IGCSE BIOLOGY

Drugs
15
 Learning Objective
• Define a drug as any substance taken into the
body that modifies or affects chemical reactions in
the body
What is a drug?
A drug is any substance taken into the
body that modifies or affects chemical
reactions in the body
.
How many different types
of drug can you name?
Paracetamol, alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and ecstasy are
all examples of substances that can be called drugs.

Some drugs are beneficial, like asthma drugs, but others

like alcohol and nicotine in cigarettes can cause harm.

Drugs can be categorized into over-the-counter drugs,

prescription drugs, recreational drugs and illegal drugs.

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How is each type of drug classified?

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Effects of drugs
Drugs can have different effects on the body. These can be
grouped into five main categories:

 depressants – e.g. alcohol, solvents,

temazepan
 stimulants – e.g. caffeine,
nicotine, ecstasy
 painkillers – e.g. aspirin,
heroin, paracetemol
 hallucinogens – e.g. LSD
 performance enhancers
– e.g. anabolic steroids.

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Different types of drugs

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The action of depressants and stimulants

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Test Yourself!

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 15.2

Medicinal Drugs
 Learning Objective
• Describe the use of antibiotics for the treatment of
bacterial infection
• State that antibiotics kill bacteria but do not affect
viruses
• Explain why antibiotics kill bacteria, but do not affect
viruses
• State that some bacteria are resistant to antibiotics
which reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics
• Explain how development of resistant bacteria such as
MRSA can be minimised, limited to using antibiotics
only when essential and ensuring treatment is
completed
 What are antibiotics?
Antibiotics are chemicals used to treat bacterial infections.
Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria (living organisms). They break down cell walls and
membranes. Interfere with their metabolism and damage DNA.

.
However, some types of
bacteria are no longer affected
by certain antibiotics – this is
called antibiotic resistance.

Can not destroy

viruses, since they do
not have a
metabolism
Testing antibiotics
What is MRSA?
MRSA is ‘Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus’ – a
bacterium that is resistant to several antibiotics.

About 30% of the population carry

MRSA without any symptoms.
In vulnerable hospital patients,
however, it can cause
pneumonia, blood poisoning and
even death.
The antibiotic vancomycin is
used to treat MRSA infection, but
resistance to this has evolved,
creating VRSA.

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The evolution of superbugs

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Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria

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 Antibiotics
Advantages Disadvantages
• Cures a lot of diseases • Resistant bacteria can
• Usually relieves develop
symptoms in a few days • Diseases become more
• Reduces deaths from difficult to treat
diseases • Not taking the full course
causes more resistant
bacteria to survive
• Increases likelihood of
them working when you
need
 Antibiotic resistance: MRSA
The bacteria Staphylococcus
aureus has become resistant
to most antibiotics, including
methicillin. This methicillin-
resistant S. aureus (MRSA),
which is becoming common
in hospitals, can cause a
life-threatening infection.

Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance, several

methods of prevention and control have been adopted:
 antibiotics should only be prescribed when needed

 patients should finish the complete course of antibiotics

 introduction of infection control in hospitals.
 True or False?
1. Antibiotics are used to kill viruses
2. Antibiotics are medicines
3. Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors
4. Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria
5. You must finish all of the antibiotics to reduce the risk of
bacteria becoming resistant
6. Different types of antibiotic will kill different types of bacteria
7. Fungi never become resistant to antibiotics
8. MRSA are bacteria which can be killed by many antibiotics.
9. Some antibiotics weaken the cell walls of bacteria so they
die
 15.3

Misused Drugs
 Learning Objective
15.3 Misused drugs
• Describe the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and
abuse of heroin, limited to:
– powerful depressant drugs
– effect on reaction times and self-control
– addiction and withdrawal symptoms
– negative social implications, e.g. crime
• State that excessive alcohol consumption can cause liver
damage
• State that the liver is the site of break down of alcohol and
other toxins
• State that injecting heroin can cause infections such as HIV
• Explain how heroin affects the nervous system, limited to
its effect on the function of synapses
 15.3 Misused drugs
• State that tobacco smoking can cause chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung
cancer and coronary heart disease
• Discuss the evidence for the link between smoking
and lung cancer
• Describe the effects on the gas exchange system of
tobacco smoke and its major toxic components,
limited to carbon monoxide, nicotine and tar
• Discuss the use of hormones to improve sporting
performance, limited to testosterone and anabolic
steroids
Why are drugs so dangerous?
Drugs can affect the way your brain works and cause
damage to your body. They make you more likely to
have accidents and make bad decisions.

