Why alcohol and smoking are harmful. What are the negative effects of smoking and alcohol on a person?

Introduction

1. The effect of drugs on the human body

3. Mechanisms of effects of smoking on the human body

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to consider bad influence on the body of drug addiction, smoking and alcoholism.

Drug addiction is the most serious illness of the modern world. The growing consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances, first of all, increases the number of severe neuropsychiatric diseases. Thus, in the USA at the end of the 70-80s the number of people suffering incurable diseases due to the use of heroin, exceeded 180 thousand people, marijuana - more than 12 million.

Drug addiction, as experts from the World Health Organization emphasize, is a major threat to global health. Every state takes measures to prevent abuse among the population, Russia is no exception.

Alcoholism is a disease caused by the systematic consumption of alcoholic beverages, characterized by a pathological attraction to them, the development of mental (irresistible attraction) and physical dependence (the appearance of withdrawal syndrome when cessation of use). In cases long term the disease is accompanied by persistent mental and somatic disorders.

This problem has become especially relevant for our country in the last 5-6 years, when, in connection with political and economic reforms, the number of patients with this disease has increased sharply. According to VTsIOM, every Russian, including women and children, drinks 180 liters of vodka every year.

Smoking is social problem society, both for its smoking and non-smoking parts. For the first, the problem is to quit smoking, for the second, to avoid the influence of a smoking society and not to “get infected” with their habit, and also to maintain your health from smoking products, since the substances included in the smoke exhaled by smokers are not much safer than if a person I myself smoked and ingested nicotine and much else that is included in a lit cigarette.

More and more of my friends and acquaintances are becoming addicted to this habit. Many people can no longer imagine their life without a cigarette.

I would recommend that our state, if I had the opportunity, do everything possible to combat drugs. It is extremely necessary for educational institutions of all levels to purchase equipment for rapid drug testing - if a drug addict is identified and treated as early as possible, many subsequent complications can be avoided, such as physical health and the patient's mental state. The problem of personnel also follows from the previous sentence - there is an extreme shortage of psychologists and narcologists who would work in schools, universities, etc.

The effect of drugs on the human body

Drug addiction leads to gross disruption of the body’s vital functions and social degradation. This is a chronic disease that develops gradually. The reason for it is the ability of narcotic substances to cause a state of intoxication, accompanied by a feeling of complete physical and mental comfort and well-being. A drug is a poison that slowly destroys not only a person’s internal organs, but his brain and psyche. Gasoline or Moment glue, for example, turn people mentally disabled in 3-4 months, “safe hemp” - in 3-4 years. A person who uses morphine loses the ability to do anything so much after two or three months that he stops taking care of himself and completely loses his human appearance.

Those who use cocaine live no more than 3-4 years. One fine moment they die from a broken heart or because their nasal septum thins and begins to resemble a piece of parchment, which cracks, bursts, and, in the end, it all ends in fatal bleeding.

When using LSD, a person loses the ability to navigate in space, he has the feeling that he can fly. As a result, he, believing in his capabilities, jumps from the top floor...

All drug addicts, regardless of the type of drug they take, do not live long. They lose the instinct of self-preservation for living beings. This leads to the fact that about 60% of them attempt suicide within the first two years after starting to take drugs. Many people succeed.

So, all drugs and their actions are divided into the following groups.

1) Sedative poisons that calm mental activity. They reduce the function of excitability and perception to the point of completely eliminating it, misleading a person, giving him a bouquet of pleasant states. These substances (opium and its alkaloids, morphine, codeine, coca and cocaine) alter brain function and are classified as Euforica.

2) Hallucinogenic drugs presented a large number substances plant origin, very different in their own way chemical composition. This includes mescaline from cactus, Indian hemp, hashish and other tropical plants. All of them cause cerebral stimulation, expressed in deformation of sensations, hallucinations, distortion of perception, visions, and therefore they are classified as Fantastica.

3) This includes substances that are easily obtained through chemical synthesis, causing first cerebral excitation and then deep depression.

These include: alcohol, ether, chloroform, gasoline. This category is Inebrantia.

5) Excitantia. Here they prevail plant matter, stimulating brain activity without immediate effect on the psyche; The strength of the impact on different individuals varies. This includes plants containing caffeine, tobacco, betel, etc.

The state of drug addiction is characterized by three properties:

1) an irresistible desire or need to continue taking drugs and obtaining them by any means;

2) the desire to increase doses;

3) mental and sometimes physical dependence on the effects of the drug.

The so-called drug addiction syndrome occurs only as a result of taking a drug, regardless of whether it happens accidentally or after systematic use. The stages of this process, whether slower or faster, are mainly as follows:

1) Initial euphoria, often very short-lived. It is typical for certain drugs (especially morphine and opium), and not for all drugs. In this condition increased irritability, bizarre and often erotic visions, a person loses control over himself.

2) Tolerance is temporary. This phenomenon is explained by the body's reaction to the action of the same dose of a substance taken repeatedly. Gradually the body reacts weaker.

3) Addiction. Most researchers have come to the conclusion that addiction is both a physical and mental phenomenon. It is expressed by classic symptoms of withdrawal, or “withdrawal,” which the addict endures very hard and with the risk of severe organic or functional attacks.

4) Abstinence (withdrawal syndrome) usually occurs 12-48 hours after stopping taking the drug. The addict cannot tolerate this condition, which causes him nervous disorders, tachycardia, spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, increased secretion of glands. At the same time, an obsessive desire appears to find a toxic substance - a drug - at any cost.

Drug addiction is an addiction to drug use, a painful attraction that leads to severe disorders mental and physical functions of the body.

In modern society, few people are unaware of the dangers of drugs, but still these substances still attract people, becoming destructive for many.

Teen Drug Addiction Statistics

General level of drug use among schoolchildren:

Tried…………………… 14%

Haven’t tried…………………86%

Age level of drug use among schoolchildren

Who can I buy drugs from?

Older guys…………….36%

Classmates……………..27%

Friends………………………26%

Drug sellers……..23%

2. The effect of alcohol on the human body

Alcohol taken is quickly absorbed and enters the blood. From the blood, alcohol enters the tissues, where it is distributed unevenly. Since it dissolves well in lipids - fat-like substances that are rich in nerve cells, then its greatest accumulation occurs in the brain. It is these cells that die first. The mechanism of cell death when drinking alcohol was discovered in the 1960s by Soviet and American scientists (Table 1).

Table 1

Mechanism of cell death under the influence of alcohol

Under the influence of alcohol, intensive gluing of red blood cells occurs, providing the body's tissues with oxygen. The diameter of some capillaries is so small that red blood cells literally “crawl” through them one by one; often pushing apart the walls of the capillaries. Therefore, several red blood cells stuck together clog the capillary, stopping the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the cell that the capillary feeds. The nerve cell dies irrevocably. This process occurs throughout the body.

The number of dying cells depends on the amount of alconarcotic. A systematic drinker experiences a noticeable decrease in brain volume over the years (shrunken brain). The loss of entire brain structures, as a result of massive death of neurons, leads to disorganization of its work. The areas of the cortex that are affected first are cerebral hemispheres brain, responsible for higher human functions: morality, memory, Creative skills. It has long been noted that a drunkard drinks away, first of all, shame and conscience, as well as everything that is given to a person by culture and upbringing. Damage to the subcortex of the brain is not so noticeable at first, so skilled workers drink certain time can maintain professional skills.

The degree of intoxication depends on the quantity and quality of alcoholic beverages consumed, individual sensitivity to alcohol and psychophysical state person. There are three degrees of intoxication - mild, moderate and severe

Existing classifications of alcoholism can be divided into two types. In the first case, the basis is the clinic alcoholic illness, in the second - various social, psychological, even economic and only partly clinical criteria. In Russia, the first type of classification has been adopted. The entire period of development of alcoholism is divided into three stages, successively replacing one another:

I - initial (neurasthenic);

II - average (drug addiction);

III - initial (encephalopathic).

In stage I of alcoholism mental dependence from alcohol manifests itself in the form of an attraction to alcoholic drinks of an obsessive (obsessive) nature, leading to the loss of quantitative control of the alcohol consumed. There is a growing alcohol addiction to alcoholic beverages, a transition from periodic to systematic drunkenness.

In stage II, physical dependence on alcohol appears with a compulsive craving (an irresistible attraction that arises against the will, reason, and feelings) for alcoholic beverages. Features of personality degradation and pathological changes in internal organs are identified.

