Masturbation

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When discussing this topic in class, I honestly could not possibly see anything that was 'bad' about it. Masturbation is something that around 90% of males and 65% of females participate in. However, I'd estimate the female percentage is slightly higher, as many females are too embraced to discuss the topic. I believe that masturbation is a healthy and natural practice. Without it, I believe that more people would engage in sex, which could result in a higher number of STDs or unwanted pregnancies. Although I do not have a link, I can remember reading in a men's health magazine that masturbation, in a male’s case, is actually good, as it helps prevent testicular cancer.

The only way in which I can see an argument against it may be from a religious perspective. To some religions, every time a male masturbates, the possibility of a child is wasted. Religions such as Catholicism forbid masturbation as they see it to be unclean and against God's wish of procreation. However, I do not really see this as an argument as if every sperm created a child, it would cause huge over population. What do you guys think? I have included a link below with some interesting information on masturbation.


http://marriage.about.com/cs/masturbation/f/masturbatfaq3.htm

Binge Drinking

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Binge drinking is a process in which you drink a large amount of alcohol within a small period of time. Binge drinking is something that, according to the NHS, one third of adults participate in often. Some do it to feel more relaxed, others do it because they do not know their limits, and some drink due to depression. The Institute of Alcohol Studies showed that youngsters in Britain are the biggest binge drinkers in Europe. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation also found that over 50% of fifteen to sixteen year olds have admitted to binge drinking. So what is it about drinking appeals to so many people? Is it the fact that to young people, as with smoking, it makes them look 'cool'?

There are many dangers of binge drinking, some being more obvious than others. You are more prone to danger would be the first that comes to mind. Although falling a grazing your knee may be hilarious when you're drunk (most things are hilarious when drunk), the danger could be much more serious. For example alcohol slows down your reaction time and awareness of what is around you. If you were crossing the road and didn't look you may be hit by a car, which would take the sense of danger to a whole new level. It is thought that as many as 30% of accidents occur when someone is drunk, which at almost one third, is massive.

For those who are vain it can also damage your hair and skin. Alcohol dehydrates you, which in return means your skin is also dehydrated, causing you to be more prone to wrinkles. The other danger it can do to your health is obvious; it can damage your liver. Alcohol can ultimately cause cirrhosis, which is an incurable disease that overlooks your liver turning into scar tissue. As your liver is a vital organ in your body, living without it is simply not possible. Blood pressure can also be affected, as well as your kidneys. Alcohol, according to the BBC, is the cause of 22,000 premature deaths a year, which is a huge figure.

Binge drinking affects the way you think. Some turn happy, some turn hyper and worst of all some turn nasty. From watching every student's favourite programme, Jeremy Kyle, it is easy to say that drinking causes violence, as drinking clouds your mind. You have all been out on a Saturday night and seen a fight. Alcohol causes this, with 50% of street crime being due to a drunken person, and around 1.2 million alcohol related violence occurs each year. It does not only cause violence, but on a personal level, many embarass themselves. How many times have you woken up and thought 'what was I doing?' or even woken up next to someone you don't even know? This can also result in other health aspects such as sexually transmitted infections or unwanted pregnancy.

The Home Office have done much to try to combat this problem. I, as many of you, probably moaned when all inclusive alcohol nights were banned as of April 2010. However is this really a solution? Not only does it cause some clubs to close in an already bad economic crisis, it doesn't stop clubs from offering an 'alternative' cheap way to purchase drinks in their premises. For example, a club near me back in Wales used to run £10 all inclusive on a Saturday night. Now, instead, with the new law, they offer 10 drinks for £10. Is it really a solution? What can the government do to crack down on binge drinking? According to the BBC, binge drinking costs Britain twenty billion a year in. Is it really worth risking our health and well being for one 'good' night?


Read more on binge drinking from the BBC and an interesting website I found below:-

BBC:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3121440.stm
Binge drinking:- http://www.thesite.org/drinkanddrugs/drinking/problems/bingedrinking

Drug misuse

Drug use is something that has always been majorly controversial. Many people question the reason why people feel the need to use drugs, is it out of depression? Just for fun? This blog is meant to look into the reasons why people may turn to illegal drugs for a 'way out'. Drugs are also a huge part of the media, with many celebrities such as Amy Winehouse being accused of being addicted to them.

A survey conducted by the NHS showed that during 2005/2006, 10.5% of adults had used one or more illegal drug within the last year, which was a 1.6% decrease from 1998. However, the use of Class A drugs has increased from 1998, rising from 2.7% to 3.4%. The NHS use the excuse of cocaine powder use in order to explain this. It is widely known many models use drugs such as cocaine, and the media coverage of this has made this drug widely popular.


