Drugs

Co nte nts
• Sm oki ng
• Al coh ol
• He roi n
• An tib iot ics
 WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE???
Some young people smoke because they believe that smoking is a symbol of adulthood.
This is reinforced by advertisement from cigarette companies, these advertisements
give an impression of maturity, social status, and happiness and success are linked
with smoking. However, surveys have shown that many young people smoke n order to
cover up for their weaknesses or shortcomings such as failing in their studies or

sports.

There are many young people who start smoking out of curiosity. They want to
experience what smoking is all about. Unfortunately, cigarette contains drugs that
are addictive and so they find it hard to give up.Young people may like to imitate
their parents who smoke. Many others smoke because ether wants to be accepted as
members of a group of friends who smoke. Their friends persistent teasing and urging
may make them feel that they are not spotting enough if they do not smoke. This is
called peer group pressure

Ef fec ts o f s mo kin g

Smoking is hard on the heart, but the fact is, tobacco use plays a role in a
multitude of diseases that ultimately lead to disability and/or death. Cigarette
smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds; 200 of which are known to be poisonous,
and upwards of 60 have been identified as carcinogens. Viewed in that light, it's no
wonder that the effects of smoking are so widespread and destructive. Let's take a
look at how cigarette smoke affects our bodies, from head to toe. You may be
surprised at some of the ways smoking has a negative impact on our health.

Brain and Mental Effects:

• Stroke
• Addiction/nicotine withdrawal
• Altered brain chemistry
 • Anxiety about harm caused by smoking
Resp iratio n and Lungs:
• Asthma
• chronic bronchitis and emphysema)
• Asthma
• chronic bronchitis and emphysema)
Hear t:
• Harms, blocks and weakens arteries of the heart
• Heart attack
Kidn eys and blad der:
• Kidney cancer
• Bladder cancer
Ef fec ts o f s mo kin g o n p reg nan t w ome n

The effects of smoking hold additional risks for women. Those who smoke throughout
their pregnancies increase the risk of:
• Spontaneous abortion/miscarriage
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Abruptio placenta
• Placenta previa
• Premature rupture of the membranes
• Premature birth
Risks to the fetus include:
• Smaller infant(for gestational age)
• Stillborn infant
• Birth defects, e.g. congenital limb reduction

Wh at I s A lc oho l?
Alcohol is created when grains, fruits, or vegetables are fermented. Fermentation is
a process that uses yeast or bacteria to change the sugars in the food into alcohol.
Fermentation is used to produce many necessary items — everything from cheese to
medications. Alcohol has different forms and can be used as a cleaner, an antiseptic,
or a sedative.
So if alcohol is a natural product, why do teens need to be concerned about drinking
it? When people drink alcohol, it's absorbed into their bloodstream. From there, it
affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls
virtually all body functions. Because experts now know that the human brain is still
developing during our teens, scientists are researching the effects drinking alcohol
can have on the teen brain.
How Does It Affe ct the Body?

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function of

the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of
the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a
person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.

In very small amounts, alcohol can help a person feel more

relaxed or less anxious. More alcohol causes greater changes
in the brain, resulting in intoxication. People who have
overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and
slur their speech. They will probably be confused and
disoriented. Depending on the person, intoxication can make
someone very friendly and talkative or very aggressive and
angry. Reaction times are slowed dramatically — which is why
people are told not to drink and drive. People who are
intoxicated may think they're moving properly when they're
not. They may act totally out of character.

When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time, alcohol
poisoning can result. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds like — the body has
become poisoned by large amounts of alcohol. Violent vomiting is usually the first
symptom of alcohol poisoning. Extreme sleepiness,

Why Do Tee ns Dri nk?

Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens
use alcohol and other drugs are:

• curiosity
• to feel good, reduce stress, and relax
• to fit in
• to feel older
From a very young age, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful people
enjoying life — and alcohol. And because many parents and other adults use alcohol
socially — having beer or wine with dinner, for example — alcohol seems harmless to
many teens.

Why Should n't I Drink?

Teens that drink are also more likely to get into fights and commit crimes than those
who dont.You can look really stupid. The impression is that drinking is cool, but the
nervous system changes that come from drinking alcohol can make people do stupid or
embarrassing things, like throwing up or peeing on themselves. Drinking also gives
people bad breath, and no one enjoys a hangover.

Alcohol puts your health at risk The risk of injuring yourself, maybe even fatally,
is higher when you're under the influence, too. One half of all drowning deaths among
teen guys are related to alcohol use. Use of alcohol greatly increases the chance
that a teen will be involved in a car crash, homicide, or suicide. Teen drinkers are
more likely to get fat or have health problems, too. One study by the University of
Washington found that people who regularly had five or more drinks in a row starting
at age 13 were much more likely to be overweight or have high blood pressure by age
24 than their nondrinking peers. People who continue drinking heavily well into
adulthood risk damaging their organs, such as the liver, heart, and brain.

