Posts Tagged ‘cocaine’
Addiction: a life long illness not lifestyle choice
Addiction: a life long illness not lifestyle choice
Addiction is a major health problem that costs as much as all other mental illnesses combined (about £40 billion per year) and about as much as cancer and cardiovascular disorders also.
At its core addiction is a state of altered brain function that leads to fundamental changes in behavior that are manifest by repeated use of alcohol or other drugs or engaging in activities such as gambling. These are usually resisted, albeit unsuccessfully, by the addict. The key features of addiction is therefore a state of habitual behaviour such as drug taking or gambling that is initially enjoyable but which eventually becomes self-sustaining or habitual. The urge to engage in the behaviour becomes so powerful that it interferes with normal life often to the point of overtaking work, personal relationships and family activities. At this point the person can be said to be addicted: the addict’s every thought and action is directed to their addiction and everything else suffers.
Most policies refuse to pay out if death is drug-related
MOST insurance policies will refuse to pay out if a death is drug related.
The small print in insurance forms for everything from mortgage protection to car insurance specifically excludes payment in cases such as drug abuse.
Aviva, one of the country’s largest insurers, is just one of many companies to specifically exclude payments in the event of accidental death linked to drugs.
The company’s standard mortgage- protection cover excludes everything from “taking alcohol or drugs (unless they are prescribed by a registered doctor in the Republic of Ireland)” to war, “engaging in a hazardous pursuit” or “taking part or attempting to take part in any aerial flight other than as a fare-paying passenger”.
The protection policy also says it won’t pay out in the event of “death in a country outside the EU” and following “an assault on the covered person which is not reported to the police”.
Will the mephedrone ban cause more drug deaths
Will the mephedrone ban cause more drug deaths?
Fascinating analysis on the Straight Statistics blog suggests that the now-banned drug mephedrone may have saved lives when it was legal.