In 2008, 5 million people participated in addiction programs because of alcohol or drug abuse. Participants by age:

• 12–17 years old: 5 percent
  
  
• 18–25: 15 percent
  
  
• 26–49: 57 percent
  
  
• 50 and over: 23 percent
  
  

During 2009's World Population Day (an annual event, observed on July 11, that seeks to raise awareness of global population issues), Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad promoted an unusual idea for dealing with overpopulation in India. He suggested a new policy that would allow most of the poor in rural India to have access to television. According to his vision, "amorous couples would watch ...

The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television per day.

Eighty-two percent of American households have more than one television.

Thirty percent of children say they watch TV in their bedroom.

The average American household has a TV on for eight hours, 14 minutes (more than a third of a day).

America's 15.9 million children aged 2 to 5 watched an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes of ...

Editor's Note: This is a great scene that shows the mindset of someone consumed by materialism. A word of caution is in order, however: Toward the end of this clip, the last 5-8 seconds or so can be interpreted as being sexual in nature. Though the general ratings system does not list the scene as sexual in nature, we were concerned enough to give you ample warning should you use this scene. You will ...

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has lectured throughout this country on the powerful, and often negative, impact of words. He often asks audiences if they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about, or to, another person. Invariably, a small number of listeners raise their hands, signifying "yes." Others laugh, and quite a large number call out, "no!" ...

Across northern England and Scotland, a do-or-die battle is being waged against an aggressive invader: the American gray squirrel.

Researchers have discovered that the gray squirrel is threatening Britain's red squirrel by destroying its habitat and spreading disease. Miles Barne, chairman of the London-based European Squirrel Initiative—yes, there is such a thing—says Victorians first ...

[My daughter], Allison,* came home for the weekend. She opened the door, didn't speak, and dropped her duffel bag. Smudges of mascara circled her eyes. I whispered a "God-please-no" prayer.

"Come tell me about your classes." I patted the sofa.

"Gotta take a shower."

As she clomped upstairs, I analyzed the recent changes in her: complaints of not having any money, rarely answers the phone, weight loss, ...

A 2008 survey by The Barna Group asked adults which, if any, of eight behaviors with moral overtones they had engaged in during the past week. The behaviors included looking at pornography, using profanity, gambling, gossiping, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliating against someone, getting drunk, and lying. Of those surveyed:

• Twenty-eight percent had used profanity.
  
  

Back in 1999, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission reported that between 0.6 and 0.9 percent of Americans were compulsive gamblers—individuals with a pathological addiction to gambling. In 2006, the National Center for Responsible Gambling estimated that the problem affected about 1.1 percent of Americans and Canadians.

Other studies reveal higher percentages in "mature markets"—areas ...

In a recent issue of Today's Christian, Carol Heath shared her moving testimony:

I hated everything about my life.

After twenty-three years in a loveless marriage with little respect, my divorce was now final. I had to leave my dream house in Anderson, South Carolina, and move to a dilapidated rental house on a dead-end street. Even worse, I matched that awful house. Staring at the dingy floor, I felt ...