Module 13: Drug Abuse Prevention
Drugs: Any chemical or biological substance that has no food value and, when taken into the body,
causes changes in the structure or function of the body.
Describe common types of drugs and routes of administration
Types: Prescription
• Over-the-counter
• Recreational – alcohol, tobacco, coffee
• Herbal preparations – products of plant origin
• Illicit (illegal) – all are psychoactive
• Commercial preparations –household cleaners, pesticides
Routes of Administration:
 Oral
- Injection
- Intravenous- into bloodstream
- Intramuscular- into muscle
- Subcutaneous- just under the skin
 Inhalation
 Inunction – through the skin
•Suppositories
– Compare drug misuse vs abuse & describe forms of drug dependence
• The inappropriate or improper use of a drug that results in impairment of the user’s physical,
mental, social, or emotional well-being.
• Examples:
-taking an outdated Rx
-using a drug for an unintended purpose
-using a Rx against a doctor’s advice
•The chronic, deliberate, and excessive use of any drug, prescription or over-the-counter
medicine, legal or illegal, that results in impairment of the user’s physical, mental, emotional or
social functioning.
• Examples:
-Underage drinking
-Taking a friend’s Ritalin to “feel good”
-Using an illegal substance
– Compare the 5 types of drug interactions
• Polydrug Use
-Taking several substances simultaneously
• Synergism
-Effects are multiplied
-Expressed as 2+2=10
-Worst combination: alcohol and barbiturates
• Antagonism
-Work at same receptor
-One drug blocks the other
• Inhibition
-Effects of one drug eliminate or inhibit another
*Most common examples:
•Antacids & aspirin
•Antibiotics & birth control pills
• Cross-Tolerance
-Tolerance for one drug creates a similar reaction to another drug
- Alcohol and barbiturates
– List drugs most commonly abused by children and adolescents
•Alcohol ( The most popular psychoactive drug)
•Tobacco
•Inhalants
•Marihuana
•Rx & OTC
– Describe the alcohol absorption process
• Absorption in stomach 20%
• Absorption in small intestine 80%
• Factors that influence absorption:
– Concentration of the drink
– Amount consumed
– Food in the stomach
– Pylorospasm (spasm of valve)
– List the effects of alcohol on the body (immediate and long-term)
• Immediate Effects of Alcohol
– Reduces frequency of nerve transmissions
– Dehydration
– Water is lost from cerebrospinal fluid
– Alcohol irritates the gastrointestinal system
– Hangovers
– Congeners – forms of alcohol metabolized more slowly
– Be informed of drug and alcohol interactions
• Long-Term Effects of Alcohol
– Nervous system
– Cardiovascular system
– Liver disease
• Cirrhosis
• Alcoholic hepatitis
– Cancer
– Chronic inflammation of pancreas
– Impairs ability to recognize and fight bacteria & viruses
– Define alcohol poisoning & describe reasons behind student drinking
• Alcohol Poisoning
– Death from alcohol
– Two ways this happens
1) CNS and respiratory depression
2) Inhalation of vomit or fluid into the lungs
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Why Do Kids Drink?
• Cost
• Availability
• Boredom
• Media
– List various forms of tobacco & common cigarette ingredients
Various Forms of Tobacco:
– Cigarettes
– Clove cigarettes
– Cigars
– Pipes
– Bidis (hand-rolled, flavored cigarettes)
– Smokeless tobacco
• Chewing tobaaco
• Dipping
• Snuff
Cigarette Ingredients
-Methanol
-Carbon Monoxide
-Arsenic
-Methane
-Acetic Acid
-Butane
-Cadmium
-Stearic Acid
-Hexamine
-Toulene
-Nicotine
-Ammonia
– Describe the effects of nicotine on the body and the health hazards associated
with smoking
Health Hazards of Smoking
• Cancers
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Stroke
• Respiratory Disorders
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Other Problems
– Gum disease
– More likely to need medications
The effects of nicotine on the body
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– Define Environmental Tobacco Smoke
• Risks from ETS
– Mainstream
– Sidestream – more carcinogens
– ETS is responsible for deaths
– Sidestream smoke causes more deaths a year than any other environmental pollutant
– Children exposed
– Describe what occurs in the body when smokers quit
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– Discuss different types of tobacco prevention efforts
• Education
• Communication
• Legislation
Quote:
• The best way to prevent tobacco use and the resulting human health care costs is to
educate potential smokers when they are young, before they start smoking, and help
teen and adult smokers quit.
