Physical Health: Tobacco, Alcohol & Illegal Drugs Flashcards
What is a drug?
Chemical that effects how your body works, behaves or feels. Some drugs come from plants & others made in labs
Stimulants - caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis, mephadrone
Depressants - alcohol, tranquillisers, codeine, heroin, cannabis, methadone & solvents
Hallucinogens - cannabis, ketamine, LSD & ‘magic mushrooms’
What are the most commonly used drugs?
Caffeine - its in coffee, tea, soft drinks & cola, some confectionary, many medicines & in over-the-counter stimulant preps, such as ‘energy drinks’
Next most commonly used is alcohol (depressant), followed by nicotine (stimulant) found in cigarettes & other tobacco products
Why do people take controlled/illegal drugs, smoke tobacco or drink alcohol?
Curiosity/experimentation - most young people curious & want to try things they know illegal
Natural rebellion - if young people forbid from activities, can make them keener to try them as don’t want to be told what they can/can’t do
Promotion & availability - advertising of tobacco companies found to encourage young people to start smoking & to reinforce habit among existing smokers. Advertising tobacco products now banned but alcohol not
Enjoyment - many people take these products for ‘buzz’, ‘thrill’ or ‘high’ they can offer
Defence mechanism - young people, like adults can suffer from anxiety & depression because of their lives, & like adults will use these products to ease pain & suffering
Cost - users generally feel experience felt from use of these products worth money spent on them
Some may feel they get better value for money by taking drugs than consuming alcohol or tobacco
Environment - these products aren’t limited to one social group/environment - few areas free from drugs
Study carried out by Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs indicated that addiction & regular use more likely to develop among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
What are the effects and negative consequences of taking alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs?
Substance taken - what is taken; how much is taken; other ingredients added; mix of substances; how they’re taken (injecting, eating, snorting, drinking)
Person - their mental/psychological state; mood; physical health problems; energy levels; body weight; gender
Setting - dangerous places (taking drugs near motorways can cause serious injury or death); at school/work (exposure could lead to expulsion or firing); driving car, riding bike or operating machinery can cause accidents; sexual encounters (lack of precaution could lead to pregnancy or STDs)
What is addiction? How do people get addicted?
User experiences strong compulsion to keep taking substance
Physical dependency - comes from repeated use of drugs. Can change body chemistry so if user doesn’t get repeat dose so they suffer withdrawal symptoms, e.g. trembling & anxiety. Person usually have to keep taking drug just to stop feeling ill
Psychological dependency - users turn to drug as way to cope with world; feel they couldn’t cope without drugs, even though not physically dependent
You can become psychologically dependent on anything, eg chocolate
Why would people become addicted to alcohol?
Began drinking at early age
Friends drink regularly
Drink too much on regular basis
Have mental health problem
What are the effects of stimulants?
Abnormal heart heart rhythm disorders & heart attacks
Increase body’s movements, making injuries more likely, especially during sport
Make user irritable & restless
Keep user awake, resulting in insufficient rest
Decrease appetite, so sufficient calories may not be replaced after exercise
Produce anxiety or panic attacks
PAMKID
What are the effects of smoking tobacco?
Nicotine: Constricts blood vessels Raises heart rate Raises blood pressure Speeds up metabolism Affects mood & behaviour
Tar:
Irritates narrow bronchioles of lungs
Aggravate delicate mucus membrane lining air passages, causing them to produce more mucus
Damage cilia that help protect lungs from dirt & infection
Carcinogens can cause cancer
Carbo monoxide:
Poisonous gas taken up by RBCs, which should carry oxygen
What are the effects of smoking tobacco on physical performance?
Constricts lung’s air passages, making it more difficult to breathe air into lungs
Tar from smoke in alveoli lies in lungs - less surface area than before for exchange of oxygen & carbon dioxide
Due to blood vessels being constricted by nicotine, heart has to work harder & blood pressure raised
Carbon dioxide taking place of oxygen in RBCs less oxygen available than before
To be able to work aerobically at particular workrate, muscles demand certain amount of oxygen per minute. If, due to smoking, less oxygen getting to lungs & less oxygen taken into blood from lungs then respiratory & circulartory systems work harder than before
What are the long term effects of smoking tobacco?
Respiratory: Lung cancer Mouth, nose & throat cancer Chronic bronchitis & emphysema Colds, flu, laryngitis & infections that last much longer
Circulatory:
Heart attack
Leukaemia
Arteriosclerosis
