LEA ZARUCKI SPEECH 143 – D
5/4/05 MANUSCRIPT
A NEW ADDICTION…
IF I ASKED YOU TO NAME SOME OF THE ADDICTIONS FACING
TODAY'S TEENS, MANY HANDS WOULD GO UP TO NAME DRUGS
AND ALCOHOL. AFTER THOSE TWO ANSWERS WERE GIVEN
THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE A LOT LESS HANDS RASIED.
MOST PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF IT BUT GAMBLING
ADDICTIONS ARE A MAJOR ISSUE FACING TODAY'S TEENS. IT
REALLY ISNT MUCH OF A WONDER HOW THIS HAPPENED WITH
ALL THE RECENT GLAMARIZED POKER GAMES ON THE CABLE
NETWORKS BEING RUN BY ALL THE MAJOR HOLLYWOOD
PLAYERS. I FEEL AWARENESS OF THIS ISSUE IS OUR BEST
WEAPON IN THIS FIGHT.
GAMBLING HAS GROWN INTO SUCH A LARGE PROBLEM IN
RECENT YEARS MAINLY BECAUSE OF ITS VAST AVAILABILTY
IN EVERYDAY LIFE. JUST ABOUT EVERY CONVIENCE STORE,
GAS STATION, AND CARD STORE SELLS SOME VERSION OF THE
STATE LOTTERY WHETHER IT BE SCRATCH OFFS OR LOTTERY
TICKETS. WHATS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE GROWTH OF THE
GAMBLING EPIDEMIC IS THE ATTRACTION OF THE EVER
POPULAR GET RICH QUICK TRICKS. JUST LOOK AT THE MOTTO
OF THE NEW YORK STATE LOTTERY "HEY YOU NEVER KNOW".
EVERYONE CAN USE AN EXTRA BUCK, BUT TEENS MOST OF ALL
SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR THAT WAY TO BUY THE NEW CAR,
BRAND NAME CLOTHING, OR STATE OF THE ART ELECTRONICS.
THAT IS JUST HOW THE ADDICTION STARTS. YOUNG TEENS ARE
LOOKING TO MAKE A DOLLAR AND GAMBLING SEEMS LIKE AN
EASY WAY TO DO SO.
A GAMBLING ADDICTION WITH A TEEN STARTS OUT SMALL.
IT CAN BE ANYTHING FROM BETTING ON A SPORTS GAME TO
PARTICIPATING IN A POKER GAME WITH SOME FRIENDS ON A
SATURDAY NIGHT. IN AN ALARMINGLY GROWING NUMBER OF
THIS COUNTRY'S YOUTH THE OCCASIONAL BET TURNS INTO A
FULL BLOWN ADDICTION. THE COUNCIL OF COMPLUSIVE
GAMBLING OF NEW JERSEY, INC., HAS BROKEN DOWN ONES
DESENT INTO GAMBLING ADDICTION INTO 3 MAIN STEPS. THE
FIRST STEP IS CALLED THE "WINNING PHASE". THIS USUALLY
OCCURS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE ADDITCION AND IS
CLASSIFIED AS THE POSTIVE THINKING TIME IN A YOUTH'S
GAMBLING OBSESSION. THEY GAMBLE TO FOR THE FUN OF IT.
IT IS CONSIDERED THERE DOWN TIME. ANY LOSS AT THIS TIME
IS SIMPLE CONSIDERED SOME BAD LUCK. THE NEXT PHASE IS
"LOSING PHASE". THIS PERIOD IS CLASSIFIED BY THE YOUTH'S
LOSS OF SELF ESTEEM DUE TO THEIR MONETARY LOSSES. IT IS
AT THIS POINT WHERE ONE MANY HAVE TO BORROW, LIE, OR
EVEN STEAL MONEY TO BET TO TRY TO WIN BACK WHAT THEY
HAVE ALREADY LOSS. LASTLY, STAGE NUMBER THREE, OR THE
ROCK BOTTOM STAGE, IT WHEN THE GAMBLING OBSESSION
HAS FIRMLY TAKEN HOLD. THE YOUTH WILL BECOME
DESPARATE AS THEY SEE DEBTS MOUNDING AND WHILE
GAMBLING, OR WINNING JUST ONE MORE BET, SEEMS AS
THERE ONLY WAY OUT THEY HAVE NO MEANS TO DO SO. IN
VERY EXTREME CASES SUCIDIAL THOUGHT CAN OCCUR AT
THIS POINT. (ONEIL, PARAS. 6-9)
THE BEST WAY WEAPON, WE AS A SOCIETY, HAVE TO FIGHT
THIS EPIDEMIC IS TO HIGHTEN OUR AWARENESS TO IT. IT IS
IMPORTANT TO MONITOR A TEENAGERS HABITS. A PARENT
WOULDN'T LOOK THE OTHER WAY IF THEY SAY THEIR
UNDERAGE CHILD DRINKING OR SMOKING SO WHY DO SO IF
THEIR CHILD IS GAMBLING? WHILE I DON'T BELIEVE THE
OCCASIONAL POKER GAME IS THE CAUSE OF THIS TYPE OF
ADDICTION I DO BELIEVE THAT PARENTS SHOULDN'T MAKE IT
SO EASY FOR THEIR TEENS TO PARTICIPATE IN ILLEGAL
ACTIVITES. IT SHOLUD BE MADE COMMON KNOWLEDGE HOW A
GAMBLING ADDICTION STARTS, THE PROBLEMS IT CAN CAUSE,
AND WHERE ONE CAN GO FOR HELP.
CORPORATIONS WHO PROFIT FROM THOSE WHO BET A
DOLLAR IN THE HOPES OF MAKING A QUICK FORTUNE, SUCH AS
THE STATE LOTTO ASSOCIATIONS OR THE CASINO OWNERS
NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSILBE FOR ALLOWING UNDERAGE
TEENS TO GAMBLE. I ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE LAST
TIME YOU WERE IN A CONVIENCE STORE AND WITNESSES
SOME ONE BEING CARDED AS THEY PURCHASED LOTTERY
TICKETS AS COMPARED TO WHEN ONE BUYS CIGARETTES. I
CAN TELL YOU THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN IN A CASINO
IN ATLANTIC CITY GAMBLING WHILE I WAS UNDERAGE. THE
ONLY TIME A CASINO WORKER EVEN LOOKED MY WAY WAS TO
ASK ME IF I WANTED ANOTHER DRINK. WITH CONSEQUENCES
AS SEVERE AS THEY ARE IN THIS TYPE OF GROWING EPIDEMIC,
SHOULDN'T WE DEMAND THAT THESE PEOPLE DO THE RIGHT
THING AND MONITOR THE AGE OF THE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING
IN THEIR FORM OF GAMBLING.
I ASK THAT WE RAISE THE AWARENESS OF THIS ADDICTION
TO THE SAME LEVEL AS THAT OF DRUG OR ALCOHOL ABUSE. IT
IS ONLY IF WE ARE TO FACE THE PROBLEM HEAD ON THAT
TODAYS YOUTH WILL HAVE ANY FIGHTING CHANCE TO
OVERCOME THIS ADDICTION.
WORKS CITED PAGE:
O'NEIL, KEVIN. "ADOLESCENT COMPLUSIVE GAMBLING:
THE HIDDEN EPIDEMIC." 14 JUNE 2003 http/www.800/