-- American Lung Association
– Describe current legislative efforts against tobacco
• Tobacco prices/taxes
• Studies indicate that a 10% increase in price will reduce overall cigarette
consumption by 3% to 5%
• Youth, minorities, and low-income smokers are two to three times more likely to quit
or smoke less than other smokers in response to price increases
• EXAMPLES
• Launched in California in 1990…
– +25 cent tax on cigarettes
– Cigarette consumption ↓ 38%
– 1.3 million have quit smoking
• Launched in Massachusetts in 1993…
– +25 cent tax on cigarettes
– Cigarette consumption ↓ 30%
o
Tobacco Ban
• Florida – Amendment 6 – July 1, 2003
– No smoking in enclosed indoor areas
– Exception = retail tobacco shops, designated smoking rooms in hotels, stand alone
bars, and private homes unless used commercially for child care, adult care or
health care
Define inhalants, their harmful effects on the body & the four types of Inhalants

Inhalants
• Chemically diverse group of psychoactive substances composed of organic
solvents and volatile substances.

Types of Inhalants:
• Volatile Solvents
– Primarily liquids
– Household and industrial products:
• Glues, Paints and Polishes
• Aerosols, propellants & gases
– Almost all aerosol spray cans can be abused
– Household and industrial products
• Anesthetics (nitrous oxides)
– Previously used medical substances
• Nitrites
– Room deodorizers
– “poppers”
– Describe common methods of inhalant use and reasons for use
Common Methods of Inhalant Use
• Sniffed or inhaled directly from cans, bottles or other containers.
• Sprayed into bag or other container and breathed in
• Inhaled from balloons
• Sprayed or poured onto a cloth or piece of clothing
Reasons for use
• Low cost
• Readily available
• Legal
• Immediate effect
• Short lasting (5-45 min)
• Easy to hide
• Dangers of use are ignored
• Peer pressure
– Discuss the warning signs of inhalant use
Warning Signs of Use and Abuse
• Running nose or nose bleeding
• Chronic cough
• Spots, rash or sores aroudn the mouth and/or nose
• Nausea
• Loss of appetitie
• “spacey” behavior
• Altered time and distance perceptions
• Loss of interests in:
– Personal appearance
– Food
– Family activities
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Activities that involve products with fumes
Breath and clothing smell like chemicals
Paint or stains on body or clothing
Plastic bags, empty cans, and butane lighter
Symptoms of Inhalant Misuse:
• Slurred speech
• Lowered inhibitions
• Poor coordination
• Nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss
• Anxiety, excitability, irritability
• Violent behavior
• Tongue pain
– Describe the most commonly abused prescription and OTC drugs and their rate
of use among youth
� Most Commonly Abused:
• Pain relievers
• Tranquilizers
• Stimulants
• Depressants
2.1 million teens abused prescription drugs
4 % of youths age 12-17 reported non-medical use in past month
Youth who use other drugs are more likely to abuse prescription drugs
– Describe the rules for proper OTC drug use
Know what you are taking
Know the effects
Reading warnings and cautions
Don’t use anything for more than 2 weeks
Be careful if you take prescriptions
Ask if you have questions
If you don’t need it, don’t take it!
– List the reasons behind prescription and OTC drug use
Widely available
Free or inexpensive
Falsely believed to be safer than illicit drugs.
Misuse can cause serious health effects, addiction, and death.
– Describe the traditional DARE program and reasons why it was not
Effective
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DARE: Drug Abuse Resistance Education
Most popular drug education program in the country (1983)
70% of public schools nation-wide
$650 million
Uniformed police officers, scare tactics, Just Say NO! message
But……………………….
DARE doesn’t work!
• Ineffective (maybe harmful)
• Kids in the DARE program used the same amount of drugs as others
– Adverse effects on drug activity in suburban communities
• One-sided message
• Does not recognize that teenagers experiment with drugs
• Blasts kids that have experimented with drugs
– List reasons why DARE is still used
• Widely accepted approach
• Feel good program
• “Appears” to work
– “Unrealistic to expect any universal program to be effective” (Lynam, 1999)
• Provides community ties
– Demystifies law enforcement
– Describe the New DARE program
“Take Charge of Your Life”
– Focuses on first changing the attitudes and beliefs of adolescents regarding
substance use and eventually substance
use behavior itself.
• New D.A.R.E. curricula
– High-tech, interactive, and decision model- based approaches
– Officers are trained as “coaches” to support kids as they try-out research
based refusal strategies in high-stakes peer-pressure environments
– Describe age-appropriate drug ed and tips for teaching prevention
• Early Elementary
– recognize which substances are safe to eat, drink, or touch
– what values are and why they should guide behavior
– reasons for not taking drugs
– influences of popular culture on behavior
– peer pressure
*******• Note: the New DARE evaluation (handout) is NOT on the exam*******