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December 7, 2004
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Photo courtesy of Rebecca Straughmatt |
| Cheryl Watkins (left) and Susan Taffer (right) organized, hosted, and spoke at “The Other Addictions” workshop held the Kirk Center’s Zuni Room on Nov. 18. |
Workshop details variety of addictions
Dominique Ramirez
Mesa Legend
Peervention volunteers along with Women of Courage sponsored a workshop called “The Other Addictions” on Nov. 18 in the Kirk Center.
Bullying, along with tobacco and marijuana, were the central topics of discussion during the workshop. The speakers raised awareness of the damaging effects, both physical and psychological.
Women of Courage’s Christa Adams and Susan Taffer, introduced Peervention volunteer James Rogers first, to present on the detrimental effects of tobacco use. Rogers, an ex-smoker, told his story and the statistics related to the number of years he smoked.
In 10 years he had spent $98,000 on a two-pack-a-day habit. Rogers emphasized that average smokers consume a quart of tar and nicotine annually. “Nicotine is more addictive than heroin and cocaine,” said Rogers, adding that, “One drop of pure (concentrated) nicotine will kill the average sized person.”
There are 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke and 43 of those are cancer causing. Rogers stressed these statistics along with the short and long-term effects of tobacco. Short-term use includes decreased blood flow and narrowing of the arteries. Long-term effects were lung and heart disease, stroke, emphysema and cancers of the respiratory system.
Children who have parents that smoke have an increased susceptibility to asthma and lower birth weight in babies. Children who have parents that smoke are twice as likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome.
His motivation to educate young people on the harmful effects of smoking stemmed from his time spent working with the Salvation Army, which inspired him to become a caseworker in order to help children with problems like addiction.
Following Rogers’s presentation, Adams reiterated all the major points and paid special attention to the loss of seven minutes off an individual’s life with every cigarette. “How very precious that seven minutes of life will be at the end.”
The second presenter, Anna Milligan, introduced a small but crucial study on the effects of marijuana. The main point covered was a loss of reproductive abilities derived from consistent habitual marijuana use. In men, the sperm count was lowered and in women, cases of infertility were noted. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, directly affects fertilization.
After years of habitual use of marijuana, hormone levels begin to shift in both sexes. Men have a decrease in testosterone and an increase in estrogen, causing an increase in mammary gland size. Women encounter problems with their reproductive system.
The workshop finale covered effects of bullying, presented by Cheryl Watkins, an internationally known addictions specialist on chemical awareness and the psychological effects of bullying.
Watkins has specialized in early intervention and peer prevention for 25 years. She began by referencing the movie Bowling for Columbine; citing that, “we are one of the most violent countries in the developed world.”
Watkins went on to give definitions of what bullying is. “Bullying is a conscious intention to cause distress for personal gratification.”
According to Watkins, bullying is “a cycle that continues on to children.”
A program will be established in the community to raise awareness of victims’ rights.
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