B1: Drugs

Question 1

What is a drug?

Answer 1

A substance that alters what goes on in your body by interfering with the chemical reactions that take place in the body.

Question 2

What are recreational drugs?

Answer 2

Drugs that are used for fun. They can legal and illegal.

Question 3

What are performance-enhancing drugs?

Answer 3

Drugs that can improve a person’s performance in sport.

Question 4

What are medicinal drugs?

Answer 4

Drugs that are medically useful, such as antibiotics.

Question 5

What types of performance-enhancing drugs are there?

Answer 5

1. Anabolic steroids- increase muscle size

2. Stimulants- increase heart rate

Question 6

Why are performance-enhancing drugs banned by sporting bodies?

Answer 6

1. They can have negative health effects (steroids can cause high blood pressure)
2. This makes it fair for all contestants.

Question 7

What are some of the reasons why people are for drug use in sport?

Answer 7

1. They believe athletes should have the right to choose if they use drugs or not
2. Drug-free sports isn’t really fair anyway because athletes can have different access to training facilities

Question 8

Why are some people against drug use in sport?

Answer 8

1. It is unfair that people gain an advantage by taking drugs and not just through training
2. Athletes may not be fully informed of the serious health risks of the drugs they take

Question 9

What are the three main stages in drug testing?

Answer 9

1. Drugs are tested on human cells and tissues in a lab
2. The drug is then tested on live animals
3. The drug, if it has passed the other two stages, is tested on human volunteers in a clinical trial.

Question 10

How does a clinical trial work?

Answer 10

1. The drug is tested on healthy volunteers to make sure it does not have any harmful side-effects
2. If the results are good, the drugs can be tested on people suffering from the illness. The optimum dose is found.

Question 11

What is the placebo effect?

Answer 11

When a patient is given a placebo drug and begins to feel better, even though the treatment is not doing anything.

Question 12

How does a clinical trial allow for the placebo effect?

Answer 12

The patients are split into two groups and one group is given the new drug and the other group is given a placebo.

Question 13

Why is the placebo used?

Answer 13

So the doctors can see the actual difference the drugs make. This experiment allows for the placebo effect, making the test more reliable.

Question 14

What is a blind clinical trial?

Answer 14

When the patient in the study does not know whether they are getting the drug or the placebo.

Question 15

What is a double-blind clinical trial?

Answer 15

Wen the doctor and the patient involved do not know whether the drug being administered is the placebo.

Question 16

Why is a double-blind trial often used?

Answer 16

So the doctors monitoring the patients and analysing the results are not subconsciously influenced by their knowledge.

Question 17

When was thalidomide developed?

Answer 17

1950s

Question 18

What was thalidomide first intended to be used as?

Answer 18

A sleeping pill.

Question 19

What was it found to be effective in treating?

Answer 19

Morning sickness.

Question 20

What did the use of thalidomide cause?

Answer 20

It caused abnormal limb development in babies because it could pass through the placenta and affect the fetus.

Question 21

What happened as a result of the thalidomide crisis?

Answer 21

The drug was banned and more rigorous testing procedures were introduced.

Question 22

What has thalidomide been used for more recently?

Answer 22

A treatment for leprosy and other diseases.

Question 23

What are illegal drugs often divided into?

Answer 23

• Divided into two main classes- soft and hard drugs

- Hard drugs are considered to be seriously addictive and more harmful than soft drugs

Question 24

Why do people use illegal drugs?

Answer 24

1. For enjoyment
2. In order to relax
3. As a form of stress relief
4. Some say it relieves pain

Question 25

What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 25

1. It causes diseases of the heart. lungs and blood vessels
2. Tobacco smoke causes cancer
3. Nicotine is very addictive

Question 26

What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 26

1. It affects the nervous system and slows the body’s reactions
2. Too much alcohol leads to impaired judgement, poor coordination and unconsciousness
3. Excessive drinking can damage the liver and the brain
4. Alcohol is also addictive