People can become addicted to drugs.

This means that they develop a physical
or mental need for the drug.

An overdose is when someone takes too much of a

drug. This can cause death or serious illness.

You never know what other substances have been added

to an illegal drug, so these could cause unknown effects.

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 What is addiction?
A person is said to be addicted to, or dependent on, a drug
when they feel unable to stop taking it. There are two types of
addiction:

 physiological addiction –
the person is compelled to take
the drug to avoid or reduce
unpleasant or dangerous
withdrawal symptoms.

 psychological addiction –
the person is compelled to take
the drug to experience the
effect it produces, rather than to
treat withdrawal symptoms.
How is addiction treated?
Addiction is treated by rehabilitation, which helps the user
to stop taking the drug.

Physiological addiction may initially be

treated using detoxification. In some
cases, substitute drugs may be prescribed
to reduce drug cravings or unpleasant
withdrawal symptoms.

For example, methadone is offered to

heroin addicts. Methadone is less
dangerous than heroin, but the aim is for
the addict to stop needing drugs altogether.

Psychological addiction is often treated using counselling.

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Alcohol and
solvents

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 What is alcohol?
Alcohol is a family of related
substances, but most commonly refers
to ethanol – the active ingredient in
alcoholic drinks.
Alcohol is quickly absorbed into the
bloodstream, where it starts to have an
effect on the CNS.
The effects of alcohol vary from person to person and with
factors such as:
 rate of consumption
 level of food/water intake
 age and gender
 body weight/body fat.
The short-term effects of alcohol
Small amounts of alcohol cause a person to feel relaxed and
less inhibited. It can therefore appear to stimulate people.

However, further consumption has a depressant effect,

making reactions uncoordinated and impairing speech.

Alcohol is a diuretic, which

means it causes more urine
to be produced than normal.
This can lead to
dehydration, which
contributes to a hangover!

Alcohol also makes blood vessels dilate, leading to heat loss.

Effects of alcohol by dose
Physiological effects of alcohol
 How much is it safe to drink?
The UK Department of Health advises that men should
drink no more than 4 units of alcohol per day, and women
no more than 3 units.
How much is 1 unit of alcohol?

Drink Units of alcohol

1 pint of strong lager 3

1 pint of bitter 2

1 pint of cider 2

175 mls of wine 2

1 alcopop 1.5
35 mls of spirit 1
The long-term effects of alcohol
Like all drugs, alcohol is broken down, or metabolized, by the
liver.

Over time, heavy drinking

damages liver cells, causing
them to produce fibrous scar
tissue which blocks liver
function. This is a disease
called cirrhosis.

Heavy drinkers are also at increased risk of cancer and

damage to the brain, kidney and immune system.
How can other substances harm the body?
Solvents such as aerosols, glues, paint and cleaning fluid can
make people feel uninhibited, happy and dizzy if inhaled.

Inhaling solvents can cause

vomiting and blackouts. People
can also suffer fatal heart
problems, even when solvents
are taken for the first time.

Long term solvent abuse has

been shown to damage the
brain, liver and kidneys.

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 Smoking

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Smoking tobacco
Cigarettes are made from finely cut and dried tobacco
leaves. Tobacco is made from the leaves of the
tobacco plant, which contain small amounts of
nicotine.

When tobacco smoke is inhaled, the nicotine

quickly enters the bloodstream and has a
stimulating effect on the nervous system.

However, smoking is very dangerous and can have

serious effects on the lungs and respiratory system.

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Smoking and the respiratory system
Why is a respiratory system that works properly essential for good health?

The respiratory system, which

includes the lungs, provides the
body with the oxygen it needs for
respiration.

The lungs are delicate, spongy organs

that deal with 12,000 litres of air each
day.

How does smoking damage the respiratory system?

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What’s in a cigarette?

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What’s in a cigarette?

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How does smoking affect health?
How will these chemicals be harmful to the body’s systems?

Carbon monoxide – A poisonous gas that reduces the amount of oxygen that red
blood cells can carry around the body.

Nicotine – An addictive drug that

affects the central nervous system. It
increases the heart rate and narrows
the blood vessels, causing high blood
pressure.