In stage III, the attraction to alcohol becomes compulsive and possessive. Withdrawal syndrome(negative experience of abstinence) becomes heavier. Situational control is lost. Often arise alcoholic psychoses(eg delirium tremens).

It is noted that the stronger the drinks consumed, the higher the degree of development of alcoholism. For example, with so-called wine alcoholism, the degree of its development is usually lower than with the abuse of stronger alcoholic beverages (vodka, moonshine). The duration of the first stage of alcoholism varies, but most often from 1 to 6 years. The duration of stage II in approximately 60% of cases is less than 10 years, in the rest - from 10 to 15 years.

Two main classes of problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption can be distinguished: negative consequences for the drinker himself (destruction of his health and personality); negative consequences for society as a whole (increasing social problems associated with drunkenness.

With one-time excessive consumption of alcohol - loss of self-control, aggressiveness, accidents, hypothermia or overheating due to negligence, arrest for being drunk in in public places, alcohol poisoning.

With long-term excessive consumption - an increased risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, some types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, malnutrition, long-term functional disorders and loss of self-control, accidents, loss of ability to work, the development of alcoholism and early psychoses, etc.

Alcoholism destroys reproductive system, harmfully affecting the testicles and ovaries. With alcohol abuse, sexual potency is also impaired, which is associated with a decrease in conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, due to the inhibitory effect on the subcortical centers. Women experience irregularities in the regularity of the menstrual cycle. When drinking alcohol during pregnancy, there is a high probability of giving birth to a child with birth defects (including the formation of a genetically determined tendency to alcoholism). More than 90% of children suffering from mental and physical disorders are children of drinking parents.

For early stages alcoholism is more characterized by diseases such as peptic ulcers, injuries, cardiovascular disorders; for later ones - liver cirrhosis, polyneuritis, brain disorders. Alcohol abuse, according to the World Health Organization, is the third most common cause of death (after cardiovascular diseases and cancer) in the modern world. Alcoholics and drunkards live on average 15-20 years less than non-drinkers. Only 25% of alcoholics reach age 50. The risk of suicide in people suffering from this disease is tens of times higher than in ordinary people.

Statistics show that 90% of cases of hooliganism and aggravated rape are associated with intoxication. Robberies, assaults, and infliction of grievous bodily harm in 70% of cases are committed by persons under the influence of alcohol. About 40% of murders are also committed while intoxicated. 50-60% of all divorces are associated with drunkenness of one of the spouses.

The problems of the drinker's environment are an increase in conflicts in the family and its destruction, an increase in material difficulties and crime. The range of problems for society includes public order violations, road traffic accidents, industrial accidents, decreased productivity, absenteeism, as well as economic damage caused by the costs of treatment, disability benefits, and the fight against alcohol-related crime.

Mechanisms of effects of smoking on the human body

Smoking is the cause of malignant neoplasms and diseases of many organs of the human body.

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the leaves and stems of tobacco. When smoking, it is inhaled with smoke and enters through the lungs. bloodstream, overcomes the blood-brain barrier and after a few seconds enters the central nervous system. Another point of action of nicotine is the autonomic ganglia.

Carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) is a highly toxic component of tobacco smoke. The mechanism of the pathogenic action of carbon monoxide is quite simple: when it comes into contact with hemoglobin, carbon monoxide forms the compound carboxyhemoglobin. It interferes with the normal delivery of oxygen to organs and tissues, resulting in chronic oxygen starvation. Carbon monoxide has a particularly harmful effect on the body of a pregnant woman, the embryo and the fetus.

Ammonia and tobacco tar(tars) when tobacco is burned enter the trachea, bronchi and lungs. Ammonia dissolves in the moist mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, turning into ammonia, irritating the mucous membrane and causing its increased secretion. The result of constant irritation is cough, bronchitis, increased sensitivity to inflammatory infections and allergic diseases. Moreover, along with the smoker himself, “forced” smokers also suffer: they receive a huge dose of harmful substances.

Smoking leads to the development of three main diseases with fatal: lung cancer; chronic bronchitis and emphysema; coronary disease.

Tobacco is responsible for 90% of all deaths from lung cancer, 75% from bronchitis and emphysema, and about 25% from heart disease.

Approximately 25% of regular cigarette smokers will die prematurely due to smoking. Many of this number could live 10, 20 or 30 years longer, i.e. in this case, the average loss of years of life is significant. Those who die as a result of smoking will lose, on average, 10-15 years of their life.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one third of the world's population over the age of 15 poisons themselves with tobacco smoke. In Russia, approximately two thirds of men and at least a third of women smoke.

According to WHO estimates, about 5 million people die each year from tobacco-related diseases. If current smoking trends continue, by 2030 10 million people will die annually from tobacco use.

During the twentieth century, tobacco killed about 100 million people, more than died in World War II. Some experts predict that if nothing is done, tobacco products will cause up to one billion deaths before end of XXI centuries.

IN Russian Federation in a group of a thousand 20-year-old smokers who will smoke throughout their lives, we can expect that before the age of 70, 250 will be killed by smoking. Each of these 250 people who die from smoking will lose, on average, about 22 years of their life expectancy. And another 250 people will die from tobacco-related diseases after age seventy.

The influence of tobacco smoke substances on various human organs

How tobacco smoke affects the brain

Within 10 seconds after inhaling tobacco smoke, nicotine reaches the brain and begins to act on certain groups of neurons, the working cells of the brain. On the surface of each of these neurons are receptors, like keyholes, into which special substances called neurotransmitters enter and open them, allowing the brain to transmit messages or produce certain substances involved in regulating the functioning of the brain or the entire body. Nicotine, not being a neurotransmitter key, turns out to be a master key capable of “opening the lock” intended for another substance – acetylcholine. Thus, nicotine triggers acetylcholine receptors in the absence of acetylcholine. Moreover, it makes these receptors unable to respond to the effects of acetylcholine and reduces sensitivity to it.

A decrease in receptor sensitivity due to chronic nicotine consumption leads to the formation of additional acetylcholine receptors in the brain. As a result, the smoker's brain has a huge number of acetylcholine receptors, which have an increased affinity for nicotine. The effect of nicotine on acetylcholine receptors causes the brain to release a number of other substances, in particular, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, and endorphins.

Only the complete cessation of brain poisoning by tobacco poisons guarantees a person the normalization of psychophysiological processes in the body.

Smoking and lungs. No organ suffers as much from smoking as the lungs. This is not surprising, because, as we have already noted, in one cubic centimeter of tobacco smoke there are up to 600 thousand particles of soot. A person who smokes 25 cigarettes a day for 30 years inhales 10 trillion of these particles. Half of them settle in the bronchi and lungs.

One of the first consequences of intensive smoking is the development of a chronic inflammatory process, which usually ends in chronic bronchitis. In the morning, a smoker is tormented by a suffocating cough, sometimes of a paroxysmal nature and accompanied by expectoration of grayish, dirty-brown sputum. It has been established that smokers are susceptible to bronchitis 6 times more often than non-smokers. At further poisoning If the body is exposed to tobacco smoke, more severe respiratory diseases are possible, for example, emphysema, bronchial asthma.

Lung cancer is 30 times more common in smokers than in non-smokers. Smoking significantly reduces the resistance of the lungs to various infectious diseases, ranging from the ubiquitous acute respiratory infections and ending with tuberculosis. It has been established that out of 100 patients with tuberculosis, 95 have already long time smoked.

Smoking and the oral cavity. It is well known that a smoker is given out as rotten, yellow teeth. Even daily care cannot prevent them from being destroyed by tobacco smoke. To introduce smoke from the mouth and nasopharynx into the lungs, the smoker, opening his mouth slightly, inhales a fresh portion of air, along with which tobacco smoke enters. The temperature of the air coming “outside” is 35-40 degrees lower than the temperature of the smoke in the mouth (usually about 55-60 degrees). Such a colossal temperature difference, observed during smoking one cigarette with a 20-25-fold number of puffs, destroys tooth enamel. Microscopic cracks appear in it, through which pathogenic microbes, of which there are plenty in the oral cavity, begin to penetrate into the tooth. As a result, teeth begin to decay, crumble, and caries develops. Particles of tobacco tar are deposited in cracks in tooth enamel. The surface of the teeth becomes yellowish in color, and a specific tobacco smell emanates from the teeth. Toxic substances that poison the body are gradually washed out from the tobacco tar embedded in the teeth. All this can lead to cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, and gastrointestinal tract.

