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Users and abusers

This past week was dedicated to Substance Abuse Awareness. It's easy to imagine that substance abuse is something that only happens to other people, conjuring up sordid images of Bronx crack houses or Hollywood pill parties. But chances are that it's happening right on your street, and maybe right inside your home.

Take for instance the mother who writes in to ask how to handle her 14-year-old daughter’s drinking, or a young man who has developed an addiction to prescription painkillers. This could happen to anyone.

Addiction of any nature is a complex issue, affecting people and situations around the addict.

One woman writes in to the Substance Abuse Peer Forum asking whether alcoholism can be hereditary, and a recovering addict's wife writes in to tell how he has substituted the drug with infidelity.

If you have questions, please write in to CyberDoc or CyberShrink. Help is only a click away.

- (Health24, July 2008)

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