Something that surprised me was the statistics from the NHS of drug use from children aged eleven to fifteen. The survey reported that out of all the fifteen year olds that were asked, 29% of those had taken an illegal drug within the last year. This is alarming in the fact that drug culture is reaching those even too young to understand the consequences of taking such addictive, dangerous substances. A massive 17% of all eleven to fifteen year old pupils asked in 2006 had also admitted to taking a drug within the last year. It is hard to fathom why such young children would turn to taking drugs at such a young age. 4% of those asked also admitted to taking a Class A drug, which is a percentage which has remained unchanged since 2001. This is alarming in the fact that Class A includes substances such as heroin, cocaine and exstacy. Why would children need to take these, and how do they even obtain them? 18% of those asked admitted to have being offered exstacy. This could also raise the issue of where these children are spending their free time. Also, 33% of all students asked thought that it would be easy to find these drugs, which is disgusting.


Drug use would also most definatly relate to crime rate. Gangs and drugs cause massive problems for the police, and also the NHS. Drug related deaths in the UK stood at 1608 during 2005, which was an increase on 2004. This stands to make me pose the question is the celebrity culture and clubbing scene causing people to turn to drugs? Do children feel the need to proove themselves and take potentially lethal substances to act 'cool'? Also, what do you think the government is doing to prevent this?



Here is the webpage I got my information from, I hope you find it an interesting read:-
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/drug-misuse/statistics-on-drug-misuse-england-2007-full-report

Prostitution, the punters.

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Prostitution is unbelievably, one of the oldest 'careers' in the world. There are many different types of prostitution, ranging from high earning 'escorts' to illegally trafficked women.

Whether or not you believe prostitution is wrong, this blog entry looks more into how the law punish punters of these 'call girls'. Most punters are, by the home office, known as 'kerb crawlers'. The home office launched a campaign in 2005 in order to try and deter these so called 'kerb crawlers'. This campaign, unsurprisingly, tried to reduce the number of 'street prostitutes' in order to slice the number of punters. They tried to achieve this by offering ways out for prostitutes, and ensured justice was brought upon those who exploited them. They also acknowledged the fact that they will never be able to abolish street prostitution completely, but wanted to try and lessen the problem. Obviously, where the government is concerned, where they aren't benefiting tax wise, it's considered illegal.


If caught kerb crawling, the punishments include £1000 in fines, losing your driving licence and exposure to what you have done. Obviously, with prisons being over capacitated, they do not need any more people in prison than are already there. However, are such punishments needed? Isn't loosing the respect of your family enough? A change in law, implemented on April 1st 2010, means that if you are caught paying for sex with someone under the age of eighteen, which is two years above the age of consent, then you will face a lengthy prison sentence. Even though paying for sex with someone under eighteen would defiantly be considered as a much more serious crime, shouldn't the same punishment be available to all ages? Shouldn’t they consider rising the age of consent to eighteen? I have included the link to posters made by the home office for the campaign in 2005, and the page where they state the punishments.

Home office's laws: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/prostitution/
Posters: 1. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/kerb-crawling-marketing-material/kerb-crawling-posterA4-p1.pdf?view=Binary

2. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/kerb-crawling-marketing-material/kerb-crawling-posterA4_p2.pdf?view=Binary

Bad Brits! Holiday Edition

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As the sun starts to shine here in the U.K, the youths of Britain start to book their summer holidays abroad. Masses of students, like me, book cheap, all inclusive deals before jetting off to a clubbing destination for sun, clubs and sex. The subject of hooligan holiday makers abroad has been a long discussed topic, which provides a derogatory vision of those scrutinized by the press.



It has been prooven through research that us Brits cause more fights, drink more, and take more drugs than any other European country whilst holidaying abroad. It has also been found out that half of people asked aged 18-35 admitted to being intoxicated for five or more nights of their holiday. This fact is shocking, seeing as many of the people asked would most have likely been students (sarcasm over).



Alcohol abuse isn't the only topic that has hit the tabloids, in a study conducted by the European Institute of Studies on Prevention with Liverpool John Moore University; it showed that 44.2% of Brits staying in Ibiza had succumbed to the alluring power of ecstasy. This, amongst other details, may be due to the rising price in alcohol and club entry fees. You'd think that with such alarming numbers the government would do more in order to deter people from taking a potentially lethal drug.



The survey also revealed that 7.6% of Brits abroad were involved in violence, which compared to a mere 1.8% of Germans, seems huge. However, you may argue that although the percentages put Brits in a bad light, ratio should also be taken into consideration. If there is a lot more Brits than Germans in one particular place, more fight would occur between them. Or is it simply the fact that roudy Brits get in more trouble?

Surprisingly, Brits were seen in a much more plausible light when it came to percentages of casual sex. Only 29.6% had a casual encounter abroad, whilst 42.7% of Spanish citizens did. I think this is due to the U.K being very liberal when it comes to sex, whilst other European countries, such as Spain, may not be.



The arrest of Brits abroad is also on the increase. In 2008, 4,605 British people were arrested abroad, which was a massive 15% increase on 2007. The question here is what makes us Brits so rowdy when visiting another country? I think that due to high tax here, we book a cheap holiday and make the most of the free/cheap alcohol. Also, the government try to crack down on alcohol here whilst in other European countries such as France, alcohol is widely more acceptable. Personally, this would make me assume that due to the stigma on alcohol in this country, us Brits go abroad and go wild because we feel emancipated.

Read more at the link below and comment :).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044176/Binge-drinking-Britons-league-drunken-holidaying-hooligans.html