Rest In Peace Whitney But We Still Don’t Know What Exactly Killed You!

It is very sad to hear of the death of Whitney Houston. Her music will always be something to keep us on the toes for a long time. However, I beg to differ from some people who say that she would still be alive if it were not for her relationship with Bobby Brown. The truth is that if God wanted Whitney to die at 48, she would still be dead regardless of Bobby Brown or not. We are all going to die of something. There are many variables that contribute to someone dying of drugs or smoking. For instance, there are people who are druggist but still live for a long time.

Epidemiologists, using statistics, tell us the like hood of suffering dire consequences from drugs but a microbiologist usually identifies the actual chemical or genetic mechanisms involved in one's death.

So, there's no way of concluding that Whitney died because of drugs. Yes, there may be a causal relationship between her death and her lifeclass but it may be a combination of other unknown (classified) medical conditions.

Whitney with Bobby Brown( ex-husband)

In medicine, there are innumerable variables and contingencies, and thus ironclad statements cannot be made or relied upon. You cannot come out as a doctor and say that Whitney died of drugs unless you have done some tests on her body.

Actually, let's leave drugs aside because I have seen drug addicts living for a long time, and go with an example of cancer. Although cancer of the breast, prostate, colon, or any area will be debilitating and painful, it does not result in death until it spreads to the heart, lungs, kidneys, or the central nervous system. We also know that even after spreading to these vital areas, death can take weeks, months, or even years.

So, some people diagnosed with cancer are still breathing today because their body systems have not allowed the cancer to attack the vital areas. To put it in simple terms, dying suddenly is 'consistent' with other unexplained factors. Whitney died ”suddenly” and there is no way we can totally attribute this to her drug problem. I'm not saying we should rule it out, either, but we cannot put that on her death certificate until an autopsy is done. What has happened is that the media has developed a hypothesis as to what caused her death but it may not be true.

I'm a stronger believe in God and as a result I think about death all the time. I believe God can make people live longer or shorter if he chooses to. I believe we cannot dodge death however much we try but religion also tells us to look after ourselves, a reason I don't eat pork; drink alcohol, take drugs, e.t.c

Secondly, there is nothing heroic in being a junkie and continuously failing to beat the addiction. I know every expert in the world will disagree with me, but I don't buy into the disease part of drug abuse. The first time you reach for a substance you are making a choice. Every time you go back, you're making a personal choice. I feel very strongly about that.

Drugs have always been part of most celebrities or famous people's lives. It is very rare to find a person in these developed nations who has never taken drugs at some stage in their lives. At least, most of the 'Bazungu' I know have taken drugs at some stage in their life. Even David Cameron was a drug party boy at university, and the media tried to crucify him about it in his early years in office.

Think of all the tabloid stories about celebrities whacked out on drugs from Whitney Houston (RIP), that blond crack head chick (Olson), Sir Paul McCartney or his late wife Linda McCartney, who were both arrested several times at airport checkpoints for possession of marijuana, Lindsay Lohan or Courtney Love- to any of the dozens of drug addled pop stars out there. Not forgetting the most famous one of all, Elvis, who died of an overdose while sitting on a toilet and asphyxiated from his face being buried in his carpet with his bare ass stuck in the air and it became a week long TV event on every station.

There is also a story that JFK was on drugs but he was a full president and he probably would have lived longer if he had not been assassinated. New findings by noted historian Robert Dallek dug up surprising dirt on JFK, where medical files showed that he (JFK) routinely popped pain killers, anti-anxiety pills, stimulants and even hormones, up to eight medications a day. IT'S PARTY TIME!!!

His supporters counteracted this by saying that JFK was using drugs prescribed by a physician because he had adrenal insufficiency and back pain from his war injuries. One could argue that the physician was practicing bad medicine.

The truth is that people take drugs and all kinds of substances into their bodies but some live longer and some die early. When explaining their death early or longer, we look for a variety of factors rather than just drugs.

Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
Student of Public Health

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