Smoking and the stomach. Nicotine, aniline and various acids formed during the combustion of tobacco irritate salivary glands, which leads to the release of saliva. Saliva is swallowed along with harmful substances.

Smoking changes how secretion gastric juice, and gastric motility. Once in the stomach, the tobacco mixture begins to actively attack its walls, which leads to the release of hydrochloric acid. As a result, the stomach begins to digest itself.

Chronic poisoning with tobacco poisons affects the autonomic nervous system. She loses the ability to effectively manage the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, his motor activity is disrupted and spasms occur. A few cigarettes on an empty stomach can even cause intestinal obstruction.

There is a myth that smoking reduces hunger. This is due to the fact that nicotine, being absorbed into the blood, acts on nerve endings located on the walls of the stomach and intestines, and they block the transmission of impulses signaling hunger.

Smoking and cancer. Perhaps the worst price for a weakness for cigarettes is cancer, which too often ends in painful death. It is a mistake to think that this is only lung cancer. The carcinogenic components of tobacco smoke penetrate many organs and tissues, doing their dirty work in them by degenerating normal cells into tumor cells. The result of many years of smoking is also cancer of the lip, larynx, esophagus, stomach, and pancreas.

The number of patients with cancer and precancerous lung diseases among smokers who smoke one pack of cigarettes daily is 20 times higher than among the rest of the population. And for those who smoke two packs, the rate is already 80 times higher. Thus, in the twentieth century, tobacco consumption increased almost 100 times, and the incidence of lung cancer increased 40-50 times, second only to stomach cancer, and this despite the fact that smoking is again responsible for a quarter of cases of stomach cancer. The incidence of lung cancer has also increased sharply among women, and the dynamics of its growth almost exactly corresponds to the increase in the number smoking women. In general, just over the last ten years, the mortality rate from malignant tumors of the respiratory organs in smokers has increased worldwide by an average of one and a half to two times.

The cause of cancer in tobacco lovers is various aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene and benzanthracene contained in tobacco smoke, as well as aniline and pyridine, which are carcinogenic substances. Arsenic accumulated in tobacco leaves also plays an important role. Some researchers believe that the root cause of malignant tumors is radioactive elements - primarily polonium, as well as radioactive isotopes lead, bismuth and potassium.

Smoking and peptic ulcer disease. Smoking increases the risk of peptic ulcers. In 1979, the idea was put forward that between cigarette smoking and peptic ulcer there are cause-and-effect relationships. Several mechanisms are likely to be involved in this relationship. Smokers have increased acid secretion in the stomach, decreased alkali secretion in the pancreas, decreased pH level in the duodenal bulb area, and decreased synthesis of prostaglandins in the gastric mucosa.

Smoking also promotes apoptosis, that is, the programmed death of cells in the gastrointestinal mucosa and disrupts the formation of blood vessels in the gastric mucosa, which blocks the process of cell renewal.

Smoking also affects the course of peptic ulcer disease. In smokers, duodenal ulcers take longer to heal than in non-smokers, and relapses are more frequent. These patterns have been identified for both men and women.

Smoking and the cardiovascular system. Statistics inexorably show that mortality from myocardial infarction among smokers is 5 times higher than among those who are not poisoned by tobacco smoke, and cerebral hemorrhage is observed 3-4 times more often among tobacco lovers. The thing is that nicotine and other harmful substances cause vasoconstriction, especially of the heart and brain, resulting in increased blood pressure. It becomes difficult for the heart to cope with stress; it works under strain, which leads to increased heart rate. It is known that in a calm state the heart contracts 70 times per minute, pumping 7200 liters of blood per day. In a smoker, the number of heartbeats increases significantly, as a result of which the work of the heart to “pump” blood increases by 1000-1400 liters per day. Thus, both during exercise and at rest, the heart works under great overload.

Tobacco smoke does a lot of harm, although smoking does not seem to cause such obvious degradation as does alcoholism or drug addiction. However, tobacco poisons, like a Trojan horse, open the way to more complex forms of drug addiction.

Conclusion

A lot has been and is being said about drinking and smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction - factors harmful to health. But the fact remains that alcohol, nicotine and drugs are abused by millions of people on the planet.

The dangers of smoking have been known for a long time. However, the concern of scientists and doctors caused by the spread of this addiction, is growing, since a significant number of people still do not consider smoking harmful to health. Smoking is not a harmless activity that can be quit without effort. This is a real drug addiction, and even more dangerous because many do not take it seriously.

The problem of alcohol consumption is also very relevant these days. Now the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the world is characterized by huge numbers. The whole society suffers from this, but first of all, the younger generation is at risk: children, adolescents, young people, as well as the health of expectant mothers. After all, alcohol has a particularly active effect on an unformed organism, gradually destroying it.

The consequences of long-term drug use are devastating: they cause cardiac and circulatory disorders, liver and kidney disease, cause cancer and personality degradation, which is often associated with social decline and a large number of suicides.

Alcoholism and drug addiction have become epidemic in society. And most importantly, it is almost impossible to defeat these diseases today. True, there are many methods, but 100% result no one has achieved it yet. So what to do? It is possible that in the near future the problem of drug addiction and alcoholism will be solved with the help of genetic vaccination. The fact is that scientists have put forward a hypothesis that approximately 15% of people have genes responsible for the manifestation of the so-called pleasure complex. It is these genes that determine a person’s tendency to abuse alcohol, drugs, psychotropic substances and smoking. Smart nature, however, has provided means of protection against unwanted vices, the so-called blocker genes. It's good if they work fine. And if not, then the problem is that the “narcotic” genes appear “in all their glory.”

In most countries involved in the fight against drugs, only a small part of products is controlled, that is, drugs included in the list of prohibited drugs, so diverse in their properties that cause drug addiction. The stages of drug addiction lead ever lower, determining the worsening of the disaster, which, as experts from the World Health Organization emphasize, is a great threat to health care on a global scale. This danger increases as factories and laboratories produce more and more new types of drugs, more and more powerful and harmful.

In Russia and in the Astrakhan region, in particular, the economic situation is now extremely difficult, but this will not relieve responsibility from the current government, the president and the Duma, and finally, to the future generation, if they do not take urgent measures to combat drug addiction in society. After all, if today’s generation turns for the most part into drug addicts, which, according to experts, is far from fantastic, we will either not get the next generation at all, or we will get an absolutely sick generation. With the current course of the fight against drugs, the gene pool of the nation will irrevocably disappear, and with it the nation itself, Russia itself, will disappear.

Bibliography

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This article talks about exactly how cigarettes and alcohol affect the human body. Read it if you need the last straw to quit drinking and smoking.

Almost none of the people who practice drinking cigarettes and alcohol as relaxation techniques are fully aware of the harm of smoking and alcohol on the human body, and continue to be exposed to their harmful effects. The modern pace and style of life leave their mark on each of us.

Some try to deal with the resulting stress by participating in various social or sporting events. Others seek themselves by immersing themselves in religion. Largest number people compensate for their moral and physical fatigue with bad habits. It is thanks to them that some people are able to maintain the high pace dictated by the modern world.

Smoking: impact on a person and its characteristics

What effect does smoking have on the human body? It is no secret that tobacco leaves penetrated into the Old World along with the sailors who brought them from America many years ago. Since then, this destructive addiction began to spread throughout the vastness of Europe. Today there is not a single corner on our planet in which tobacco products are not known.

As a rule, the beginning of the smoking process itself is preceded by some kind of emotional shock. This fact can be almost any event that has left its negative mark on a person. Statistics show that many people get their first experience of using tobacco products in childhood.

In most cases the victims similar statistics children from disadvantaged families who are in a state of constant stress. None of them even think about what kind of harm cigarettes have on a child’s growing body.

During the combustion of tobacco mixture and cigarette paper, it is released into the surrounding world. great amount various toxic substances that are foreign to the human body. Some of them escape into the atmosphere without causing harm to humans. Others penetrate directly into the body, leading to the formation of various pathological conditions.

The effect of nicotine on the body is difficult to overestimate, since it has an effect on absolutely all human systems. The most severe toxic damage occurs to the lungs, which are the first to encounter the entire bouquet of toxic substances. However, thanks to the rather complex human structure, the matter is not limited to the lungs and nicotine continues its path, penetrating all systems and organs.

