| The health problems associated with drug abuse are | | | | Smoking introduces a variety of dangerous |
| many and varied, as well a potentially lethal. Due to | | | | substances into the body and harms just about |
| the nature of drug abuse, this tends to be about | | | | every organ. Most notably, smoking will damage the |
| addictive drugs or drugs which are voluntarily pursued | | | | lungs, increase the odds of mouth, tongue, throat |
| for some perceived benefit. This typically means long | | | | and lung cancers and can have strong effects on |
| term exposure, and results in symptoms which have | | | | blood circulation and oxygen transfer. Tobacco is the |
| a great deal of overlap. Drugs which are ingested by | | | | leading avoidable cause of death in the US. |
| smoking tend to result in increased lung problems, | | | | Alcoholism is another serious issue, with over 100,000 |
| mouth and throat cancers, etc. Drugs that effect the | | | | deaths per year in the US due to alcohol abuse. |
| central nervous system tend to list similar strings of | | | | Alcohol is also dangerous for much of the body, with |
| symptoms involving psychotic behaviors, stimulants | | | | especially bad results for livers. Alcohol also kills due |
| give increased risks of heart attacks and so forth. | | | | to the mind-altering effects, with relatively moderate |
| Another common thread is pregnancy. Drugs can | | | | use resulting in a decreased concern with risks while |
| have very strong adverse reactions in the unborn | | | | also reducing the body's ability to react quickly and |
| children and cause associated problems, which can kill | | | | accurately. Severe alcohol use results in increasing |
| the baby and mother, or lead to lifetime health | | | | inability to function physically. These mean that |
| problems. Additionally, there are strong effects from | | | | alcohol and cars are an especially dangerous mix. |
| mixing drugs. | | | | Alcohol and unborn children are also a dangerous mix. |
| The most severe drug abuse crisis is nicotine. | | | | While moderate alcohol use can provide benefits, |
| According to the National Institute of Health, | | | | abuse can result in fetal alcohol syndrome, |
| approximately one in six deaths in the US are either | | | | permanently scarring children and can range from |
| caused or influenced by nicotine abuse. This results in | | | | increased aggressiveness to a lifetime of brain |
| 440,000 premature deaths a year. Lung cancer used | | | | damage. |
| to be a rare condition that few physicians ever saw. | | | | |