A medical doctor has through his research revealed how many celebrities can not do with the use of alcohol and drugs before going on
stage to perform. Few years back, Dr. Gabe Mirkin asked a group of competitive runners assembled for a Washington DC road race: “If I could give you a pill that would make you an Olympic champion — and also kill you in a year — would you take it?” Out of the approximately 100 athletes who returned Mirkin’s questionnaire, more than half responded that they would take the pill.
Many celebrities today are suffering from one disorder to another. Take Majek Fashek for instance he once said in an interview that ‘I don’t do drugs. I use spiritualism. I’m spiritually filled. I smoke Igbo and I drink.’ What that means is he makes himself happy by indulging in such and he is looking better than ever.
READ MORE: I await Majek Fashek’s obituary – Friend writes on botched rehab program
Celebrities give joy, smiles and fulfillment to their fans and lovers of their works; some of them entertain in styles. They walk with heads held-up high wherever they go. They dine and wine with the crème de la creme of the society. They command attention wherever they go and many of them are accorded tremendous respect for their contributions to the society. But there is the worrisome aspect of the lives of the majority of them- they are hooked on drugs and alcohol.
This is the simple reason why many of them are no more around. Truth is that a life dependent on these agents of death is a wasted life. While some indulge in this lifestyle with reckless abandon, others are a bit careful and call it ‘swag’. Every now and then, lives continue to be cut short and dreams shattered by constant alcohol and drug abuse. It’s no news that cocaine contributed to Whitney Houston’s death.
The cause of her death was revealed in an official report that, she was drowned in her bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel. The world number one pop star, Michael Jackson, died not far from the same location in 2009 after his doctor administered a lethal dose of the sedative Propofol. Also, British singer Amy Winehouse was troubled by addiction and died of alcohol poisoning.
In recent years, there has been excessive use of drugs and alcohol among Nigerian entertainers with many of them still struggling to manage the damaging effects. Experts say alcohol and drug abuse is a problem in the general population but entertainers are especially vulnerable because of the long hours on the road and the intense demands of keeping up with performances.
There’s a lot of down time, a lot of traveling, a lot of boredom, a lot of sitting, a lot of doing nothing and more.
Drug and alcohol abuse is a special risk for those who find fame and fortune as performers.
In sport, the desire to win is, naturally, ever present while, at the same time, new research and technologies have expanded the number of options for cheating onto the podium. For example, today’s performance-enhancing drugs come in many forms other than a pill (“the cream and the clear,” a testosterone-based ointment described by accused athletes in court testimony, comes to mind), but the results they produce are still highly sought after.
Some athletes get away with using drugs; others wind up suspended from their sport or even in jail, and still others die prematurely.
In Nigeria, no entertainer has ever been prosecuted for drug related offenses just like in the USA where they are either charged for DUI (driving under the influence.)
