PHHE 295. Chapter 12. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: A Community Concern

PHHE 295

Chapter 12: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: A Community Concern

Chapter Objectives

1)      Identify personal and community consequences of alcohol and other drug abuse.

2)      Describe the trends of alcohol and other drug use by high school students.

3)      Define drug use, misuse, and abuse.

4)      Define drug dependence.

5)      List and discuss the risk factors for the abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

6)      Explain why alcohol is considered the Number 1 drug abuse problem in America.

7)      Describe the health risks of cigarette smoking.

8)      Define the terms over-the-counter and prescription drugs and explain the purposes of these drugs and how they are regulated.

9)      Define the terms controlled substances and illicit (illegal) drugs and provide examples.

10)  Characterize recent trend in the prevalence of drug use among American high school seniors.

11)  List and explain four elements of drug abuse prevention and control.

12)  Give an example of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention activities in drug abuse prevention and control programs.

13)  Summarize the federal government’s drug abuse control efforts.

14)  List and describe an effective community and an effective school drug abuse prevention program.

15)  List the five facets of a typical workplace substance abuse prevention program.

16)  Name some voluntary health agencies and self-help support groups involved in the prevention, control, and treatment of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse.

Key Terms

·         Physical Dependence: A physiological state in which discontinued drug use results in clinical illness.

·         Drug: A substance other than food that when taken in small quantities alters one’s physical, mental, or emotional state.

·         Psychoactive Drugs: Drugs that alter sensory perceptions, mood, thought processes, or behavior.

·         Drug Use: A non-evaluative term referring to drug-taking behavior in general; any drug-taking behavior.

·         Drug Misuse: Inappropriate use of prescription or non-prescription drugs.

·         Drug Abuse: Use of a drug when it is detrimental to one’s health or well-being.

·         Drug (Chemical) Dependence: A psychological and sometimes physical state characterized by a craving for a drug.

·         Psychological Dependence: A psychological state characterized by an overwhelming desire to continue use of a drug.

·         Binge Drinking: Consuming five or more drinks in a row for males and four or more drinks in a row for females.

·         Problem Drinker: One for whom alcohol consumption results in a medical, social, or other type of problem.

·         Alcoholism: A disease characterize by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with drinking, and continued use of alcohol despite adverse consequences.

·         Blood Alcohol Concentration: The percentage of concentration of alcohol in the blood.

·         Synar Amendment: A federal law that requires states to set the minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco products at 18 years and requires states to enforce this law.

·         Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Tobacco smoke in the ambient air.

·         Over-The-Counter Drugs: Drugs (except tobacco and alcohol) that can be legally purchased without a physician’s prescription.

·         Food and Drug Administration: A federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services charged with ensuring the safety and efficacy of all prescription and non-prescription drugs.

·         Controlled Substances: Drugs regulated by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Control Act of 1970, including all illegal drugs and prescription drugs that are subject to abuse and can produce dependence.

·         Controlled Substances Act of 1970: The central piece of  federal drug legislation that regulates illegal drugs and legal drugs that have a high potential for abuse.

·         Illicit Drugs: Drugs that cannot be legally manufactured, distributed, or sold, and that usually lack a recognized medicinal value. Drugs that have been placed under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

·         Drug Enforcement Administration: The federal government’s lead agency with the primary responsibility for enforcing the nation’s drug laws, including the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

·         Marijuana: Dried plant parts of the hemp plant.

·         Polydrug Use: Concurrent use of multiple drugs.

·         Amotivational Syndrome: A pattern of behavior characterized by apathy, loss of effectiveness, and a more passive, introverted personality.

·         Narcotics: Drugs derived from or chemically related to opium that reduce pain and induce stupor, such as morphine.

·         Tolerance: Physiological and enzygmatic adjustments that occur in response to the chronic presence of drugs, which are reflected in the need for ever-increasing doses.

·         Cocaine: The psychoactive ingredient in the leaves of the cocoa plant, which, when refined, is a powerful stimulant/euphoriant.