He roi n
Heroin comes from the dried milk of the opium poppy, which is also used to create the
class of painkillers called narcotics — medicines like codeine and morphine. Heroin
can range from a white to dark brown powder to a sticky, tar-like substance

.
Effe cts & Danger s:

Heroin effects the central nervous system by depressing it. Heroin depresses nerve
transmission in sensory pathways of the spinal cord and brain that signal pain. This
explains why heroin is such an effective pain killer. Heroin also inhibits brain
centers controlling coughing, and breathing.
Heroin is exceedingly addictive, quickly producing tolerance and dependence. Although
heroin is even more effective as a painkiller than morphine and codeine, it is so
highly addictive that its use is illegal. Methadone is a synthetic opiate that is
used to break addiction to heroin (and replace it with addiction to methadone).
Shor t Term Heroi n Effe cts
Soon after injection (or inhalation), heroin crosses the blood-brain barrier. In the
brain, heroin is converted to morphine and binds rapidly to opioid receptors. Abusers
typically report feeling a surge of pleasurable sensation, a "rush." The intensity of
the rush is a function of how much drug is taken and how rapidly the drug enters the
brain and binds to the natural opioid receptors. Heroin is particularly addictive
because it enters the brain so rapidly. With heroin, the rush is usually accompanied
by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities,
which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and severe itching.
After the initial effects, abusers usually will be drowsy for several hours. Mental
function is clouded by heroin's effect on the central nervous system. Cardiac
function slows. Breathing is also severely slowed, sometimes to the point of death.
Heroin overdose is a particular risk on the street, where the amount and purity of
the drug cannot be accurately known.
• Analgesia (reduced pain)
• Brief euphoria (the "rush" or feeling of well-being)
• Nausea
• Sedation, drowsiness
• Reduced anxiety
• Hypothermia
• Reduced respiration; breathing difficulties
• Reduced coughing
• Death due to overdose - often the exact purity and content of the drug is not
known to the user. An overdose can cause respiration problems and coma
Long Term Heroin Effec ts
One of the most detrimental long-term effects of heroin is addiction itself.
Addiction is a characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, and by neurochemical
and molecular change in the brain. Heroin also produces profound degrees of tolerance
and physical dependence, which are also powerful motivating factors for compulsive
use and abuse. As with abusers of any addictive drug, heroin abusers gradually spend
more and more time and energy obtaining and using the drug. Once they are addicted,
the heroin abusers' primary purpose in life becomes seeking and using drugs. The
drugs literally change their brains.
• Tolerance: more and more drug is needed to produce the euphoria and other
effects on behavior.
 • Addiction: psychological and physiological need for heroin. People are driven
to get more heroin and feel bad if they do not get it. People begin to crave
heroin 4 to 6 hours after their last injection.
• Withdrawal: About 8-12 hours after their last heroin dose, addicts' eyes tear,
they yawn and feel anxious and irritable. Excessive sweating, fever, stomach
and muscle cramps, diarrhea and chills can follow several hours later. These
withdrawal symptoms can continue for 1 to 3 days after the last dose and can
last 7 to 10 days. In some cases, full recovery can take even longer.
Othe r Hero in Eff ects
Medical consequences of chronic heroin abuse include scarred and/or collapsed veins,
bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves, abscesses (boils) and
other soft-tissue infections, and liver or kidney disease. Lung complications
(including various types of pneumonia and tuberculosis) may result from the poor
health condition of the abuser as well as from heroin's depressing effects on
respiration. Many of the additives in street heroin may include substances that do
not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs,
liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of
cells in vital organs. Immune reactions to these or other contaminants can cause
arthritis or other rheumatologic problems.
Of course, sharing of injection equipment or fluids can lead to some of the most
severe consequences of heroin abuse-infections with hepatitis B and C, HIV, and a
host of other blood-borne viruses, which drug abusers can then pass on to their
sexual partners and children.
• HIV/AIDS - due to sharing of needles
• Poisoning - from the addition of toxin to the drug
• Hepatitis - liver damage
• Skin infections - from repeated intravenous injections
• Other bacterial and viral infections
• Increase risk of stroke
• Collapsed veins
• Lung infections
Not all of the mechanisms by which heroin and other opiates affect the brain are
known. Likewise, the exact brain mechanisms that cause tolerance and addiction are
not completely understood. Opiates stimulate a "pleasure system" in the brain. This
system involves neurons in the midbrain that use the neurotransmitter called
"dopamine." These midbrain dopamine neurons project to another structure called the
nucleus accumbens which then projects to the cerebral cortex. This system is
responsible for the pleasurable effects of heroin and for the addictive power of the
drug. Other neurotransmitter systems, such as those related to endorphins, are also
likely to be involved with withdrawal from and tolerance to heroin.

