Tobacco and Drugs

Slow poison

What is tobacco?
Tobacco is a green, leafy plant that is grown in warm climates. After it is picked, it is dried, ground up, and used in different ways. It can be smoked in a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. It can be chewed (called smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco) or sniffed through the nose (called snuff).

Why is tobacco addictive?

Nicotine is one of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and its smoke. It is the chemical that makes tobacco addictive or habit forming. Once we smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco, nicotine goes into our bloodstream, and our body wants more. The nicotine in tobacco makes it a drug. This means that when we use tobacco, it changes our body in some way. Because nicotine is a stimulant, it speeds up the nervous system, so we feel like we have more energy. It also makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure.

Facts about tobacco

There are more than one billion smokers in the world. Globally, use of tobacco products is increasing, although it is decreasing in high-income countries. Almost half of the world's children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke. More than 80% of the world's smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco use kills 5.4 million people a year - an average of one person every six seconds - and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide. Tobacco kills up to half of all users. It is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world. Smoking stresses heart which results 36,000 beats more a day!

Harms of tobacco
30 percent of all cancer cases are caused by smoking. It causes heart attacks. Causes emphysema. It is a lung disease that reduces the ability of the lungs to expel air. It is caused by tar which we inhale by smoking. Stains teeth, gives foul smell when you talk to others and it also results it early aging and spots on face.

What is alcohol?
Alcohol is a clear drink that is made from corn, barley, grain, rye, or a beverage containing ethyl. When a person drinks alcohol, about 20 percent is absorbed in the stomach, and 80 percent is absorbed in the small intestine. The concentration of alcohol, the type of drink, and whether the stomach is full or empty depends on how fast the alcohol is absorbed. Once the alcohol is absorbed into the tissue, it affects your mind and body. Blood alcohol concentration can rise up to 20 minutes after having a drink. After alcohol is absorbed it leaves the body in three ways: the kidneys, lungs, and liver.

Facts about alcohol

Alcohol can cause both short-term and long-term effects. Even a small amount of alcohol can impair the judgment that is required to safely operate an automobile. If consumed over a long period of time, alcohol may cause damage to major organs, including the liver and the brain. Drinking on an empty stomach may increase the likelihood of actually becoming drunk. Alcohol in the home is a temptation, so the removal of it will help to lessen the possibility of consumption. Prolonged consumption of alcohol may result in substantial weight gain which, in turn, can have negative effects on the heart.

Harms of alcohol
harms your liver causing you to have sclerosis of the liver. It also causes cancer like mouth, ophagus, pharynx, larynx, liver cancer etc. Drink enough of it over a period of time and it will shorten your life. the majority of domestic violence cases involve alcohol

Remember
Excessive drinking can cause problems with :

FAMILY, FRIENDS, SOCITY and SELF

What are drugs?

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.

Illegal Drugs:
Marijuana Methamphetamine Narcotics Depressants Steroids Inhalants Cocaine Hallucinogens

Marijuana
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. Marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic.

How Is It Taken?
Marijuana is typically smoked or cooked into some type of food and eaten.

Facts about marijuana.

Its source, the hemp plant When smoked, it begins to effect users almost immediately and can last for one to three hours. When it is eaten in food, such as baked in brownies and cookies, the effects take longer to begin, but usually last longer. It is cultivated more than 2,000 years ago. There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana.

Effects of marijuana
Respiratory problems Effects immune systems. Marijuana damages the heart by making it work faster. This increased heart rate is as an associative symptom of anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia which are the effects of Marijuana. It effects brain.

Cocaine
Cocaine is a drug (paste) extracted from the leaves of the South American coca plant. It is a strong stimulate that effects the body's central nervous system. How Is It Taken? Cocaine can be injected, smoked, sniffed, or snorted.

Facts about cocaine

Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaves of the coca plant in 1859 and was marketed in a fortified wine in France as early as 1863. cocaine was first used in U.S. in the 1880s, where it was used as an anesthetic in eye, nose and throat operations. the soft drink company coca-cola originally contained an estimated 9 milligram of cocaine per serving which combined with caffeine to create the drinks powerful stimulating effects. (while cocaine was officially removed from the ingredients in 1903. a cocaine free version of the coca leaf is still used as a flavor additive in the soda.) Cocaine is always diluted by the dealers to increase their profit. The common additives are sugar, talcum powder, corn starch, lidocaine and lactose.

Effects of cocaine
Blurred vision, nose bleeds, irritability, nasal infections, violent behavior and chest pain. (The effects of cocaine generally last about two hours.) It can also result in a loss of appetite, extreme insomnia and sexual problems. Heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and respiratory failure.

Methamphetamine - Ice
Methamphetamine (known on the street as speed, meth, crank, crystal-meth, and glass) is a central nervous system stimulant of the amphetamine family. Like cocaine, it is a powerful "upper" that produces alertness and elation, along with a variety of adverse reactions. The effects of methamphetamine, however, are much longer lasting than the effects of cocaine, yet the cost is much the same. For that reason, methamphetamine is sometimes called the "poor mans cocaine."

How is it Taken?
Methamphetamine can be swallowed, smoked, snorted, or injected.

Facts about ice

It can cause extremely rapid weight loss. But lost is regained once a person stops taking ice. Ice is popular as a stimulant. It decreasing appetite and fatigue. Ice is also taken by people who are feeling depressed.

Effects of ice
Increased energy and alertness, excessive sweating, jaw-clenching, talkativeness, panic, confusion. It increased blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate and blood sugar level. "Meth Mouth" where teeth rapidly decay and fall out. Drug-related psychosis (may last for months or years after drug use is discontinued) Sensation of flesh crawling. Brain damage Constriction of the walls of the arterties. Muscle breakdown which can lead to kidney damage or failure.

LSD
LSD, commonly called acid, is the best known of the hallucinogens. Discovered in 1938, LSD was popular in the late 40s through the 60s. During these years many young people took acid trips. Advocates thought LSD was a mind-expanding aid that helped users achieve mystical states of perception.

How is LSD Taken?

LSD is generally taken orally and in very small doses. Most often, LSD is found in small squares of impregnated paper, called "blotter acid." The drug may also come in tiny tablets, called "microdots," or in small, thin, gelatin squares, known as "windowpane." LSD is sometimes available in a clear liquid solution. This is dispensed with an eyedropper, onto sugar cubes or directly onto the tongue. Another variety, "blue dot acid," consists of paper slips smeared with a blue-colored solution of the drug.

Facts about LSD

Although most LSD trips include both pleasant and unpleasant aspects, the drug's effects are unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user's personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings. Increased blood pressure and heart rate, Dizziness, Dry mouth.

GHB
GHB is gamma-hydroxybutyrate. Historically, GHB has been promoted for body building, although the efficacy of the drug for this use has never been documented. In 1990, the FDA issued a general warning to consumers to stop using GHB because of its numerous deleterious effects. The only current FDAapproved medical use of GHB (Xyrem) is restricted for the treatment of patients with a rare neurological disorder called Narcolepsy who experience cataplexy, a condition characterized by weak or paralyzed muscles.

How it is used?
GHB can be produced in clear liquid, white powder, tablet, and capsule forms.

Facts about GHB

It is a central nervous system depressant. It is colorless, tasteless and odorless. It was once sold in health food stores as a performance enhancer for body builders. it was believed that it stimulates the production of human growth hormone. Most of the GHB used today is a "homemade" mix of various chemical ingredients

Effects of GHB