Once in the blood, tobacco smoke derivatives are distributed throughout the body, where they leave their imprint. The pinnacle of their movement is the brain. Under the influence of toxins, the brain sends out distorted nerve impulses all over the body. It is these that a person who smokes perceives as relaxation and rest. In fact, we are talking about disorientation of the nervous system, which reacts to external stimuli.

The result of such exposure is the following conditions caused by the influence of nicotine on humans:

• suppression of hunger;
• decreased appetite;
• increased blood pressure;
• metabolic disease;
• blood thickening.

The above list shows only a small part of the effects that tobacco smoke has on the body. It should be remembered that smoking and alcohol in combination with each other have a much stronger effect on a person, undermining the foundations of his health.

Alcohol addiction and the consequences of smoking

The effect of alcohol on the body has some differences from the effects of smoking mentioned earlier. Alcoholic drinks are also a kind of antidepressant, designed to make a person’s life easier and relieve stress. The principle of ethanol’s action on the body has its own characteristics, dictated by the very structure of its use. In general, alcohol and tobacco have similar effects, but various systems and organs.

The first one to feel toxic effects, is digestive tract, into which alcoholic beverages directly fall. Subsequently, the structure of action of both toxins is quite similar: being absorbed into the blood, ethanol spreads throughout all systems and organs, reaching the brain, disrupting its structure and blocking full functioning.

As a result of this process, less oxygen enters the brain, and partial suffocation is perceived by the body as intoxication. The consequences of this state of affairs is the gradual death of brain cells that cannot be restored. Over time and the progression of addiction, a person becomes more distracted, forgetful and lethargic.

Alcohol and cigarettes together cause the greatest harm to health.

It is in this form that the toxic effect on a person increases several times and can lead to irreparable consequences that can complicate his future life.

Many people are interested in the question of what is better, drinking or smoking. It is impossible to answer this unequivocally, due to the individuality of each person individually. We can say for sure that it is the drinker who finds himself in captivity of physical dependence on alcohol. While smoking does not form such a strong habit. In some way, this factor is the answer to the question of what is more harmful, alcohol or cigarettes, but this is only one of the arguments in favor of this or that habit, which can be given endlessly.

Why do you want to smoke when you drink? The answer to this question lies in the structure of the effects of alcohol and cigarettes on the body. When a person drinks, his digestive system is stimulated and his appetite increases. In turn, nicotine suppresses the desire to eat, which on a subconscious level causes cravings for a cigarette after drinking alcohol.

The influence of alcohol and smoking, exerted simultaneously, significantly increases the toxic load affecting the body. Such an influence, applied once, can go unnoticed. Its transformation into a habit significantly accelerates the oppression of all systems, leading to the rapid degradation of personality and the decomposition of the main human organs.

Giving up bad habits is the key to good health and well-being

The influence of alcohol and nicotine is difficult to overestimate, since it is especially great and destructive. At the same time, sooner or later, a drinking smoker understands the whole essence of his problem. As a rule, this happens at a time when he has serious health problems. It was at this moment that he first wondered how to stop drinking and smoking.

However, in such a case, when bad habits are quite deeply ingrained, this is very difficult to do. In turn, quitting drinking and smoking at the same time is almost impossible due to too much stress on the body. Therefore, the suppression of similar facts is carried out in stages and begins with the habit that is easier to quit.

Quitting smoking will significantly improve the health of all organs and systems, but this process itself is fraught with certain difficulties. They consist in the body becoming accustomed to toxic effects that develop over time. Therefore, the first days of a healthy life are especially difficult and unpleasant. It is this factor that does not allow many people to get rid of addiction forever and returns them to its embrace. At the same time, for those who were able to overcome themselves, life becomes much brighter and more comfortable.

The next step that needs to be taken in order to defeat alcoholism and tobacco smoking is giving up alcohol. Having a positive experience in neutralizing nicotine addiction, it will be much easier to get rid of the drinking habit forever. At the same time, in order for a person to stop drinking, he will need some support, since alcohol is highly addictive, which is quite difficult to overcome. Based on this, competent help will never be superfluous. Only this approach will enable a person to completely overcome alcoholism and smoking, as well as completely recover from the consequences of these bad habits.

Conclusion

Alcohol and nicotine are one of the biggest problems modern society, which itself forces many people to resort to these means. Momentary relaxation and short rest have a fairly high price, which consists in the gradual damage to the entire body and the deterioration of its health as a whole.

At the same time, in order for a person to quit drinking and smoking, he will need some help, since it is quite difficult to overcome such habits on your own. With appropriate help and the desire to get rid of similar problems, it is possible to overcome these harmful addictions. In such a situation, alcoholism prevention plays a role important role, since it guarantees that the problem will not return and contributes to even greater health of the person.

We can talk almost endlessly about the harmful effects of alcohol and smoking on the human body. Despite this, many people underestimate the harm caused to their bodies by alcoholism and smoking. For most of them, such bad habits have already become an integral part of life; without them they simply cannot imagine their existence. Someone, knowing full well about the dangers of alcohol, regularly uses it as an antidepressant. Some people drink and smoke exclusively on holidays. Although even in such situations, alcoholic drinks and smoking cause very serious harm. So why do people drink and is it possible to drink alcohol in moderation without fear for your health? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand what harm cigarettes and alcohol cause to health and what changes occur in the body during drunkenness, drug addiction and smoking man.

Mechanism of effects of alcohol

How do most people who do not neglect smoking and alcoholism spend their time? Most often these are evenings in a pleasant company of like-minded people over a glass of vodka, cocktail or glass of beer. During interesting conversations, a person may not notice how much he has drunk; he often begins to drink alcohol in excess of the norm. And, of course, the consequences of such harmful addictions are of little interest to him. However, already at this moment very “interesting” things begin to happen with unpleasant consequences.

Alcohol enters the stomach. This body has a developed blood supply system, which allows ethanol (the main component of any alcoholic drink) to penetrate the circulatory system without any problems. Human blood contains a variety of cells. Some of them are called red blood cells. The main function of these cells is to transport oxygen. They are covered with a special shell, which is electrified against the walls of blood vessels, thus receiving a negative charge. Since all cells have the same charge, according to the laws of physics they repel each other. But when alcohol enters the body, everything changes. And such consequences are not the most favorable, because The harm from drinking alcohol can be quite significant.

When ethanol enters the bloodstream, it destroys the membrane of red blood cells. The negative charge disappears and they begin to stick together. The consequences are very unfavorable, because red blood cells become unable to perform their main function. In addition, the human body has vessels through which red blood cells can pass only one at a time. If you have bad habits such as drug addiction, smoking and alcoholism, red blood cells stick together and their passage through the vessels becomes impossible. The vessels simply become clogged. The consequence is a disruption of the blood supply to tissues in these areas. By the way, this is one of the reasons why it is forbidden to drink alcohol while playing sports.

How more people drinks, the more such clots become and the more harm he causes to his body. As a result, the functioning of almost all organs and systems is disrupted. And the consequences of smoking in combination with regular consumption of alcoholic beverages only aggravate the problem.

Further, in the body of a person who is not aware of all the harmful effects of smoking and alcoholism, even more serious consequences occur and severe harm. Alcohol enters the tissues and cells of the body. There, certain enzymes act on it, causing it to oxidize. During the oxidation process, the so-called acetaldehyde. It is this substance that causes the most harm and causes the most serious consequences. It is much more toxic than ethyl alcohol. This process occurs in almost every organ.

So, for example, the harm and consequences of exposure to acetaldehyde are especially strong for the liver. The substance destroys liver cells, in the place of which, over time, fatty and connective tissue. The consequences and harm of such a replacement are easy to predict - the functioning of the liver is disrupted, which is dangerous for the entire body.

The greatest harm from smoking and alcoholism is experienced by the human nervous system and brain. This is where the blood supply is most powerful. Because of this, the largest amount of ethanol enters the brain. The human body is designed in such a way that there is no protection against alcohol in the brain, because Initially, when man as such appeared, alcohol simply did not exist. Entering the brain tissue, ethanol kills its cells, which causes irreparable harm to the body and threatens with very serious consequences.

A person perceives such an effect as a state of euphoria, freedom and relaxation. Each drink you drink increases the number of dead brain cells. They don't recover. Scars appear in their places. With particularly extensive lesions, cysts may appear. These are formations with their own shell, filled with liquid. The presence of such formations can be confirmed by any pathologist. During autopsies of alcoholics, they are visible to the naked eye.

