What is Meant by Drug

Any substance, other than food, used in the prevention, diagnosis, all aviation or
treatment of a disease is called a drug. A drug may also be defined as a chemical
which, when taken in some way after the body function. Drug is also known as a
medicine. Generally, the term drugs applied to any stimulating or depressing
substance that can be habituating or addictive.
Meaning of Addiction
Addiction is the habitual, psychological and physiological dependence on a
substance or practice. Which is beyond voluntary control. A person who is
habituated to a substance or a practice, especially a harmful one, is called an
addict.
Project Report on Drugs Dependence
Drugs are prescribed by physicians for the prevention or treatment of diseases, or
for increasing the physical and mental performance and are withdrawn as soon as
the desired effect is achieved. Repeated use of certain drugs on a periodic or
continuous basis may make the body dependence. Such drugs are called
psychotropic rugs. They act on the brain and alter behaviour, consciousness and
capacity of perception. Hence, they are also termed mood-altering drugs. Some
people start taking drugs without medical advise due to one reason or the other and
become drugs dependent.
Classification of Drugs
There are a large number of drugs on which people become dependent. These are
classifies into four major groups : sedatives and tranquillizers, opiate narcotics,
stimulatants and hallucinogens.
Type of Drug Examples Effect

1. Sedatives and Tranquillizers Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines Depress

CNS activity give feeling of
calmness,
relaxation, drowsiness.

2. Opiate Narcotics Opium, Morphine, Suppress brain

activity
codeine, Heroin relaxed pain.

