Alcohol and Drugs

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a criminal offence and convicted drivers could have their driver’s license suspended for six months or face up to six years in jail! Alcohol and drug abuse also leads to accidents, violence, difficulties at work and home and trouble with the law! Is it worth it?

 Say NO to drinking and driving!

The blood alcohol limit for professional driver is 0.02 % - one beer puts you over the limit!

• Alcohol slows down your reaction time. 
• Alcohol distorts your vision.
• Alcohol gives you false courage.  
• A cold shower or cup of coffee won’t sober you up.
• Don’t party the night before you drive.
• Fatigue combined with a hangover makes you an unsafe driver!
• Do not use alcohol to deal with stress, depression or loneliness.
• Don’t feel ashamed to ask for help if you think you may have a drinking problem.
• Don’t be influenced by friends – say no to “one for the road”

Answer the following questions honestly to determine whether you may have a drinking problem:

• Have you ever tried to stop drinking for a week or two but could only manage for a few days without having a drink? 
• Do you get angry when others tell you that you drink too much and that you should cut down?
• Has alcohol abuse affected your relationships with your family, friends and fellow workers?
• During the past year, have you missed days of work because of your use of alcohol?
• Do you sometimes go on drinking sprees or alcohol binges?
• Do you sometimes struggle to remember things that happened while you under the influence of alcohol like where you were, who you were talking to and what you were saying?

 Say NO to drugs!

Drugs are highly addictive and abuse of these substances has a very serious impact on the mind and body. Long term drug abuse will have the following devastating effects on your body:

Dagga: Marijuana blocks the messages going to your brain and alters your perceptions and emotions, vision, hearing and coordination.

 Long term effects:

• Reduced ability to perform tasks that need concentration and coordination, such as driving.
• Reduced short-term memory. 
• Decreased testosterone levels that cause a lower sperm count, and results in difficulty to having children.
• A mental dependence on the drug, leading to taking more of the drug to get the same effect.
• Enhanced cancer risk.

Cigarettes: Cigarettes are highly addictive and smoking is perhaps the most preventable cause of disease and premature death.

Long term effects: 

• Deteriorating sense of smell and taste 
• Frequent colds and Smoker’s cough 
• Ulcers, chronic bronchitis and emphysema
• Increase in blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Cancer of the mouth, throat, lungs and pancreas

Cocaine and Crack: Cocaine and Crack are highly addictive and addiction can become so strong that all aspects of a user’s life are dominated.

Long term effects:

• Heart attacks, strokes, and lung failure
• Hepatitis or AIDS through shared needles
• Brain seizures
• Reduction of the body’s ability to fight infection
• Loss of interest in food or sex confusion, anxiety and depression.