What are the effects of cigarettes?

The harm caused by cigarettes is underestimated by many smokers. To understand whether smoking really causes so much harm and what consequences await the smoker, it is necessary to consider the mechanism of action of cigarettes.

When inhaling, the temperature of the end of the cigarette is about 60°C. At this temperature, about 200 different harmful substances are released from the cigarette, including nicotine. About a quarter of what is indicated on the pack enters the body.

During the experiments, it was revealed that the less nicotine in a cigarette, the more puffs a person will take. That is, an experienced smoker needs to get a certain dose of this substance. Over time, the dose increases.

Many people try not to think about the dangers of smoking and alcoholism, citing the fact that with their help they relax. Indeed, a person who smokes a cigarette calms down, relaxes, and sometimes feels a surge of strength. The secret of this effect is that when nicotine enters the brain, the conduction of all impulses arising in this organ improves for a certain time.

This phenomenon does not last long. And the consequences are not the best. An exhausted brain needs rest, its speed of work decreases. And it is at such moments that the smoker wants to take another cigarette. The number of cigarettes is increasing, the intervals between their use are decreasing, and the harm caused to the body is inexorably growing.

Toxic substances contained in cigarettes cause severe inflammation. This is why smokers often suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, tracheitis and other unpleasant diseases. Besides, toxic substances can provoke the development of cancer processes.

The damage caused by smoking to blood vessels is approximately the same as that caused by alcohol, i.e. red blood cells “stick together”, etc.

All of the above is only a small part of the harm that a person receives as a result of the complex effects of nicotine and alcohol. The short-term pleasure obtained from smoking and alcoholism is definitely not worth poisoning your body day after day.

Children and adolescents suffer the greatest harm from alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

Their systems and organs are not yet fully formed, and therefore in to the greatest extent susceptible to the harmful effects of bad habits.

Whether to drink or lead a sober lifestyle, quit smoking or go to the store for another pack - everyone decides all this for themselves. You can get rid of addictions at absolutely any age, regardless of your experience. If you cannot do this yourself, you can contact the appropriate specialists.

The impact of alcohol and cigarettes on the psyche

When considering the harmful effects of smoking and alcoholism on the human body, it is necessary to study the problem comprehensively, taking into account the impact on physical and mental condition. The worst thing is that the consequences of drinking and smoking appear rather slowly. Over time, a person begins to understand that he used to think faster, but now he cannot concentrate on solving basic problems, becomes more and more absent-minded, misses his turn, loses things, forgets important dates and so on.

Over time, things that were once interesting and important cease to be so. A person no longer strives to build a business, achieve success in sports, or realize himself. Only the next bottle becomes important.

It’s a little easier with smokers, but things are also far from rosy. A smoker may be aware of his addiction and feel burdened by the need to regularly receive another dose of nicotine. He may feel inferior, because after a while almost every alcoholic or smoker realizes all the harm of alcohol and nicotine on his own health, but cannot do anything about such addictions.

In such situations, people often turn to psychologists. In most cases, treatment turns out to be very successful, but for this to really be so, it is necessary that the addicted person realizes exactly what need he is trying to satisfy by picking up another cigarette or glass of alcohol. This is where the difficult struggle with oneself begins.

Possible needs satisfied by alcohol and cigarettes

The most common option is to use cigarettes and alcohol as a means to get rid of unpleasant feelings and thoughts. If a person is drawn to the bottle when he has problems at work, in relationships and other areas of activity, then for him alcohol is a kind of medicine that temporarily dulls the pain. And while smoking, a person concentrates his consciousness on the cigarette, which also allows him to drown out obsessive thoughts for a short time.

People often use cigarettes and alcohol to relax and relieve stress. To find out if you fall into this category, answer the following question. Do you feel the need for a cigarette or a dose of alcohol in situations where you have to speak in public, an important meeting or an important exam, after a difficult and stressful day, etc. If the answer to these and other similar questions is positive, we can conclude that with the help of bad habits you, as a rule, are trying to satisfy your need to get rid of stress and depression.

Cigarettes can be used as a means to attract attention. Most often, this is the reason why teenagers start smoking. Boys think they look more mature and brutal, girls see themselves as sexy and elegant.

It is a well-known fact that under the influence of alcohol a person ceases to be shy and becomes more relaxed and courageous. The need for a sense of comfort and freedom during the holidays may push some people to drink alcoholic beverages.

Some people smoke to take a break from unpleasant or difficult work. In reality, a cigarette does not relieve tension, but loads it even more, reducing performance and quickly causing a feeling of fatigue.

Some representatives of the creative world have a craving for various mind-altering drugs. However, unusual experiences from intoxication, including alcohol, can result in extremely unpleasant consequences.

This list can be continued almost endlessly. Having established the cause, you can go on the path of getting rid of bad addictions.

How to get rid of nicotine and alcohol addiction?

Treatment of alcoholism is a very broad topic that can be discussed for quite a long time. There are many treatment methods. These are all kinds of encodings, drug treatment, hypnosis, folk remedies, etc. The most effective is complex therapy, in which an experienced narcologist and psychologist work with a person. It is important that the person himself is aware of the problem and wants to get rid of it.

With smoking, everything is somewhat simpler. First of all, when you decide to get rid of nicotine addiction, try to give up cigarettes once and for all. There is no need to try to replace cigarettes with a lighter brand, electronic modification or other means. Do you smoke last cigarette and forget it. If it becomes absolutely unbearable, eat a lollipop, a piece of cheese, etc. The pleasure, of course, is absolutely not the same, but it is much easier for the brain, blood vessels, heart and other organs and systems.

If you are not able to completely give up cigarettes right away, you can use proven and effective recommendations from German specialists:

• do not buy more than 1 pack of cigarettes at a time;
• taking another cigarette, immediately hide the pack;
• do not smoke more than 1 cigarette in a row;
• smoke only filter cigarettes;
• regularly change the brand and strength of cigarettes;
• keep the pack as far as possible from your workplace, resting place or from the place where you are at the moment;
• do not smoke cigarettes offered by other people;
• never ask for a cigarette;
• do not carry a lighter with you;
• After smoking a cigarette, immediately hide the ashtray;
• Extinguish the cigarette after the first puff;
• smoke heavily every other time;
• After a while, try to start smoking without inhaling;
• smoke your first cigarette only after breakfast;
• Gradually increase the time between the moment you start wanting to smoke and actually smoking;
• smoke no more than 1 cigarette every 1-2 hours;
• Calculate how much money you can save if you quit smoking.

But the most important thing is to understand all the harmful effects of nicotine and alcohol on the human body. If you are serious about getting rid of the bottle and pack of cigarettes, find something that will help replace them.

For example, if you drink and smoke to relax, start doing sports or yoga. If smoking is an opportunity to relax while working, it is better to use this time to listen to a couple of musical compositions, take a short walk, watch the latest news, etc. Do not forget that your health is solely in your hands. Good luck and stay healthy!

Thank you for your feedback

COMMENTS:

Megan92 () 2 weeks ago

Has anyone succeeded in ridding their husband of alcoholism? My drink never stops, I don’t know what to do anymore ((I was thinking about getting a divorce, but I don’t want to leave the child without a father, and I feel sorry for my husband, he’s a great person when he doesn’t drink

Daria () 2 weeks ago

I have already tried so many things, and only after reading this article, I was able to wean my husband off alcohol; now he doesn’t drink at all, even on holidays.

Megan92 () 13 days ago

Daria () 12 days ago

Megan92, that’s what I wrote in my first comment) I’ll duplicate it just in case - link to article.

Sonya 10 days ago

Isn't this a scam? Why do they sell on the Internet?

Yulek26 (Tver) 10 days ago

Sonya, what country do you live in? They sell it on the Internet because stores and pharmacies charge outrageous markups. In addition, payment is only after receipt, that is, they first looked, checked and only then paid. And now they sell everything on the Internet - from clothes to TVs and furniture.

Editor's response 10 days ago

Sonya, hello. This drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence is indeed not sold through pharmacy chains and retail stores in order to avoid inflated prices. Currently you can only order from official website. Be healthy!

St. Petersburg Humanitarian Institute

University of Trade Unions

Abstract:

The influence of alcohol, tobacco and drugs on the human body.

Checked by: Abramov V.V.