3. Stimulants Amphetamines, Caffeine, Make a person

more wakeful,
Cocaine alert and active,
cause excitement.
4. Hallucinogens LSQ, Mescalin, psilocybin, Alter thoughts,
feeling and
Ganja, chares, Hashish. perceptions.
Combinations of Drugs and Alcohol :
Some addicts use mixtures of drugs to have immediate ‘kid’ or ‘charge’.
Simultaneous use of drug and alcohol may produce dangerous effects, including
death. When barbiturates and alcohol are taken together, each doubles the effect of
the other. A mixture of cocaine and heroin called speed ball, gives spontaneous
kick of cocaine and prolonged pleasure of heroin.
Combination Effect
1. Alcohol + Barbiturates Markedly increased depressant effect.
2. Alcohol + Antihistamines Marked drowsiness
3. Alcohol + Valium Dramatically increases sedative effect.
4. Alcohol + Marijuana or Hashish Decreased coordination increased reaction
time
impaired judgement.
5. Alcohol + Aspirin Increased changes of damage to gastric
mucosa.
How drug addiction Begins ?
There are many factors that lead people to drug addiction.
1. Curiosity : Frequent references to drugs by public media create curiosity for
having a personal experience of the drugs.
2. Friend’s pressure : Frequent appreciation of drug experience by friends allures
others to start the use of drugs.
3. Frustration and Depression : Some people start taking drugs to get relief from
frustration and depression.
4. Desire for More Work : Students sometimes take drugs to keep awake the
whole night to prepare for examination. It is not desirable as it may cause mental
breakdown.
5. Looking for a Different World : A wrong notion that the drugs open up a new
world tempts some young octers to start taking-drugs.
6. Relief from Pain : A prolonged use of pain-relieving drugs with physician’s
advise at times leads to addiction.
7. Family History : Children may take to drugs by seeing their elders in the
family.
8. Excitement and Adventure : The young take to drugs to satisfy their instinct
for excitement and adventure.
 Social Disease - Smoking, Drinking and Use
of Drugs
Smoking and drinking and use of drugs frequently or regularly are social diseases.
They adversely affect the health of the addicts and the society. Young people take
to these habits for fun, show off or curiosity, as an adventure or feeling of freedom,
or as a gesture of defiance against the elders who themselves indulge in these
activities but check the youngsters. Other factors that make people take to these
vices are inability to face problems of life indifference shown by members of the
family, and encouragement or pressure by friends. Temporary escape from the life
problems and mental relaxation felt on taking the drugs in the beginning increase
persons interest in them. Soon they become habitual and find in difficult to leave.
The daily dose to get the desired effect increases with time.
As in other countries, the menace of drug addiction is spreading in India also. A
large number of our young men and women have taken to intoxicants. About 87.6
per cent drug addicts are between the ages of 14 and 25 years.
Tobacco
Sources :
It is a native of South Africa, where the Red Indian first started smoking. Now the
tobacco plant has spread the world over. It has large, quote to lanceloate leaves and
terminal clusters of tubular, white or pink flowers.
Project Report on Drugs Addiction
Modes of Use :
Tobacco is used for smoking, chewing and snuffing. Its main stimulating
component is poisonous volatile alkaid nicotine, which causes addiction. Nicotine
synthesis occurs in the roots of the plant but it is stored in the leaves. The leaves
contain 2 to 8% nicotine. Inhaling tobacco smoke from cigars, cigarettes, biddies,
pipes and hubble-bubble is called smoking. Cigar is a roll of tobacco leaf. Cigarette
is cut tobacco wrapped in paper. Bidi is tobacco wrapped. In a piece of leaf.
Tobacco smoke is drawn directly from pipe and through water is hubble-bubble.
Smoking may give some temporary relief to the strained nerves but in the long run
it proves a dangerous health hazard. The quantity of nicotine contained in one cigar
may prove fatal if injected intravenously into a person. When smoked only 10% of
the smoke is inhaled. Hence, no immediate ill effect is observed. Smokers may
develop a physiological craving for nicotine and then they cannot give up smoking.
Effect of Nicotine :
Nicotine is a low concentration.
(i) Stimulates conduction of nerve impulses.
(ii) Relaxes the muscles.
(iii) Releases adrenaline, increasing heart beat rate and pressure.
(iv) Increased blood pressure due to smoking chances the risk of heart diseases.
(v) Retards foetal growth in expecting mothers and
(vi) Causes tobacco addiction. High concentration of nicotine paralyses nerve cells.
Other Harmful components of Tobacco Smoke :
Besides the poisonous nicotine, the tobacco smoke contains carbon-monoxide,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and tar.
Other Effects :
(i) Smoking effects economy :
A smoker not only waste money, but also runs risk of burns and fires.
(ii) Smoking mars personality :
Teeth may become stained. Lips may get discoloured and breath becomes foul. A
person with a cigarette hanging from the mouth look odd.
(iii) Smoking is annoying to others :
Cigarette smoke is quite annoying to non-smokers. It may prove even more
harmful to them. A smoker should avoid smoking. When in the company of non
smokers. A smoker makes the person nearby persons passive smokers through
inhaling smoke released by him.
Alcohol
Sources :
Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, flammable, colourness liquid having a penetrating odour
and burning taste. It is one of the products of the distillation of fermented grains,
fruit juices and starches with the help of yeast enzymes. It is the principal
constituent and the in toxicating principle of wines.
Modes of Use :
Alcohol is taken in low concentration, as the beer, toddy and wine and in relatively
high concentration as arrack, brandy, whisky, rum, gin, vodka etc.
Addition :
Addition to alcohol is called alcoholism. Alcoholics are found in all society section
of society. Alcohol causes intoxication and thus, acts as a poison. They drinkers
begin with small doses, but may of them soon start consuming large doses and
become addicts. By the time they realize that drinking in adversely affecting them,
it is too late to give it up.
Why People Take to Drinking :
The drinkers offer one or more of the following reasons for starting drinking.
(i) Social pressure (ii) desire for excitement (iii) feeling of independence (iv) Liking
of taste (v) desire to escape from such realities of life as disappointments and failures
and (vi) desire to offset the hardships and monotony of daily life.
What Happens when Alcohol :
Alcohol is quickly absorbed in the stomach and upper part of small intestine and
reaches all the tissues in minutes. Its oxidation starts at once and a large amount of
heat in produced. Since heat is not needed in the body, it is taken up by the blood and
carried to the skin for dissipation. Since the receptors of heat are located in the skin,
the rush of blood to the skin gives a false impression of warmth in the body. The
blood supply of internal organs is greatly reduced resulting in fall of temperature in
them. Energy released by alcohol is not used in any life process. Rather the energy
derived from food is used up in ridding the body of excess heat.
Is Alcohol A Stimulant :
Many people take alcohol for stimulation. Actually alcohol is a depressant, a
substance which dulls the senses. It reduces the efficiency of every tissue the body.
Any feeling of lift a person may claim to feel is a mistaken impression or an attempt
to justify the act in his own mind.