English club: Addictions

Dear participants of LINGVISTOV weekly English club, our next discussion is scheduled for March, 2^nd at 2 pm MSK. The topic of our conversation will be “Addictions”. Please scan the necessary questions, vocabulary and links. You can watch some TED talks on this subject. And don’t forget about the interesting facts that we have prepared for you!  Get ready.

Questions:

1. What is addiction? What types of addictions do you know?
2. Do some people have addictive personalities? Why do some people get addicted when others do not?
3. Do you consider yourself addicted to anything? Do you have any addictions (bad or not)? Do you want to get rid of them?
4. Is alcohol addictive? What about tea, coffee, and chocolate? Do you consider alcohol a drug?
5. What is alcoholism? What is a healthy dose of alcohol if there is any? What is the damage of alcohol abuse to health?
6. Do you think tobacco is addictive? What is your attitude to smoking? What is the influence of smoking on health? What about passive smoking? What are the advantages of smoking, in your opinion?
7. Is it hard to give up smoking? Do you know someone who gave up smoking?
8. Do you think marijuana should be legal or illegal? Support your opinion with facts. Do you think tobacco companies would like to sell marijuana?
9. Is there any difference between «soft» drugs such as marijuana and «hard» drugs like crack, heroin, cocaine etc.? If heroin were legal, would there be less crime? For example, burglary and robbery. Which is worse, a peaceful drug addict or a violent non-addict?
10. Do you think experimenting with alcohol and cigarettes leads to experimenting with harder drugs? If you are addicted to drugs, what should you do?
11. Can you get addicted to prescription medicine?
12. What about other addictions, like addiction to gambling? Do you think that casinos must be closed and gambling banned?
13. Are you addicted to gaming? Do you think that a person can become addicted to video games? Do you play them?
14. Can man be addicted to the Internet? Social networks? What should a person do in that case? Are you addicted to the Internet?

What to watch on the topic:

You can watch TED talks on the topic of various addictions (pay attention that you can switch on subtitles in different languages):

• Dave Perry speaks about video games: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_perry_on_videogames.html
• Elizabeth Pisani speaks about sex, drugs and HIV: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_pisani_sex_drugs_and_hiv_let_s_get_rational_1.html
• Naomi Klein talks about addiction to risk: http://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_klein_addicted_to_risk.html

Exercises:

You can listen to a conversation between Arienne and Jeff about the problems of addiction “What are you addicted to?”: http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer/68-Addiction.html

English Reading Comprehension Practice: http://staff.ucc.edu/alc-paez/english/rc/smoking/rcex2.htm 

Facts about different addictions:

1. Addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem among young people . OxyContin and Vicodin are not illegal when prescribed by a physician. They are addictive, and have become increasingly popular among drug users. Using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes is being used at approximately the same rate as marijuana among people between the ages of 12-20.
2. Ninety percent of muggings and property crimes (theft) are related to drugs. 70 percent of all crimes involving violence were committed by someone under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
3. Because alcohol is toxic in high concentrations, chronic abuse can lead to long-term health issues including: Liver diseases, Heart disease, Psychiatric and social problems, Increased risk of some cancers.
4. The average age of first experimentation with drugs is 13, and for alcohol it is even younger. Drug use has been classified as a major problem for kids as early as fourth grade by the students themselves.
5. It is estimated that drugs and alcohol are a factor in at least 80 percent of domestic violence incidents.
6. There is a greater incidence of alcohol misuse in women with eating disorders, especially bulimia, than in the general population.
7. Alcohol and other drugs contribute to over 50 percent of all suicides and over 50 percent of all violent crimes.
8. According to the Center for Internet Addiction, people in some Asian countries such as China and Korea may have even higher rates of problematic Internet usage with as much as 30 percent of the population addicted. Gender also matters, with many more males being addicted than females.
9. Cybersex and cyberporn are the most common types of Internet addiction, reports the Center for Internet Addiction. Online interactions through chat rooms and dating websites give cheating partners new opportunities to have affairs. Users can also become addicted to other online activities such as gaming, shopping, gambling or compulsive surfing.

Vocabulary:

addiction to/ dependence on something – зависимость от чего-либо
a drug addict (an addicted / dependent person) – наркоман, наркозависимый
to be / get / become addicted to (dependent on) something – становиться зависимым от чего-либо
addictive substances – наркотические вещества
escaping /avoiding unpleasant reality – убегать от неприятной реальности
obsession — одержимость
longing/ craving for (the drug / activity) – страстное стремление к чему-либо (получению дозы, деятельности)
abuse of a substance – злоупотребление веществом
deviant behaviour  — поведение, отклоняющееся от нормы
overdose — передозировка
health complications — осложнения
withdrawal symptoms – абстиненция, ломка
life loses its quality – теряется вся радость жизни
guilt – чувство вины
shame – чувство стыда
humiliation — унижение
hard drugs – сильнодействующий, тяжелый наркотик
soft drugs – легкий наркотик
bloodshot eyes – воспаленные, красные глаза
to chain smoke — курить одну сигарету за другой
drug habit – наркомания, лекарственная зависимость
to hallucinate – страдать галлюцинациями
pot-head — наркоман — курильщик марихуаны
social drinker — человек, выпивающий в компании
stoned — одуревший от наркотиков, пьяный или опьянённый наркотиком
prescription drugs — рецептурные препараты
group therapy – групповая терапия
counseling — психологическое консультирование
rehabilitation — реабилитация
intervention – интервенция, вмешательство