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Drugs - Visual Text Analysis

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Drug use is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to peer pressure. Even if parents have taught their teenagers about the dangers of using drugs, peer pressure may influence them to take part in these activities. According to Parent Further, “10% of teenagers said that they had not been influenced by peer pressure. In that same group, 28% of teenagers agreed that giving into peer pressure improved their social standing.”[ CITATION Sea15 l 1033 ] Above the Influence is an anti-drug campaign that continues to be inspired by what teens have said about their lives, and how they deal with the influences that shape their decisions. The Above the Influence program is part of a non-profit organization Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. This program shows images and commercials about the peer pressure teens face on a daily bases and how drugs can harmfully impact their futures. A visual ad posted on www.abovetheinfluence.com shows an image of two slugs sitting at a kitchen table with a salt mound in front of them. This image is relating two slugs doing salt, to two teenagers doing “bath salts”. Slugs contain a lot of water, which is essential for their survival. Salt draws the water out of the slug, and will cause the poor creature to die of dehydration. The consumption or use of bath salts can be fatal. This synthetic drug can lead to sympathetic nervous system effects such as fast heart rate, hypertension, hyperthermia, and seizures. The mental status of bath salt users may present severe panic attacks, agitation, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, self-mutilation, suicide attempts and homicidal activity. The National Institute of Drug Abuse reported, “In 2012, poison centers took 2,691 calls about exposures to bath salts with the number reducing to 995 in 2013. In 2014 there were 582 exposure calls. The drug seems to be most popular with people who are between 20 and 29 years old. However, poison centers have seen bath salt

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