·         Stimulant: A drug that increases the activity of the central nervous system.

·         Hallucinogens: Drugs that produce profound distortions of the senses.

·         Synethesia: Impairment of mind characterized by a sensation that senses are mixed.

·         Amphetamines: A group of synthetic drugs that act as stimulants.

·         Methamphetamines: The amphetamine most widely abused.

·         Barbiturates: Depressant drugs based on the structure of barbituric acid.

·         Benzodiazepines: Non-barbiturate depressant drugs.

·         Methaqualone: An illicit depressant drug.

·         Depressants: Drugs that slow central nervous system activity.

·         Club Drugs: A general term for those illicit drugs, primarily synthetic, that are most commonly encountered at night clubs and “raves.”

·         Rohypnol: A depressant in the benzodiazepine group that has achieved notoriety as a date-rape drug.

·         Designer Drugs: Drugs synthesized illegally that are similar to, but structurally different from, known controlled substances.

·         Anabolic Drugs: Compounds, structurally similar to the male hormone testosterone, that increase protein synthesis and thus muscle building.

·         Inhalants: Breathable substances that produce mind-altering effects.

·         Drug Abuse Education: Providing information about drugs and the dangers of drug abuse, changing attitudes and beliefs about drugs, providing the skills necessary to abstain from drugs, and ultimately changing drug abuse behavior.

·         Treatment: Care that removes the physical, emotional, and environmental conditions to a drug abuse and/or dependence.

·         Aftercare: The continuing care provided the recovering former drug abuser.

·         Public Policy: The guiding principles and courses of action pursued by governments to solve practical problems affecting society.

·         Law Enforcement: The application of federal, state, and local laws to arrest, jail, bring to trial, and sentence those who break drug laws for break laws because of drug use.

·         Office of National Drug Control Policy: The headquarters of America’s drug control effort, located in the executive branch of the U.S. government, headed by a director appointed by the president.

·         Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: The agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that provides leadership in drug abuse prevention and treatment. It houses the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

·         National Institute on Drug Abuse: The federal government’s lead agency for drug abuse research, one of the National Institutes of Health.

·         Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives: The federal agency in the Department of Justice that regulates alcohol and tobacco.

·         Student Assistance Programs: School-based drug education programs to assist students who have alcohol or other drug problems.

·         Peer Counseling Programs: School-based programs in which students discuss alcohol and other drug-related problems with peers.

·         Employee Assistance Program: A workplace drug program designed to assist employees whose work performance is suffering because of a personal problem such as alcohol or other drug problems.

Chapter Summary

·         The abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is a major community health problem in the United States.

·         Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse affects not only individuals but also communities, where it results in a substantial drain both socially and economically.

·         Investigations into the causes of drug experimentation, drug abuse, and drug dependence indicate that both inherited and environmental factors contribute to the problem.

·         Rates of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use rose during the 1990s. After peaking in 1998 use of these drugs began to level off and decline.

·         Chronic alcohol and tobacco use results in the loss of billions of dollars and thousands of lives in America each year.

·         The misuse and abuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs remain a problem of concern.

·         There are four principle elements of drug abuse prevention and control—education, treatment, public policy, and law enforcement.

·         Prevention activities can be categorized as primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.

·         There are substantial federal, state, and local efforts to reduce the use, misuse, and abuse of drugs in the United States.

·         Federal agencies involved include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, and many others.

·         Efforts at the state level vary from state to state but usually include attempts to coordinate federal and local efforts.

·         Drug testing in the workplace reveals a decline in illicit drug use in the workplace since testing began in 1987.

·         Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse continues to cause injuries and lost productivity in the American workplace.

·         A typical workplace substance abuse prevention program has five components:

o   1) A Written Policy

o   2) A Drug Education Program

o   3) A Supervisor Training Program

o   4) An Employee Assistance Program

o   5) A Drug Testing Program

·         A large number of voluntary health agencies are involved in drug abuse prevention and control activities.