Saint Petersburg

Plan:

Introduction p. 3

1. The destructive cigarette p. 5

2. The influence of alcohol on the human body p. 8

3. Narcotic substances and their classification p. eleven

Conclusion p. 15

Literature p. 17

Introduction.

Don't die out of ignorance.

Folk sayings.

A lot has been and is being said about drinking and smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction - factors harmful to health. Sometimes they are very mildly called “bad habits.” Alcohol and nicotine have been called “cultural” poisons. But it is they, these “cultural” poisons that bring a lot of troubles and suffering - in families, work collectives, and are a social evil for society. Moreover, as a result of bad habits, life expectancy is reduced, mortality increases, and inferior offspring are born.

A lot has been said about the dangers of smoking. However, the concern of scientists and doctors caused by the spread of this harmful habit is growing, since a significant number of people still do not consider smoking harmful to health. Smoking is not a harmless activity that can be quit without effort. This is a real drug addiction, and even more dangerous because many do not take it seriously.

The problem of alcohol consumption is also very relevant these days. Now the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the world is characterized by huge numbers. The whole society suffers from this, but first of all, the younger generation is at risk: children, adolescents, young people, as well as the health of expectant mothers. After all, alcohol has a particularly active effect on an unformed organism, gradually destroying it.

Abuse of drugs and illegal trade in them have recently reached catastrophic proportions in many, especially developed countries of the world. The official press of the USA, Germany, France, England, Sweden almost daily reports on the death of their citizens as a result of abuse of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Drug addiction has captured even teenagers in many countries.

I believe that the problem of “bad” habits is very relevant in our time. The main “weapon” in the fight against them is information. It is necessary that every person knows about the action, about the harm they cause to the human body.

1. A destructive cigarette.

A person is often his own worst enemy.

Smoking is one of the most harmful habits. Research has proven the harm of smoking. Tobacco smoke contains more than 30 toxic substances: Nicotine, Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Hydrocyanic acid, Ammonia, Resinous substances, Organic acids and others.

Nicotine is one of the most dangerous poisons of plant origin. Birds (sparrows, pigeons) die if you just bring a glass rod soaked in nicotine to their beak. A rabbit dies from 1/4 drop of nicotine, a dog from 1/2 drop. For humans, the lethal dose of nicotine is 50 to 100 mg, or 2-3 drops. This is the dose that enters the blood every day after smoking 20-25 cigarettes (one cigarette contains approximately 6-8 mg of nicotine, of which 3-4 mg enters the blood). The smoker does not die because the dose is administered gradually, not in one go . In addition, part of the nicotine neutralizes formaldehyde, another poison contained in tobacco. Over the course of 30 years, such a smoker smokes approximately 20,000 cigarettes, or 160 kg of tobacco, absorbing an average of 800 g of nicotine. The systematic absorption of small, non-lethal doses of nicotine causes a habit, an addiction to smoking.

Nicotine is included in the metabolic processes occurring in the human body and becomes necessary. However, if a non-smoker receives a significant dose of nicotine in one dose, death can occur. Such cases have been observed in different countries. Our great scientist - pharmacologist N.P. Krafkov described death young man after he smoked a large cigar for the first time in his life.

In France, in Nice, as a result of the competition “Who will smoke the most”, two “winners”, having smoked 60 cigarettes each, died, and the rest of the participants died severe poisoning ended up in the hospital.

In England, a case was recorded in which a 40-year-old man who smoked for a long time smoked 14 cigars and 40 cigarettes at night during difficult work. In the morning he became ill, and, despite the medical assistance provided, he died.

The literature describes a case when a girl was put to sleep in a room where tobacco was lying in bundles in powder, and she died a few hours later. Children living in smoky rooms suffer more and more from respiratory diseases. During the first year of life, children of smoking parents have an increased incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia and an increased risk of developing serious diseases. Tobacco smoke blocks the sun's ultraviolet rays, which are important for a growing child, affects metabolism, impairs the absorption of sugar and destroys vitamins. WITH, necessary for the child during the period of growth. At the age of 5-9 years, the child’s lung function is impaired. As a result, there is a decrease in the ability to physical activity, requiring endurance and tension. Having examined over 2 thousand children living in 1820 families, Professor S.M. Gavalov found that in families where they smoke, children, especially in early age, there are frequent acute pneumonia and spicy respiratory diseases. In families where there were no smokers, the children were practically healthy.

Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are predisposed to seizures. They are much more likely to develop epilepsy. Children born to smoking mothers lag behind their peers in mental development. Thus, GDR scientists V. Gibal and H. Blumberg, when examining 17 thousand such children, revealed retardation in reading, writing, and growth.

There has been a noticeable increase in the number allergic diseases. Russian and foreign scientists have established that nicotine and dry particles of tobacco smoke have an allergenic effect. They contribute to the development of many allergic diseases in children, and how smaller child, the more harm tobacco smoke causes to his body.

Smoking among teenagers primarily affects the nervous and cardiovascular systems. At the age of 12-15 they already complain of shortness of breath during physical activity. As a result of many years of observations, the French doctor Dekalzne, 100 years ago, came to the conclusion that even slight smoking causes anemia and digestive disorders in children.

1-2 packs of cigarettes contain a lethal dose of nicotine. The smoker is saved by the fact that this dose is not introduced into the body immediately, but in fractions. Statistics say: compared to non-smokers, long-term smokers are 13 times more likely to develop Angina pectoris, 12 times more likely to develop myocardial infarction, and 10 times more likely to develop a stomach ulcer. Smokers make up 96 - 100% of all lung cancer patients. Every seventh long-term smoker suffers from obliterating endarteritis - a serious disease of the blood vessels.

The experiment found that 70% of mice that inhaled tobacco smoke developed malignant lung tumors. Cancer occurs 20 times more often in smokers than in non-smokers. How longer person smokes, the more likely he is to die from this serious disease. Statistical studies have shown that smokers often develop cancerous tumors in other organs - the esophagus, stomach, larynx, and kidneys. Smokers often develop cancer of the lower lip as a result of the carcinogenic effect of the extract that accumulates in the mouthpiece of the pipe.

Very often, smoking leads to the development of chronic bronchitis, accompanied by a constant cough and unpleasant smell from mouth. As a result of chronic inflammation, the bronchi dilate, bronchiectasis is formed with severe consequences- pneumosclerosis, pulmonary emphysema, with the so-called pulmonary heart leading to circulatory failure. This determines appearance heavy smoker: hoarse voice, puffy face, shortness of breath.

Smoking also plays a significant role in the occurrence of tuberculosis. Thus, 95 out of 100 people suffering from it smoked by the time the disease began. Smokers often experience heart pain. This is due to spasm coronary vessels, feeding the heart muscle with the development of angina pectoris ( coronary insufficiency hearts). Myocardial infarction occurs 3 times more often in smokers than in non-smokers.

Smoking may also be the main cause of persistent vasospasm lower limbs, contributing to the development of obliterating endarteritis, affecting mainly men. This disease leads to malnutrition, gangrene and ultimately to amputation of the lower limb.

The digestive tract, primarily the teeth and mucous membrane of the mouth, also suffers from substances contained in tobacco smoke. Nicotine increases the secretion of gastric juice, which causes aching pain in the stomach, nausea and vomiting. These signs can also be a manifestation of gastritis, stomach ulcers, which occur much more often in smokers than in non-smokers. For example, among men with gastric ulcer disease, 96 - 97% smoked.

Smoking can cause nicotine amblyopia. A patient suffering from this disease experiences partial or complete blindness. This is a very serious disease, in which even vigorous treatment is not always successful.

Smokers endanger not only themselves, but also those around them. The term “passive smoking” even appeared in medicine. In the body of non-smoking people, after being in a smoky and unventilated room, a significant concentration of nicotine is determined.

Smoking is poison!

2. The effect of alcohol on the human body.

Alcoholism makes more havoc

than three historical scourges combined:

famine, plague, and war.

W. Gladstone

In addition to smoking, bad habits include even more harmful ones - alcohol consumption. Unfortunately. In life they are very often combined with each other. Thus, among the non-drinking population, 40% are smokers, and among alcohol abusers, the figure is already 98%.

The harm of alcohol is obvious. It has been proven that when alcohol enters the body, it spreads through the blood to all organs and adversely affects them, even to the point of destruction. At systematic use alcohol develops dangerous disease- alcoholism. Alcoholism is dangerous to human health, but it is treatable, like many other diseases.

