According  to the CDC, as of 2011, 11% of American children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Many of these children are prescribed a drug known as Adderall. Adderall is a stimulate made of a mixture of amphetamines.  The pill stimulates neurotransmitters and dopamine in the brain allowing those using it to not only stay awake but also increases their attention spans. Adderall is considered the most effective drug on the market for treating ADHD and the CDC has through strict safety testing has found it to be relatively safe when used correctly as compared to other stimulates of its kind. The problem is how often it is not used correctly. Many college students throughout the nation without prescriptions have been abusing Adderall for studying, doing homework, and some times dieting. A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that full-time college students were twice as likely as non-students to have used Adderall without a prescription. With Adderall’s relatively cheap street value and the fact that around 10% of students in college actually do have a prescription it’s not hard for anyone in college to get their hands on some. People who use Adderall without a prescription are me likely to engage in dangerous behavior with it such as taking dangerous amounts and snorting it to intensify the effects. This is a problem for not only is Adderall addictive it is also very possible to overdose on if taking incorrectly. Signs of an Adderall overdose include restlessness, tremor, confusion, hallucinations panic states, fatigue, and often cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptom. Adderall abuse has become an extremely dangerous epidemic that shows no signs of getting any better but shows many of getting much worse.

Bibliography:

“Nonmedical Use of Adderall® among Full-Time College Students.”Nonmedical Use of Adderall® among Full-Time College Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

J, By Elaine. “Adderall: Uses, Abuses & Side Effects.” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 06 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2014

ADHD Throughout the Years.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 06 Oct. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

“Data & Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.

Now more than ever we are surrounded by electronic devices that are giving off, what is known as, electromagnetic radiation (EMR). For most devices that give off EMR, such as microwaves, people generally do spend a lot of time near. But one device, cellphones, are becoming a major health concern as nearly two billion people around the world are keeping them on their persons nearly all day everyday.

Studies, most notably a 1993 study from Dr. George Carlo, have found that EMR given off by cellphones may be linked to brain tumors, genetic damage, various cancers, and other exposure-related conditions. Despite these studies cellphones remain more popular then ever and government regulators and cellular companies will not admit their existences.

In the early 1980’s, when private companies first began to sell cellphones to the public, these companies managed to be granted permission to sell cellphones without any premarket safety testing by pressuring government regulatory agencies, especially the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA). This pressure worked and today cellphone remain virtually unregulated. Despite this cellphone industries today, much like the tobacco industry once were, seem to be fully aware of the health problems their product causes because while they are not informing to any health concerns many cellphone providers include liability waivers in the fine print of their service contracts.

One reason why the public has not been made more aware of cellphone’s health concerns is that, while strong evidence supports the correlation between cellphone use and these health problems, it is, at this time, impossible to prove causation. The problem is, much like with cigarettes; the health problems caused by consistent exposure to EMR from cellphones take many years to develop. Just as you don’t get cancer immediately after smoking your first cigarette, you don’t get cancer immediately after touching your cellphone. Due to the decades it takes for these problems to develop it’s hard to pinpoint cellphones as the cause without decades of research.

The problem is as we wait the necessary amount of time for studies to be confirmed we are giving the health problems the necessary amount of time to develop. According Dr. Carlo, who continues to research the topic, “we come to the irrefutable conclusion that there’s a major health crisis coming, probably already underway,” warns Dr. Carlo. “Not just cancer, but also learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and psychological and behavioral problems—all mediated by the same mechanism.” Cellphones are already cool, addictive, and increasingly popular, if further studies prove their link to cancer they may just end up being this generation’s cigarettes.

Work cited:

“The Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation.” LifeExtension.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

Hardell L, Mild KH, Carlberg M, Hallquist A. Cellular and cordless telephone use and the association with brain tumors in different age groups. Arch Environ Health. 2004 Mar;59(3):132-

Diem E, Schwarz C, Adlkofer F, Jahn O, Rudiger H. Non-thermal DNA breakage by

“Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results ProgramTurning Cancer Data Into Discovery.” Cancer of the Brain and Other Nervous System. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.