Humans use a wide variety of different kinds of drugs for recreational purposes, as well as for ill-advised attempts at self-medication. Some drugs, such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, are legally sanctioned. Others are used illicitly.
Regardless of whether a mind-altering substance is used legally or illegally, its abuse can produce damaging effects on various organs of the human body. The repercussions of drug abuse depend on which drug is being used and its method of administration.
Liver Damage
The liver helps eliminate waste products and toxins in the blood. Drug abuse forces an extra heavy workload on the liver as it struggles to remove the toxic byproducts of metabolized drugs.
Alcohol is known to be a significant cause of liver disease, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that chronic use of inhalants, heroin and steroids can also cause liver damage. Intravenous drug use can be associated with the transmission of infectious diseases affecting the liver, such as hepatitis C.
Heart Disease
Numerous drugs commonly abused are associated with cardiovascular effects. Nicotine, for example, rapidly enters the bloodstream through the lungs and causes alterations in heart rate and blood pressure, according to NIDA for Teens. Long-term use of nicotine is associated with hypertension, heart attack and stroke.
The American Heart Association notes that many people in the United States die due to the powerful effect of cocaine on the cardiovascular system. Heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia and heart muscle inflammation are just some of the deleterious effects of cocaine on the heart. Even first-time users of the drug are vulnerable to these potentially fatal effects.
Lung Disease
Any substance inhaled into the lungs as smoke raises the risk of lung infections, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This includes tobacco, marijuana and crack. The increase in lung infections is due to the damage that smoking inflicts upon the cilia, tiny hair-like extensions within the lung that aid in filtering out foreign bodies and pollutants.
Additionally, cigarette smoking has been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer of the lung. Conversely, an extensive study of marijuana smokers found no link to lung cancer, even though marijuana smoke contains 50 percent higher concentrations of carcinogenic chemicals than tobacco smoke, according to Donald Tashkin, M.D., professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles.
Crack cocaine use has been linked to tuberculosis. It is believed that damage to the lungs caused by smoking crack makes the drug user more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection.
References
- EurekAlert!: Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Smoking Any Substance raises Risk of Lung Infections
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Crack Cocaine and Infectious Tuberculosis
- NIDA for Teens: Mind Over Matter: Tobacco Addiction
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Liver Damage