But the main problem is that most of the alcoholic products produced by non-state enterprises contain a large number of toxic substances. Poor quality products often lead to poisoning and even death.

All this causes great damage to society and its cultural values.

Drunkenness lights up green light " malignant neoplasms. Presence in alcoholic beverages cannot be excluded carcinogenic substances. Being a good solvent, alcohol helps them penetrate the body. In alcohol abusers, especially in at a young age, the risk of developing oral cancer is 10 times higher, and if they also smoke, then 15 times higher compared to non-drinkers.

As already mentioned, alcohol has a detrimental effect on brain cells (including cells that regulate the activity of the reproductive system) and on the reproductive centers located in spinal cord. At the same time, the activity of the mammary glands weakens, and in the future it may stop. Scientists identified healthy gonads in only half of the chronically alcoholic patients they examined. It has been established that men who abuse alcohol experience a weakening of potency. In women, alcohol disrupts the production of sex hormones, egg maturation, and the menstrual cycle.

Main active principle The intoxication of any drink was alcohol - ethyl, or wine, alcohol. Taken orally, it is absorbed into the blood within 5-10 minutes and spread throughout the body. Alcohol is poison for any living cell. Once alcohol enters the body, it very quickly disrupts the functioning of tissues and organs. Burning quickly, it takes away oxygen and water from them. The cells shrink and their activity becomes difficult. With significant and frequent hits alcohol into the body's cells different organs in the end they die.

Under the influence of alcohol, almost all physiological processes in the body are disrupted, and this can lead to serious illnesses. The tissue of the liver, kidneys, heart, blood vessels, etc. is degenerated.

Alcohol has the fastest and most destructive effect on brain cells, with the higher parts of the brain primarily affected. Rapidly delivered by blood flow to the brain, alcohol penetrates nerve cells and is destroyed, resulting in disruption of communication between different parts of the brain.

Alcohol also affects blood vessels, blood bearers to the brain. First, they expand, and blood saturated with alcohol rushes rapidly to the brain, causing a sharp excitation of the nerve centers. This is where the overly cheerful mood and swagger of a drunken person come from.

Scientists have found that under the influence of alcoholic drinks in the cerebral cortex, following increasing excitation, a sharp weakening of inhibition processes occurs. The cortex ceases to control the work of the lower, so-called subcortical parts of the brain. That is why an intoxicated person seems to lose control over himself and a critical attitude towards his behavior, losing restraint and modesty, he says and does things that he would not say or do in a sober state. Each new portion of alcohol increasingly paralyzes the higher nerve centers, as if connecting them and not allowing them to interfere with the chaotic activity of sharply excited parts of the brain.

What we complacently call intoxication in everyday life is essentially nothing more than acute alcohol poisoning, with all the ensuing consequences. It’s good if after a certain time the body, freed from poison, gradually returns to normal state. What if drunkenness continues, and new portions of alcohol systematically enter the body? What then?

Scientists have found that alcohol introduced into the body is not immediately removed from there, and a certain amount of this substance continues its harmful effect on organs for 1-2 days, and in some cases more.

Alcohol causes a pleasant, elated mood, and this encourages repeated drinking. At first, if you wish and have strong character, you can still refuse wine. Otherwise under the influence alcohol intoxication(and the persuasion of friends) the will weakens, and the person can no longer resist the attraction to alcohol.

Under the influence of alcohol, instincts gain scope, will and self-control are weakened, and often people commit offenses and mistakes that they repent of throughout their lives.

3. Narcotic substances and their classification.

All vices come from idleness.

Popular saying.

What is a “drug”? Based on the definition given by the World Health Organization, a drug should be considered any substance (with or without legitimate medicinal use) that is subject to abuse for purposes other than medical.

Scientists trying to penetrate the mystery of dope are shocked by the extraordinary virulence of drugs that can creep into the very depths of the feelings and thoughts of their consumers. Long and in-depth studies, carried out by entire generations of scientists, were not fruitless. The poison hidden in most "paradise" remedies has been revealed. Back in the 60s, experts established that excessive consumption of hallucinogenic substances causes mental disorders and severe pathological conditions. Physiological properties drugs involved in a complex chemical process occurring in the human body have an attractive force and force the victim to turn to them repeatedly or continuously after the habit or dependence has firmly taken hold.

Depending on their effect on the human body, drugs can be conditionally divided into two large groups: 1) stimulants; 2) causing depression. It should be borne in mind that each of the drugs has a wide variety of hidden properties that affect the nervous system in different ways.

There are drugs that calm and relieve pain (they are called depressants), and there are others that have a stimulating effect, stimulating the body. Hallucinogenic drugs cause ecstasy and exuberance, nightmares or a feeling of excruciating anxiety. Moreover, each of these substances, even the most dangerous from the point of view of abuse, can have a healing, beneficial effect, but only if it is used absolutely correctly.

Indian hemp, coca leaves, poppy seeds are considered one of the most ancient natural narcotic substances. Opium and its derivatives: morphine, heroin - have an analgesic effect and eliminate anxiety and fear, reduce, often to the point of complete disappearance, the feeling of hunger and thirst, weaken libido, reduce urination, put a person into a drowsy state or, in the case of heroin, into a riot. In the same respect, hashish, marijuana and other derivatives of the Cannabis savita plant in the Indian or American version stand out. Cocaine usually causes the most violent reactions, usually accompanied by hallucinations or strange euphoria mixed with paranoid impulses. Sometimes the criminal nature of this drug generates violence and stimulates a person’s mental activity. In the 60s, LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, a semi-synthetic substance derived from lysergic acid, extracted from the ergot mushroom, appeared on the horizon. LSD, far from being the latest descendant of the drug family, opened the way for even more potent substances. To understand the danger that such an explosion of drugs brings with it, let me remind you that it is enough to take a millionth of a gram of LSD for every kilogram of weight for it to begin to hallucinate.

The state of drug addiction is characterized by three properties:

1) an irresistible desire or need to continue taking drugs and obtaining them by any means;

2) the desire to increase doses;

3) mental and sometimes physical dependence on the effects of the drug.

The so-called drug addiction syndrome occurs only as a result of taking a drug, regardless of whether this happens accidentally or after systematic use. The stages of this process, which occur more slowly or more quickly, are mainly the following:

1) Initial euphoria, often very short-term. It is typical for certain drugs (especially morphine and opium), and not for all drugs. In this state of increased irritability, bizarre and often erotic visions, a person loses control over himself...

2) Tolerance is temporary. This phenomenon is explained by the body’s reaction to the action of the same dose of a substance taken repeatedly. Gradually, the body reacts weaker.

3) Addiction. Most researchers have come to the conclusion that addiction is both a physical and mental phenomenon. It is expressed by classic symptoms of abstinence, or “withdrawal,” which the addict endures very hard and with the risk of severe organic or functional attacks.

4) Abstinence (withdrawal syndrome) usually occurs 12-48 hours after stopping taking the drug. A drug addict cannot tolerate this condition, which causes nervous disorders, tachycardia, spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, and increased secretion of glands. At the same time, an obsessive desire appears to find a toxic substance - a drug - at any cost! A sharp “withdrawal” from a drug addict leads to violent and extremely dangerous manifestations, which can in some cases cause real collapses, as happens with morphine addicts. These are varieties of the terrible delirium tremens - delirium tremens, into which an incurable alcoholic plunges... The attack itself expresses a state of acute need for poison, which has become a necessary factor in internal processes.

Now I will move on to the classification of drug addictions. I will cite a classic division developed by specialists from the World Health Society. So, all drugs and their actions are divided into the following groups.

1. Sedative poisons that calm mental activity. They reduce the function of excitability and perception to the point of completely eliminating it, misleading a person and giving him a bouquet of pleasant states. These substances (opium and its alkaloids, morphine, codeine, coca and cocaine) alter brain functions and are classified as Euforica.

2. Hallucinogenic drugs, represented by a large number of substances of plant origin, are very different in their chemical composition. This includes mescaline from cactus, Indian hemp, hashish and other tropical plants. All of them cause cerebral stimulation, expressed in deformation of sensations, hallucinations, distortion of perceptions, visions, and therefore they are classified as Fantastica.

3. This includes substances that are easily obtained through chemical synthesis, causing first cerebral excitation and then deep depression. These drugs include: alcohol, ether, chloroform, gasoline. This category is Inebrantia.

