Drugs and physical health

Drugs and mental healthDrugs and physical health

Explain how recreational drug use can interfere with the normal functioning of major body systems (nervous, circulatory, respiratory).
Describe potential short-term physical effects and long-term organ damage associated with substance misuse, providing examples.
Explain how substance misuse can increase the risk of infectious diseases (e.g., HIV, hepatitis) and accidents due to impaired judgment.

Recreational drugs can cause significant damage to physical health and interfere with the body's normal functions (life processes).
- Nervous System: Most drugs disrupt the way nerves send messages in the brain and body.
- Circulatory System: Can cause dangerous changes in heart rate and blood pressure.
- Respiratory System: Smoking damages lungs; some drugs dangerously slow breathing.
- Development: Drug use during teenage years, when the brain and body are still developing, can cause long-lasting harm.

Short-Term Physical Effects:
- Depending on the drug, immediate effects might include dizziness, feeling sick (nausea), headaches, a racing heart, or even loss of consciousness.
Long-Term Damage to Health:
- Organ Damage:
  - Alcohol can severely damage the liver, brain, and stomach.
  - Smoking tobacco is a major cause of lung cancer, heart disease, and other lung diseases like bronchitis.
  - Many other drugs can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys.
- Increased Risk of Diseases: Drug misuse can weaken the immune system. Sharing needles for injecting drugs carries a high risk of spreading serious infections like HIV and hepatitis.
- Accidents: Impaired judgement and coordination from drug use significantly increase the risk of accidents and injuries.

The safest choice is always to avoid illegal drugs and to be very cautious with legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.
Focus on healthy ways to enjoy life, manage stress, and have fun.
If you feel pressured to try drugs, it's okay to say no.

Substance misuse: Using any drug (legal or illegal) in a way that causes harm to the user or others.
Body systems: Groups of organs that work together to perform major life processes (e.g., nervous, circulatory, respiratory systems).
Nervous System: The system of nerves and the brain that sends messages throughout the body.
Circulatory System: The system of the heart and blood vessels that transports blood.
Respiratory System: The system of the lungs and airways used for breathing.
Short-Term Effects: Immediate physical changes or symptoms that occur after taking a drug.
Long-Term Damage: Harm to the body or organs that develops over time with continued substance misuse.
Organ Damage: Specific harm caused to organs like the liver, brain, lungs, or kidneys by substance misuse.

Investigate in more detail how smoking specifically damages the structures of the respiratory system, such as the cilia lining the airways and the alveoli in the lungs.
Research and discuss harm reduction strategies (like needle exchange programs) aimed at reducing the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis among people who inject drugs.