The Use And Abuse Of Drugs

13. The Use and Abuse of Drugs Sunday, April 12, 2009 10:14 PM

INTRODUCTION 1. Drug: • Any externally administered substance that modifies or affects chemical reactions in the body. 2. Drugs can be grouped as follows: I. Sedatives (Depressants): ○ Slow down the brain and make you feel sleepy; ○ Include tranquilizers and sleeping pills; ○ e.g. alcohol.

II. ○ ○ ○

Stimulants: Speed up the action of the brain and make you feel alert; Sometimes given to people who are suffering from severe depression; e.g. coffee, tea and nicotine.

III. Hallucinogens: ○ Cause a person to experience illusion, hallucinations and distorted images; ○ e.g. cannabis. IV. Opiates: ○ Include opium, morphine and heroin; ○ Relieve pain and induce sleep and stupor.

3. Drugs may cause: I. Tolerance: ○ If taken over a long period of time, the dosage has to keep increasing in order to have the same effect; ○ If the dosage continues to increase, it will become so large that it may cause death; ○ e.g. people who drink alcohol in order to relieve anxiety may have to keep drinking more and more before they feel relaxed. II. Dependence: ○ It is the condition in which the user cannot do without the substance; ○ e.g. cigarette smoking can cause emotional dependence - crave for it, may be badtempered, anxious or depressed without it; ○ May also cause physical dependence (addiction) and cause withdrawal symptoms(??).

13.1 Antibiotics Lutherlans - The Use and Abuse of Drugs Page 1

13.1 Antibiotics 1. • • •

Antibiotics: Chemicals that are widely used to treat many infectious diseases caused by microorganisms; Produced by certain bacteria and moulds and some are man-made; Do not harm viruses.

2. Four main types of antibiotics: I) Penicillins: ○ Made by the fungus Penicillium; ○ Attack a few bacteria (Narrow-spectrum antibiotics). II) Cephalosporins: ○ Made by the mould Cephalosporium; ○ Useful against penicillin-resistant bacteria. III) Tetracyclines: ○ Made by the bacterium Streptomyces aurofaciens; ○ Act against a variety of bacteria (Broad-spectrum antibiotics).

IV) Erythromycins: ○ Work against the same type of bacteria as penicillin; ○ Useful against penicillin-resistant bacteria. 3. Anaesthatics: • Drugs that made the body unable to feel pain; • e.g. Cocaine, which causes a loss of sensation in the area where it is injected. 4. • • •

Analgesics: Drugs that can relieve pain without causing numbness or affecting consciousness; e.g. Aspirin, which relieves minor pain and reduces fever, If taken in large doses, may produce some side effects, e.g. gastric ulcers.

13.2 Effects of heroin 1. • • • •

Heroin: Obtained from opium; A type of painkillers; Used as a sedative and powerful analgesic; Highly addictive (drug dependence), often abused by drug users.

2. • • • • •

Effects of heroin: Social problems; Brain damage (affect the brain); Lung damage (affect the lungs); Affect the diet - lose of weight, constipation, lose of appetite, gastric ulcers; Withdrawal symptoms: ○ Physically ill (experiences nausea, vomiting, uncontrolled trembling); ○ Mentally disturbed (experience acute anxiety, depression, etc.).

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13.3 Effects of alcohol 1. Alcohol: • A depressant;

2. • • • • • • • •

Effects of alcohol: Slow down some brain functions; Reduce nervous tension and worries; Self-control is reduced; Blurred vision and poor muscular co-ordination; Anaesthetize the brain and can cause unconsciousness; Addiction (drug dependence). Damage the liver because alcohol is broken down in the liver; Social problems. 13.4 Effects of tobacco smoke

1. • • •

3 major components of tobacco smoke: Nicotine - addictive drug; Tar - a brown, sticky substance that accumulates in the lungs during smoking; Carbon monoxide (CO).

2. Effects of nicotine: • Stimulates the brain making the smoker alert and relaxes the muscles then, dulls the brain and senses; • Release adrenaline - increase the rate of heartbeat and blood pressure; • Clots the blood easily - increasing the risk of blood clots blocking the blood vessels - clotting of the coronary arteries cause heart attack, clotting of the capillaries of the brain cause stroke;

3. Effects of carbon monoxide: • Reduces the efficiency of the red blood cells to transport oxygen - may cause death; • Increases the rate of the deposition of fatty substances on the inner walls of arteries, causing lumen to become narrower; • Damages the lining of blood vessels - increasing the tendency of the blood to clot and so block the blood vessels; • It is more readily to combine with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin instead of oxyhaemoglobin. 4. Effects of tar: • Contains cancer-causing (carcinogens) chemicals; • Uncontrolled multiplication of cells results in outgrowths or lumps of tissue (cancer) - blocking off the air sacs, reducing the efficiency for gaseous exchange; • Paralyses the cilia from removing dust particles from the lungs and trachea. 5. • • •

Smoking-related diseases: Lung cancer; Chronic brochitis; Emphysema.

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• Emphysema. 6. Effects of smoking during pregnancy: • Brain development of the fetus is affected - the child may have learning difficulties in later life; • The fetus grows more slowly, born smaller, more fragile and may die quickly within the first few days of life; • A higher risk of the baby being born prematurely; • The baby has a greater risk of being born dead (stillborn).

7. Nowadays,many people regard smoking as no longer socially acceptable.

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