4. Category Hypnotica, which includes sleep poisons: chloral, barbiturates, sulforol, kava-kava, etc.

5. Excitantia. Here, plant substances predominate, stimulating brain activity without immediately affecting the psyche; The strength of the impact on different individuals varies. This includes plants containing caffeine, tobacco, betel nut, etc.

In most countries involved in the fight against drugs, only a small part of products is controlled, that is, drugs included in the list of prohibited drugs, which are so diverse in their properties that cause addiction. The levels of drug addiction lead lower and lower, determining the worsening of the disaster, which, as experts from the World Health Organization emphasize, is a great threat to health on a global scale. This danger increases as factories and laboratories produce more and more new types of drugs, more and more powerful and harmful.

Conclusion.

Smoking, alcoholism, and, especially, drug addiction are increasingly making doctors, and just citizens thinking about their future generation, think about how to prevent people who have not yet succumbed to such harmful and harmful habits from becoming addicted. to these three evils of modern society.

Smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction are a problem not only for the “patient” himself (because I personally consider all three habits to be a disease for which it is necessary to treat and be cured), but also a problem for the entire society as a whole.

Smoking is a social problem in society, both for smokers and non-smokers. For the first, the problem is to quit smoking, for the second, to avoid the influence of a smoking society and not to “get infected” with their habit, and also to maintain your health from smoking products, since the substances included in the smoke exhaled by smokers are not much safer than if a person I myself smoked and ingested nicotine and much else that is included in a lit cigarette.

Alcohol “hits” not only the drinker himself, but also the people around him. Often men or women prone to alcoholism neglect their responsibilities, friends, family and children in order to satisfy their need. Alcohol addiction is the cause of various crimes. It is known that 50 percent of all crimes are related to alcohol consumption. Children often pay the price for their parents' alcoholism. Studies of neurologically ill children have shown that the cause of their illness is often the alcoholism of their parents. The fight against alcoholism is the largest social and medical problem any state. The harm of alcohol has been proven. Even small doses can cause big trouble or misfortunes: injuries, car accidents, loss of ability to work, family breakdown, loss of spiritual needs and volitional traits by a person.

Drug abuse, known since ancient times, has now spread to an extent that alarms the entire world community. Even with the narrowing, from the point of view of narcologists, of the boundaries of drug addiction to legally acceptable in many countries, drug addiction is recognized as a social disaster. Drug mafias rule states (Latin America) and have their own armies (Southeast Asia). The income of clandestine drug trafficking corporations exceeds the known income from the oil trade and is approaching global income from the arms trade. Abuse among young people is especially disastrous - both the present and the future of society are affected. From the point of view of narcologists, the full picture of the spread of abuse, including forms of substance abuse, is even more tragic. Substances and drugs that are not included in the list of drugs, as a rule, are even more malignant, leading to even greater harm to the individual. The International Anti-Drug Center in New York has a document indicating the number of drug addicts on the globe - 1,000,000,000 people. Drug addiction, as experts from the World Health Organization emphasize, is a major threat to global health.

Now, at the turn of the millennium, there is often talk about the approaching end of the world. But, I think, if humanity does not stop, does not start thinking about itself, about its future, then it will doom itself to complete extinction. If measures are not taken to prevent the spread of alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs among young people, if propaganda is not carried out healthy image life, humanity will be left without a future, and, perhaps, in a few decades they will say about our time “they could not stop in time”...

Literature:

1. Bogdanovich L.A. White horror. – St. Petersburg: Symposium, 1994. – 230 p.

2. Bratus B.S. Psychology, clinic and prevention of early alcoholism. – M.: “Science”, 1984 – 148 p.

3. Vilenchik M.M. Biological basis aging and longevity. – M.: “Science”, 1976. – 170 p.

4. Loransky D.N., Lukyanov V.S. The ABC of Health: A Book for Young People. – M.: Profizdat, 1990. – 176 p.

5. Muratova I.D., Sidorov P.I. Anti-alcohol education at school. – Arkhangelsk: “Lira”, 1977 – 198 p.

6. Petrenko L.F. Tricky enemy. – M.: “Knowledge”, 1991. – 213 p.

7. Entin G.M. When a person is his own enemy. – M.: “Knowledge”, 1973. – 143 p.

Loransky D.N., Lukyanov V.S. The ABC of Health: a book for young people. M., 1990. S. 152-158.

Right there. pp. 160-161.

Right there. pp. 161-164.

Vilenchik M.M. Biological basis of aging and longevity. M., 1976. P. 158.

Entin G.M. When a person is his own enemy. M., 1973. P. 68.

Bogdanovich L.A. White horror. – St. Petersburg: Symposium, 1994. – 230 s.

Everyone knows that the influence of smoking and alcohol on a person is only negative. Any alcoholic drink, be it beer or vodka, contains a certain proportion of ethyl alcohol. After entering the body, this substance is processed. Metabolic products have a toxic effect on organs. When smoking, several hundred different substances enter the body.

The harmful effects of alcoholic drinks and cigarettes on the body

Smoking and alcohol negatively affect all human cells and tissues. Almost anywhere you can meet a smoker or a person drinking alcohol. IN last years Children and teenagers are increasingly becoming accustomed to these bad habits. There are many girls among them. Alcoholism and smoking are the most significant social problems.

The following organs are targets for alcohol:

• liver;
• heart;
• brain;
• pancreas;
• stomach;
• organs of the reproductive system.

Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism. This chronic illness, in which a person develops dependence on alcoholic beverages. Alcoholism slowly leads to personality degradation and death. Alcohol provokes development the following diseases:

• hepatitis A;
• fatty liver degeneration;
• cirrhosis;
• acute and chronic pancreatitis;
• chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer;
• alcoholic kidney disease;
• encephalopathy;
• diabetes mellitus;
• hypertension;
• coronary heart disease.

In girls, alcohol abuse may cause menstrual irregularities. Alcohol often causes unexpected pregnancies and abortions. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is very dangerous. Such mothers often give birth to children with fetal alcohol syndrome. This is a complex of symptoms that is observed in the fetus during its intrauterine development. They appear immediately after birth.

Alcohol syndrome The fetus is manifested by the following signs:

• low body weight and slow gain;
• drooping eyelids;
• squint;
• various deformities;
• decrease in brain volume;
• thin upper lip;
• flattened face;
• change in bite;
• low forehead;
• smoothed bridge of the nose.

The heart is often affected. Subsequently, such children get sick more often than others and lag behind in development.

Damage to the heart and respiratory system due to smoking

The prevalence of smoking, alcohol, and drugs is very high. Hundreds of millions of people smoke tobacco products around the world. The relationship between cigarettes and some people is so close that more than a pack of cigarettes are smoked daily. All doctors are against smoking, since cigarette smoke contains a lot of toxic substances (benzopyrene, tar, nicotine, heavy metals, carbon monoxide). There are various diseases caused by smoking.

Photo 1. Harm warnings on cigarette packs.

The lungs and bronchi are the first to suffer. Active and passive smoking is the main risk factor for developing lung cancer. Smokers are more likely to develop this dangerous pathology about 10 times higher. The pictures on the packs indicate the dangers of cigarettes. This is shown in photo 1. Chronic smokers may develop the following respiratory diseases:

• chronic bronchitis;
• pneumonia;
• tuberculosis;
• emphysema;
• asthma.

Photo 2. Smoker's heart.

Smoking 2-3 cigarettes at a time leads to depression of the respiratory center. The cardiovascular system also suffers. Smoke from 1 cigarette increases blood pressure by 10%.

Long-term smoking contributes to the development of hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery thrombosis, obliterating endarteritis, and heart attack. The heart of such people works more intensely. Pictures are also placed on the packs. The heart of a smoking person is shown in photo 2.

The effect of tobacco smoke on other organs

Photo 3. Harm of smoking to the skin.

Not only cigarettes are harmful to humans, but also hookahs, cigars, and electronic cigarettes. In smokers, the incidence of chronic gastritis and ulcers is much higher. Cigarette smoke irritates the mucous membrane and leads to its inflammation. Against this background, the production of gastric juice is disrupted, which leads to dyspepsia. The upper and lower parts of the digestive tract become inflamed.

Possible damage to the oral mucosa, development of stomatitis, caries and gingivitis. Sometimes leukoplakia develops, which is a precancerous disease. A terrible consequence of smoking is cancer of the lip or larynx. The pancreas is often affected in smokers.