begins to cry for more, bigger, stronger, faster "fixes," and the person gradually moves into the heavy stuff with tragic results.
The way to solve the cocaine, heroin and other hard drug problems is to solve the smoking and alcohol problems. Think about it: In 1994 cigarettes caused the premature deaths of over four hundred thousand people and alcohol caused the premature deaths of over a hundred fifty-thousand people. While it's true that hard drugs generate a significant portion of crime, it's also true that less than 50,000 lives are lost because of hard drug use.
The point is clear: Solve the smoking and drinking problems and we will save many lives, prevent innumerable broken hearts and homes, avoid considerable economic disaster and avert the crime problems which are associated with hard drugs. Become part of the solution and
I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
Zig Ziglar