effects?

[LoneWanderer]

sorry if this is a stupid question but will smoking cigarettes, weed or drinking alchohol make me shorter when im older or make me less able to concentrate, i read alcohol stunts your growth but does that just mean it postpones it?

[Matt_]

No, it just fogs your head, kills you earlier than a natural death, eats all your money, you turn a sickly yellow, etc.

[LoneWanderer]

even if its just a one off? Surely getting drunk or stoned. once in a while cant do THAT much?

[Matt_]

well, just don't abuse them.

[serial-thrilla]

moderation is the key.

[theOperaGhost]

Serial-thrilla is right, moderation is the key, however I'm not going to promote drug use, because I am for the most part against it.

Keeping it in moderation isn't always very easy. I've seen very few people actually be able to control themselves after so much. And I don't want to say that all the people I've seen drink and do drugs have no self control, because that is bullshit. I'm not saying that drugs make you completely lose control of yourself, but they do impair your judgment, so you would probably do more when you get under the influence then you would before hand.

[LoneWanderer]

thanks everyone but are there any permanent effects of getting high or drunk once?

[theOperaGhost]

It depends on the drug you are getting high on. If it was pot or something like that, you would quite likely be ok, however, very few people "only do it once." You find out you like it, so you keep doing it, which is unhealthy. I don't advise doing it.

If you were talking about drugs like meth or something like that, they are highly addictive and they do affect your health drastically with just one use.

[serial-thrilla]

thanks everyone but are there any permanent effects of getting high or drunk once?
lets not bullshit ourselves. your not going to do either just once.

[Zazu]

thanks everyone but are there any permanent effects of getting high or drunk once?

Not really no.

As far as I know, as long as you don't have too much to drink it won't stunt your growth.

It is arguable as to weather smoking weed / fags will help you concentrate, I personally find that it does help me, but most people will say that it doesn't and most case studies on the subject will say that it doesn't. It varies from person to person.

As long as it's taken in moderation, nothing is bad for you, but the maximum levels of what you can take of different things vary. For example, as long as you don't drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol on average per week, it won't do any long lasting damage. After smoking one cigarette, it takes about 3 weeks for your body to clean out the tar and nicotine that you inhaled, after this period your risk of lung cancer also drops back down to what the average person's is.

Now weed is a hard one to be able gauge what a safe level of it is, as that normally varies from person to person. The problem with weed is that because it is such a taboo subject, and most people will immediately say 'don't do it because it's so bad for you and will make you go mental', is that not much research has been done on it, and that most people aren't aware of the details of various case studies that they've read on the subject. I personally have found no harm come from smoking weed, I achieved good grades from my GCSEs and it helped my bi-polar slightly. But this varies from person to person, so there's no definitive answer as to weather weed will stunt your growth / make it harder for you to concentrate.

But the obvious answer to all of this is that if you're really worried about what it might do, don't do it :)

[Rutherford The Brave]

No, it just fogs your head, kills you earlier than a natural death, eats all your money, you turn a sickly yellow, etc.

No unforntunatly that is no where near the truth. All though marijuana and nicotine has lasting effects on your organs. It doesn't not effect how long you live, some people live longer than 100 years and they were smokers. Try to have facts before you make assumptions.

[serial-thrilla]

In all honesty, no a single Cigarette, or getting drink once generally wont have a permantent effect. Drugs is a slightly different matter, as it depends on which drug you are talking about. If you mean you are considering taking drugs, then I urge you not to.

The thing is with all of these things is that can become addicted. And once that happens you wont be able to stop.
Not 100% true, people get over addictions. It just isent easy especially if they are physical.

[Zazu]

In all honesty, no a single Cigarette, or getting drink once generally wont have a permantent effect. Drugs is a slightly different matter, as it depends on which drug you are talking about. If you mean you are considering taking drugs, then I urge you not to.

The thing is with all of these things is that can become addicted. And once that happens you wont be able to stop.

You do realise that tobacco and alcohol are drugs too lol, both of which do a lot more harm than some illegal drugs.

And I agree with serial-killer, you can get over most addictions, just some are harder to conquer than others.

[A.J.]

No, My uncle is 26 and he's 6'2, he's been smokin ciggarettes and drinking since he was 13

[serial-thrilla]

No, My uncle is 26 and he's 6'2, he's been smokin ciggarettes and drinking since he was 13 That proves nothing. I'm 6'3 and have been since I was like 15.

[A.J.]

That proves nothing. I'm 6'3 and have been since I was like 15.

Um... thats pretty much what im going for. It dosent stunt your growth. maybe pay attention to what im trying to say

[Rutherford The Brave]

He does have a point I was into tobacco when I was 13 and at that point I was like 5.7-5.10 Now I'm 6.7.

[LoneWanderer]

I was just wondering cos in the summer i got drunk a fair bit, ive said im not oging to do it now because of exams and other things (except for special occassions like birthdays) but some of my friends have invited me to go 'hotboxing' basically you all have a spliff and smoke it in a tent with all the doors closed, leaving you higher for longer and if doing it just once will affect me MAJORLY i wont do it. Also when people say growth is stunted does that mean its delayed or you will be permanently shorter.

[serial-thrilla]

Um... thats pretty much what im going for. It dosent stunt your growth. maybe pay attention to what im trying to say Just because your tall doesen't mean your growth hasent been stunted. Im not saying it does either. Im just saying it was a bad example, thats all.

[Antares]

There have been some studies that have confirmed that smoking stunts your growth.

I googled it and here is a report thing for your reading enjoyment:http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/03/24/teen-smoking-study.html

[Completely Lost]

Studies are sometimes biased.. The one I read on CBC was that if a kid (guy) aged 13-15 were to smoke 10 cigarettes a day for a year + he'd only stunt his growth by an inch.. which is different in different people because metabolism isn't always the same

[Techno Monster]

My friend is 15, addicted to cigs, and is 4'8, I am a non smoker and I can jump over her.
She has been smoking for 1 1/2 years.
It may depend on the person, but I wouldn't risk it.