Medical and Recreational Drugs

Key Issues

Titles

Chapters

• Alcohol
• Alcohol affects the nervous system by slowing down reactions and helps people relax, but too much may lead to lack of self-control, unconsciousness or even coma, eventually damaging the liver and brain
• describe how cigarette smoke affects health, including carbon monoxide displacement of O2 in red blood cells
• describe how cigarette smoke affects health, including nicotine contributing to heart disease, irregular and increasing heartbeat
• describe how cigarette smoke affects health, including passive smoking - arguments relating to smoking in public places
• describe how cigarette smoke affects health, including tar as a trigger for lung cancer
• Developing New Drugs
• discuss the effects of alcohol on individuals and the cost to society
• discuss the effects of drug and solvent abuse including antibiotics on individuals and the cost to society
• discuss the effects of drug and solvent abuse including depressants on individuals and the cost to society
• discuss the effects of drug and solvent abuse including hallucinogens on individuals and the cost to society
• discuss the effects of drug and solvent abuse including painkillers on individuals and the cost to society
• discuss the effects of drug and solvent abuse including stimulants on individuals and the cost to society
• Drugs are tested in the laboratory to find if they are toxic
• Drugs are then trialed on human volunteers to discover any side effects
• Drugs change the chemical processes in people's bodies so that they may become dependent or addicted to them and suffer withdrawal symptoms without them
• Heroin and cocaine are very addictive
• interpret data on the misuse of substances
• know about the effects of passive smoking
• Many drugs derived from natural substances have been known to indigenous peoples for many years
• MICROBES AND DISEASE
• MICROBES CAN MAKE USEFUL PRODUCTS
• Natural Origins of Drugs
• NATURE OF MICROBES
• Nicotine
• Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco smoke
• recognise that scientific opinion has changed, and that the recreational drug cannabis has been used to reduce suffering in patients with multiple sclerosis
• recognise that some misused drugs can also be the source of medicinal drugs (opiates)
• Recreational Use of Illegal Drugs
• Scientists are developing new drugs. These need to be thoroughly tested
• Some of these drugs are legal, some illegal
• Some of these recreational drugs are more harmful than others
• Some people use drugs recreationally
• state how alcohol can affect physical and mental health
• state how recreational drugs can affect physical and mental health
• state how solvents can affect physical and mental health
• state how tobacco can affect physical and mental health
• Testing and Trialing New Drugs
• Thalidomide
• Thalidomide had not been tested for relieving morning sickness in pregnant women
• Thalidomide is a drug that was developed as a sleeping pill
• Thalidomide was also found to be effective in relieving morning sickness in pregnant women
• Thalidomide was then banned, but more recently is being used successfully to treat leprosy
• The overall impact of legal drugs on health is much greater than the impact of illegal drugs, because far more people use them
• Tobacco
• Tobacco smoke also contains carbon monoxide which reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. In pregnant women this can deprive a fetus of oxygen and lead to a low birth mass
• Tobacco smoke contains carcinogens
• Unfortunately, many babies born to mothers who took Thalidomide were born with severe limb abnormalities
• When new medical drugs are devised, they have to be extensively tested and trialed before being used
• Withdrawal Symptoms