The Health Effects of Drug Addiction
People who suffer from drug addiction often have one or more medical issues, including lung or cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and mental health disorders. Doctors are able to monitor and measure the health effects of drug or alcohol abuse using imaging scans, chest X-rays and blood tests. For instance , tests show that tobacco smoke causes cancer of the mouth, throat, blood, lungs, stomach, kidney, bladder and cervix. Other drugs, such as inhalants, may destroy nerve cells in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.
Drug Abuse and Mental Disorders
It is common for drug abuse and mental disorders to affect an individual at the same time. Sometimes mental illness may precede addiction, while in other cases, drug abuse may trigger or exacerbate mental health disorders, particularly in individuals with certain vulnerabilities.
Drug Addiction Affects Others
Addiction is a disease that has harmful consequences for the addict but also the people around them. Some examples of the impact of drug abuse on others include:
Drug Abuse During Pregnancy
Women who abuse drugs during pregnancy put their unborn children at significant risk. Some drug-exposed children will need educational support in the classroom to help them manage learning disabilities and developmental deficits affecting their behavior, attention and cognition. Prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol may have long-lasting effects that cause developmental problems well into adolescence.
Effects of Second-Hand Smoke
Negative effects of second-hand smoke
Second-hand cigarette smoke exposes other people to a large number of substances known to be hazardous to human health, particularly to children. According to the Surgeon General, involuntary smoking increases the risk of heart disease and lung cancer in people who have never smoked a cigarette in their lives by 25-30 percent and 20-30 percent, respectively.
The Risk of Infectious Diseases
Drug users who inject heroin, cocaine methamphetamine or other substances accounts for more than one-third of new AIDS cases. Injecting drugs also contributes to the spread of hepatitis C, a serious liver disease.