Addi ctiven ess: Heroin is extremely addictive and easy to overdose on (which can
cause death). Withdrawal is intense and symptoms include insomnia, vomiting, and
muscle pain
 An tib iot ics

An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics are
one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes anti-viral, anti-
fungal, and anti-parasitic drugs. Antibiotics are chemicals produced by or derived
from microorganisms (i.e. bugs or germs such as bacteria and fungi). The first
antibiotic was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 in a significant breakthrough
for medical science.

Antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed medications in modern medicine.
Some antibiotics are 'bactericidal', meaning that they work by killing bacteria.
Other antibiotics are 'bacteriostatic', meaning that they work by stopping bacteria
multiplying.Each different type of antibiotic affects different bacteria in different
ways. For example, an antibiotic might inhibit a bacterium's ability to turn glucose
into energy, or its ability to construct its cell wall. When this happens, the
bacterium dies instead of reproducing.
Some antibiotics can be used to treat a wide range of infections and are known as
'broad-spectrum' antibiotics. Others are only effective against a few types of
bacteria and are called 'narrow-spectrum' antibiotics.
Si de eff ect s of anti bio tic s
Antibiotics can literally save lives and are effective in treating illnesses caused
by bacterial infections. However, like all drugs, they have the potential to cause
unwanted side effects. Many of these side effects are not dangerous, although they
can make life miserable while the drug is being taken.
In general, antibiotics rarely cause serious side effects. The most common side
effects from antibiotics are diarrhea, nausea, vomiting. Fungal infections of the
mouth, digestive tract and vagina can also occur with antibiotics because they
destroy the protective 'good' bacteria in the body (which help prevent overgrowth of
any one organism), as well as the 'bad' ones, responsible for the infection being
treated. Some people are allergic to antibiotics, particularly penicillin’s.
Allergic reactions cause swelling of the face, itching and a skin rash and, in severe
cases, breathing difficulties. Allergic reactions require prompt treatment.
Ty pes of an tib iot ics
There are many different kinds of antibiotics. The type of antibiotics you take
depends on the type of infection you have and what kind of antibiotics are known to
be effective.
The main classes of antibiotics:
• Cephalosporin’s
• Macrolides
• Penicillins
• Tetracyclines
Ceph alospo rins
Cephalosporins are grouped into "generations" by their antimicrobial properties.
Cephalosporins are categorized chronically, and are therefore divided into first,
second, and third generations. Currently, three generations of cephalosporins are
recognized and a fourth has been proposed. Each newer generation of cephalosporins
has greater gram negative antimicrobial properties than the preceding generation. The
later-generation cephalosporins have greater effect against resistant
bacteria.Cephalosporins are used to treat pneumonia, strep throat, staph infections,
tonsillitis, bronchitis, otitis media, various types of skin infections, gonorrhea.
Cephalosporin antibiotics are also commonly used for surgical prophylaxis.
Cephalosporins are closely related to the penicillins.Cephalosporins have a
bacteriocidal effect by inhibiting the synthesis of the bacteria cell wall.
Peni cillin s
Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929.
Penicillins are used to treat skin infections, dental infections, ear infections,
respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea. Penicillins are
sometimes combined with other ingredients called beta-lactamase inhibitors, which
protect the penicillin from bacterial enzymes that may destroy it before it can do
its work. Penicillins are usually very safe. The greatest risk is an allergic
reaction, which can be severe. People who have been allergic to cephalosporins are
likely to be allergic to penicillins.Penicillins block the construction of bacteria
cell walls, causing the walls to break down, and eventually killing the bacteria.
Tetr acycli nes
Tetracyclines are a family of antibiotics used to treat a broad spectrum of bacterial
infections. Tetracyclines were discovered in the late 1940s and were extremely
popular when they were first discovered. The tetracycline antibiotics have a very
broad spectrum of action.Tetracyclines are used to treat mild acne, Rocky Mountain
spotted fever, Lyme Disease, upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract
infections, sexually transmitted diseases, typhus.
An tib iot ic res ist anc e
Antibiotics are extremely important in medicine, but unfortunately bacteria are
capable of developing resistance to them. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are germs
that are not killed by commonly used antibiotics. When bacteria are exposed to the
same antibiotics over and over, the bacteria can change and are no longer affected by
the drug.
Bacteria have number of ways how they become antibiotic-resistant. For example, they
possess an internal mechanism of changing their structure so the antibiotic no longer
works, they develop ways to inactivate or neutralize the antibiotic. Also bacteria
can transfer the genes coding for antibiotic resistance between them, making it
possible for bacteria never exposed to an antibiotic to acquire resistance from those
which have. The problem of antibiotic resistance is worsened when antibiotics are
used to treat disorders in which they have no efficacy (e.g. antibiotics are not
effective against infections caused by viruses), and when they are used widely as
prophylaxis rather than treatment.
Resistance to antibiotics poses a serious and growing problem, because some
infectious diseases are becoming more difficult to treat. Resistant bacteria do not
respond to the antibiotics and continue to cause infection. Some of these resistant
bacteria can be treated with more powerful medicines, but there some infections that
are difficult to cure even with new or experimental drugs