Tuesday, February 27, 2007
All Eng Teacher's that are reading my blog... This is the post you want...
Thought I'd make the post
before adding the article you know?!
BBC Africa, Khat
k I found it... =)
This article talks about the people in Africa, especially the men, becoming increasingly reliant on the use of
Khat, which is used as a stimulant to make them feel high. The women are appealing to the government to impose a ban on
Khat as their husbands are
abandoning their family responsibilities to chew
khat with their business partners, noting that alot of the family income is going to buying Khat rather than using it on family expenses. The places where
Khat is grown also has high incidences of boys dropping out of school as they can make quick cash selling
Khat. Khat has provided farmers with a quick source of income as it is very popular in the area and is even used in social gatherings all across Mogadishu.
Khat is known to cause several negative health effects on the body which include loss of appetite, lack of sleep, hallucinations, mental health issues and sometimes impotence, khat is also blamed social problems. In defence, A medic and Khat farmer, Dr Samuel
Murega has claimed that he has not treated anyone for the use of
Khat as yet and is trying to tell us that the effects of
Khat on the society is not as serious as claimed by these women. In Singapore, the abuse of drugs is not as widespread as that of Africa, due to our tight law enforcement system and strict punishments. I personally feel that Khat should indeed be banned as its effects on the level of education and society is being affected as its users are mainly men who have to support a family. If these men use the money on Khat, there would be much less money to provide for the education of the children. This would result in less people being able to have a good education and might result in problems finding a job in the future. Although Khat provides for a certain amount of income for the farmers right now, i think that they should slowly change their crops to something less damaging to the society.
BBC America, Internet Slimming Pills Warning
This article is about the illegal selling of Slimming Pills on the internet including those that are counterfeit. The United Nations drug control board says that a growing number of women desperate to lose weight are buying the rug from the internet. The warnings are supported by a claim that an anorexic brazillian model had killed herself, taking slimming pills and painkillers. I feel that these illegal website are actually doing more damage than help by selling these products illegally even selling their customers counterfeit products. Appetitite surpressant drugs meant only for those who have a life-threating obesity are being misused to feed the slimming obsession affecting some societies. I feel that the doctors who are selling these drugs to women illegally are doing the society damage as these women might suffer from all sorts of syptoms, even death in some serious cases.In a survey carried out last year by closerdiets.com, it was found that more than half of the 1,230 women surveyed admitted to using slimming pills. This problem is very serious as these women are potential targets for these illegal wesites. According to Dr Emafo, it is important that consumers understand that what they think is a cut price medication is actually something that can be lethal if comsumed, whenever the cunsumed drugs are not the actual product or are taken without medical advice. I feel that in Singapore the problem is not serious as that of the UK or USA. We should be able to take action quickly and prevent these illegal websites from claiming more helpless victims. But as of yet, we do not know the actual size of this problem. These drug vendors do not know what damage they are causing to these women and that these women who are desperate to lose should know and understand that buying drugs from the internet is fairly risky and that they should try to consult the help of a local doctor if they wish to undertake a slimming programme or regime. Doctors should also try to warn their patients about these illegal vendors and reduce the risk of them buying counterfeit products from these websites.
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