What is DRUGS ABUSE ?
Drug abuse, also called substance abuse or chemical abuse, is a disorder that is characterized by a destructive pattern of using a substance that leads to significant problems or distress. It affects more than 7% of people at some point in their lives. Teens are increasingly engaging in prescription drug abuse, particularly narcotics (which are prescribed to relieve severe pain), and stimulant medications, which treat conditions like attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.
The following are many of the drugs and types of drugs that are commonly abused and/or result in dependence:
Alcohol: Although legal, alcohol is a toxic substance, particularly to a developing fetus when a mother consumes this drug during pregnancy.
Amphetamines: This is a group of drugs from precription medication. Overdose of consuming this group of drugs can result in seizure and death.
Anabolic steroids: This group of drugs can lead to terrible psychological effects like aggression and paranoia, as well as devastating long-term physical effects like infertility and organ failure.
Caffeine: Consuming caffeine in excess this substance can be habit forming and produce palpitations, insomnia, tremors, and significant anxiety.
Cannabis: More commonly called marijuana. The effects of consuming marijuana are infertility, paranoia, lack of motivation
Cocaine: A drug that tends to stimulate the nervous system, cocaine can be snorted in powder form, smoked when in the form of rocks, or injected when made into a liquid. The effects of consuming cocaine are dilated pupils, mental alertness,decreased appetite, and increased heart rate and blood pressure, and even death.
Ecstasy: This drug tends to create a sense of euphoria and an expansive love or desire to nurture others. In overdose, it can increase body temperature to the point of being fatal.
Hallucinogens: These drugs can be dangerous in their ability to alter the perceptions of the user. For example, a person who is intoxicated with a hallucinogen may perceive danger where there is none and to think that situations that are truly dangerous are not. Those misperceptions can result in dangerous behaviors.
Inhalants: Inhalants are usually contained in household cleaners, like ammonia, bleach, and other substances that emit fumes. The effects of consuming these substances are brain damage, even to the point of death
Nicotine: According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 87 percent of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes. The most active ingredient in cigarettes is nicotine. Nicotine is an alkaloid substance that is naturally found in the tobacco plant. In small doses the substance has addictive side effects, while in large doses it can quickly become toxic to the body. Regardless of the dose, nicotine can affect the lungs both directly and indirectly
Opiates: This group is also called narcotics and includes drugs like heroin, codeine, Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan. This group of substances sharply decrease the functioning of the nervous system. The lethality of opiates is often the result of the abuser having to use increasingly higher amounts to achieve the same level of intoxication, ultimately to the point that the dose needed to get high is the same as the dose that is lethal for that individual by halting the person's breathing (respiratory arrest).
Phencyclidine: Commonly referred to as PCP, this drug can cause the user to feel extremely paranoid, become quite aggressive and to have an unusual amount of physical strength. This can make the individual quite dangerous to others.
Sedative, hypnotic, or antianxiety drugs: As these substances quell or depress the nervous system, they can cause death by respiratory arrest of the person who either uses these drugs in overdose or who mixes one or more of these drugs with another nervous system depressant drug (like alcohol, another sedative drug, or an opiate)
Source :
http://www.medicinenet.com/drug_abuse/page2.htm
http://cocaine-effects.com/
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5182917_nicotine-affect-lungs.html
Diny Susilawati
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