The rate at which alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, sugar, and other substances which are bad for our health are destroying lives is becoming disturbing.
The liver and lungs of many people have been damaged by those things. Yet the rate at which they are being consumed is steadily increasing.
It hurts that on some of the packs like that of cigarettes, it is boldly written that it has a tendency to destroy life, yet out of obstinacy, people still patronize it and end up reducing their life span.
Today, our world has turned into a place where taking intoxicating substances is regarded as a way of measuring maturity, increasing strength, enjoying life and calming the worries of life.
Both the young and the old are so into these substances as if their lives are tied to them. What hurts me the most is that all of them are aware of the dangers attached, yet they still indulge in consuming them.
Talking about substances that are detrimental to our health, it is not alcohol alone, but sugar and some processed foods are included.
We may think we are enjoying them while consuming them because of their flavor, not knowing we are accumulating rubbish that will destroy our bodies in the near future.
If the government were to intervene by making the prices of these products very expensive, it might help to some extent, but the rate at which people consume these things wouldn't drop drastically.
The last I checked, these products are cheap, you can use a very small amount of money and get them in excess. Who knows, that might be why even the poor who ought to use their little money to buy food or save for something useful, use it to purchase those things and end up causing harm to themselves.
I remember there was a pill that used to be trending some time ago in my place. It gets people high, and it has the ability to make you do hard labor without feeling the impact of the work. The name I know it by is “tramol.” I don't know the original name.
A friend of mine got addicted to it one time; he doesn't see money anywhere and does not take it to buy the pill. Under the influence of the pill, many youths stole, fought, and committed a lot of atrocities.
Suddenly, the price increased so badly and gradually, people stopped using the pill; nowadays, the name is not common anymore, only a few individuals can afford it.
Some people are still consuming some of those products because they are affordable, but if they would be expensive, I am sure, they would reduce the rate at which they consume them or stop completely.
I am using the phrase “some people" because there are people who don't see money as a problem, they have so much that they see it as a common thing. Such people can afford anything, no matter the cost.
For those kinds of people, I think sensitization would be the best option to help them cut away from the substance and for most of them in that category, unfortunately, only a bad experience from consuming the product might liberate them.
However, an increase in the price of those harmful substances will drastically reduce consumption.