The use and abuse of drugs Flashcards
What is a recreational drug?
A drug used for pleasure or social reasons
What is a drug?
A chemical that changes the chemistry of the body
What is a medical drug?
A drug used to treat pain or disease/illness
What is addiction?
When the chemistry in the body has changes so you need to take more and more of the drug to feel normal
What are withdrawal symptoms?
What can happen if you stop taking a drug you are addicted to. Headaches, sweating, shaking, irritability, nausea
What is a gateway drug?
A ‘soft’ drug that could lead to harder drugs. Cannabis -> heroin
What is thalidomide?
A drub prescribed to women to cure morning sickness but caused deformed limbs
What are the problems with alcohol?
Liver disease, kills brains cells, heart problems, drink driving, aggressive and anti-social behaviour, expensive, NHS costs, police
What are the problems with tobacco?
Lung cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) ,yellow nails and teeth, coughing, bad dental health, heart problems, passive smoking, bad smell, people judge you, expensive, NHS costs
What are the problems with cannabis?
Paranoia, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, poor diet, poor motivation-no job, criminal record-limited traveling, low self esteem, socially withdrawn, drug driving, expensive, NHS costs, gateway drug
Why do drugs need to be tested? (3 things)
See if the drug is effective, see if the drug is safe, make sure the correct dose is given
What is a double blind trial?
Neither the doctor of the patient knows who is getting the real drug or the placebo
Why are double blind trials good?
Stops bias
What is a placebo?
A fake drug used in drug trials to make sure bias doesn’t affect the results
What is the placebo effect?
When people think they are getting better even when they are not having the real treatment
What are the stages of drug trials?
Deciding an illness to treat (to make money), making thousands of possible drugs (most won’t work), testing on cells or tissues (checks whether they’re toxic), testing on animals (checks for side effects), testing on healthy volunteers (checks for side effects and correct dosage), testing on people with the disease (see if it is effective and which dose works best)
What was thalidomide originally prescribed for?
Sleeping pill
What is thalidomide now used to treat?
Leprosy
Why didn’t the doctors know of the side effects of thalidomide?
The drug hadn’t been tested on pregnant animals
How were people affected by the thalidomide tragedy?
Caring for a disabled child, bullying, some children were killed, some mothers committed suicide from guilt, high divorce rate due to strain on relationship, children had lack of independence
What are statins?
A drug used to lower cholesterol
What is the most commonly prescribed drug?
Statins
What do statins do?
Slow the work of enzymes that create cholesterol. They also allow cholesterol that already exists to be digested
Possible side effects of statins?
Increased chance of liver problems, acute kidney damage, a type of muscular damage, increased chance of a stroke if you’ve already had one
Who takes statins?
People with a raised risk of cardiovascular disease
What sports are anabolic steroids good for and what are the effects?
Weightlifting, American football. Stimulates muscles to grow bigger and stronger
What sports are beta-blockers good for and what are the effects?
Snooker, darts, golf, archery. Reduces heart rate
What sports are amphetamines good for and what are the effects?
Football, baseball. Increase alertness, energy and concentration
What is toxicity?
How serious the side effects would be