Tar – A brown, sticky substance that consists of tiny particles and is formed when
tobacco smoke condenses. Tar paralyzes tiny hairs in the airways called cilia, this
stops them removing mucus easily.

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How does smoking affect the lungs?
Which picture shows the healthy lungs of a non-smoker and which shows
the unhealthy lungs of a smoker?

Which set of lungs would you prefer?

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Smoker’s cough
 Diseases caused by smoking
• Emphysema: the breakdown of alveoli which causes coughing and
reduction in the absorption capacity of the lungs which results in the
smoker not being able to oxygenate his blood properly and thus
becomes breathless and exhausted

• Chronic Bronchitis: the smoke stops the cilia in the air passages
from beating so the irritant substances in the smoke and the excess
mucus collect in the bronchi which leads to inflammation

• Heart Disease: blockage of coronary arteries by fatty deposits

which reduces the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle
and eventually leads to heart failure. The nicotine and carbon
monoxide from cigarette smoke increases the tendency for the blood
to clot and block the coronary arteries. Carbon monoxide increases
the rate at which the fatty material is deposited in the arteries.
Smoking statistics
Smoking doesn’t just make you unfit and unhealthy; it kills.

In the UK, around 114,000 smokers die every year as a result of their habit – that’s
the same as 13 people per hour.

Smoking is thought to kill around five times more people in the UK than road traffic
accidents, other accidents, poisoning and overdose, alcoholic liver disease, murder
and manslaughter, suicide and HIV infection all put together.

About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit.

With such scary statistics about smoking, what can be done to help people
give up this harmful habit?

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Smoking and Lung Cancer

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Smoking ban
Passive smoking has health implications for people
who do not smoke.

People living with a smoker are 25% more likely

to get lung cancer.

Every year, 17,000 children are admitted to

hospital due to inhaling smoke from those
around them.

Due to the serious effects of smoking on smokers and non-smokers, the

government has banned smoking in enclosed public places, including pubs,
clubs, restaurants and offices.

What is happening in other countries?

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Smoking bans around the world
Smoking is banned in many public places around the world.

Norway
New York South Korea
Ireland Romania
California
UK Iran Tokyo
Boston France Italy Pakistan
Greece
Turkey Thailand
Uganda
Tanzania
Australia
South Africa

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Smoking quiz

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The effects of the abuse of heroin

Heroin is a powerful depressant.

It is a narcotic, producing a dream-like feeling of relaxation and reducing severe
pain.
It is very addictive, leading to dependency (addiction).

Withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant – involving cramp, sleeplessness,

violent vomiting, sweating and hallucinations.

The body develops a tolerance to the drug, so an addict needs to take increasing
amount to achieve the same feeling. This leas t the risk of overdosing on the drug.
When injected using unsterilized and shared needles, there is a risk of infections
such as hepatitis and HIV.

Addiction creates financial problems leading to family breakdown, criminal

activity and sexual promiscuity.

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Steroids
Testosterone
Anabolic Steroids

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Performance enhancing hormones

• Testosterone: promote male primary and

sexual characteristics. Supplements can lead to
increase muscle and bone mass.
(Can enhance the sportsperson’s performance)

• Anabolic steroids: Synthetic derivatives of

testosterone, Affect protein metabolism,
increase muscle development and reduce body
fat.
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Anabolic steroids

Anabolic agents (steroids) are the most commonly used

performance-enhancing drugs. They are hormones which
help build and repair muscle and bone.
Anabolic agents occur naturally in the body.
However, they are also made
artificially and can be used
by performers to illegally
improve their performance.
Examples include:
Nandrolone
Clenbuterol
Stanozol
Testosterone.
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Anabolic steroids – side effects

The side effects of anabolic

steroids are serious:
sterility, masculinisation in
women
high blood pressure
bone, tendon and
ligament weakness
severe liver or kidney
disorders
aggressive behaviour Why do you think that performers
still take anabolic steroids
facial hair growth
despite the side effects?
and deepening of
the voice in women.
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Performance-enhancing drugs

Drugs can be used to improve performance. This could give

some performers an unfair advantage and undermine the
integrity of sport.

Sports governing bodies produce lists of banned substances,

so that it is clear to both performers and coaches which
substances they must avoid while training and competing.

Products of the drugs can be detected in the urine

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Anagrams

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Multiple-choice quiz

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