Question

ii.
Explain the risks of using alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs, including how their use affects
individuals, families, and societies (including both short-term and long-term outcomes).

Answer 1

Brief summary
Using alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs carries health, social, legal and economic risks. Effects occur immediately and can last for years or a lifetime. These substances can harm the user’s physical and mental health, damage family relationships and finances, and create wide social burdens (crime, healthcare costs, lost productivity, public safety and public‑health problems).

Alcohol
- Short‑term risks for the individual
- Impaired judgment, slowed reaction time, poor coordination → accidents, falls, injuries, risky sex.
- Blackouts, memory loss, aggressive or violent behavior.
- Alcohol poisoning (severe sedation, vomiting, loss of consciousness, breathing failure) — can be fatal.
- Acute mental health effects: anxiety, depression, risky decisions.
- Long‑term risks for the individual
- Dependence and addiction (alcohol use disorder).
- Liver disease (fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis), pancreatitis.
- Increased risk of cancers (mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, breast).
- Brain changes: cognitive decline, memory problems, increased risk of dementia.
- Cardiovascular disease, weakened immune system.
- Effects on families
- Relationship breakdowns, domestic violence and child abuse.
- Financial problems from lost income and medical/legal costs.
- Emotional trauma to partners, children; unstable home environments; children’s behavioral and developmental problems.
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) if consumed during pregnancy — lifelong physical, cognitive and behavioral problems.
- Societal impacts
- Traffic crashes, workplace accidents, increased policing and legal costs.
- Health care burden for injuries, chronic disease and addiction treatment.
- Lost productivity, absenteeism and unemployment.
- Social services costs and intergenerational harms.

Tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, e‑cigarettes/vaping)
- Short‑term risks for the individual
- Nicotine addiction develops quickly; immediate effects include increased heart rate and blood pressure.
- Respiratory irritation, cough; some vaping products can cause acute lung injury.
- Reduced exercise tolerance.
- Long‑term risks for the individual
- Major cause of lung cancer, COPD (chronic bronchitis, emphysema), other cancers (mouth, throat, pancreas, bladder), heart disease and stroke.
- Chronic respiratory infections and reduced life expectancy.
- For e‑cigarettes: evolving evidence of harms and nicotine addiction in youth.
- Effects on families
- Exposure to secondhand smoke increases children’s risk of asthma, respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and ear infections.
- Financial burdens from buying tobacco and treating tobacco‑related illnesses.
- Modeling of smoking behavior increases likelihood that children will start smoking.
- Societal impacts
- Large, sustained health‑care costs and premature deaths.
- Lost productivity from illness and early mortality.
- Public‑health interventions (smoking bans, cessation programs) are costly but reduce burden.

Illegal drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other opioids, MDMA, hallucinogens, synthetic drugs)
- Short‑term risks for the individual
- Drug‑specific acute harms: overdose (especially with opioids), heart attack or stroke (stimulants), psychosis or dangerous behavior (some stimulants and hallucinogens), traumatic injuries while impaired.
- Impaired judgment leading to risky sex, violence, accidental injury.
- For injected drugs: immediate risk of infection at injection site.
- Long‑term risks for the individual
- Addiction (substance use disorders) with compulsive use despite harm.
- Long-term brain changes: memory, attention, decision‑making deficits; increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders.
- Organ damage (heart, liver, kidneys), dental problems (e.g., “meth mouth”), chronic respiratory problems, persistent mental illness.
- Infectious diseases from shared needles (HIV, Hepatitis B/C).
- Overdose death (opioids and many potent synthetics).
- Effects on families
- Child neglect and abuse, parental absence or incarceration, family trauma.
- Financial collapse from spending on drugs, legal fees and lost employment.
- Stigma and social isolation.
- Societal impacts
- Crime and violence linked to drug markets and criminalization.
- Overburdened criminal justice and correctional systems; high incarceration rates.
- Public health crises (e.g., opioid overdose epidemics), spread of infectious disease.
- Economic costs: healthcare, law enforcement, lost productivity, social services.

Common themes and special points
- Addiction is a chronic brain disorder that increases risk of relapse; it’s treatable but often requires medical and psychosocial support.
- Young people are especially vulnerable because adolescent brains are still developing; substance use can cause lasting cognitive and emotional harm.
- Withdrawal can be medically dangerous (e.g., alcohol, benzodiazepines, severe opioid withdrawal in some cases) and may require supervised treatment.
- Polysubstance use (combining substances) increases risk dramatically (for example, alcohol plus benzodiazepines or opioids increases risk of fatal respiratory depression).
- Criminalization and stigma can worsen harms by discouraging treatment; harm‑reduction measures (needle exchange, naloxone for opioid overdose, supervised consumption sites, evidence‑based treatment) reduce deaths and disease.

Prevention and response (brief)
- Effective strategies: education, early intervention, access to treatment (medication‑assisted treatment for opioids, counseling), harm reduction (naloxone, clean‑needle programs), policies (taxes, age limits, advertising restrictions), and social supports for families.
- If you suspect overdose, severe intoxication, or risk to self/others, seek emergency help immediately.

If you want, I can summarize this into a one‑page handout for students, create age‑appropriate language for kids or teens, or provide local treatment and harm‑reduction resources for your area.