Georgia Kate

D.A.R.E. Essay

Did you know that most teens don't drink? This is a suprising fact I learned through the D.A.R.E. program. Through Dare, I also learned about alcohol,Tobacco, and how to get out of sticky situations.    

Tobacco use is something people have done throughout the years. Did you know that in the United states it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 21? Tobacco is a very addictive drug and it is very dangerous and unhealthy. Smoking can lead to lots of different things like heart disease, lung cancer, mouth cancer, tooth loss, yellow teeth, bad breath, and dry skin that can cause wrinkles. There are about 50,000 deaths per year from secondhand smoking. That is not a good thing. Chewing or smoking tobacco also reduces the amount of blood that flows in your brain and interferes with the brain. 40,000 people in America die each year, just from smoking. Smoking is not a good thing and I don't think anyone should smoke.

Drinking alcohol is very addictive too and is not good for you. Alcohol is very unhealthy if you have a lot of it. Alcohol is illegal for anyone under 21. Alcohol can lead to bad things too, like loss of coordination, memory loss, poor judgement, loss of self control, slow reflexes, it weakens the heart muscle, reduces the amount of blood pumped from the heart, and can damage every single organ in your body. Drinking alcohol is a very bad thing. It also causes the brain to slow down and can lead to a coma or death. Alcohol is something that I don't think anyone should drink.

Sometimes you get stuck in situations with total strangers and they ask you questions about yourself that you don't feel comfortable with. You only have to say one word. NO!!!!!! But you can still be polite. One situation is if someone asks you to go with them to their car and they're a total stranger,you can say, “no thank you.” That's most likely not going to happen, but to be on the safe side just dont go outside by yourself unless your parents know you’re outside and tell you that you can go outside. One more thing: if someone touches you and you’re uncomfortable with it, just say “I’m uncomfortable with you touching me, can you please stop?” and they should stop. Always make sure to stay safe.

With the variety of bad things in this essay, I think everyone should not get caught up in this madness. But other people have other opinions about tobacco and alcohol But, in my opinion, I don’t think anyone in this whole entire world should be getting in uncomfortable situations or even bothering to even look at tobacco or alcohol. I am extremely grateful to the D.A.R.E. program and to Lieutenant Whitt for teaching me all about these things.  I am extremely grateful to the D.A.R.E. program and to Lieutenant Whitt for teaching me all about these things. I promise that I will never smoke or drink alcohol and when I'm older I will keep kids in safe situations.