Drugs on trial Cigarettes and Alcohol Today you

Drugs on trial: Cigarettes and Alcohol Today you will… • Identify different kinds of drugs. • Consider legal drugs are less harmful than illegal drugs. • Identify the harmful effects of some types of drugs.

What is a drug? A drug is a substance that changes the way the mind or body works.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking A drug is a substance that changes the way the mind and body work.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking has no effect on your health.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking Alcohol is a drug.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking Cannabis is a drug.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking Chocolate is a drug.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking In the UK around 150, 000 deaths per year are alcohol or tobacco related.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking When you smoke a single cigarette you inhale over 6000 chemicals.

What do you already know? . . Drugs & Smoking All drugs are illegal.

Different kinds of drugs… Alcohol Tobacco Caffeine Aspirin Cannabis Morphine These are very old substances that people have used for a very long time for pain relief, relaxation and moot altering. 4 of these are legal for adults to buy and use, 1 is available only through a doctors prescription and 1 is illegal. Do you know which ones? If they were discovered now, would they be allowed? Lets put them on trial and see!

Drugs on Trial… Task: Should these drugs be allowed in our society? You decide! We will go through each drug in turn and consider their advantages and disadvantages. Before and after, we will put these drugs on trial and decide whether they should be allowed in our society!

Alcohol Advantages: Disadvantages: • Lowers inhibitions – makes people more confident, chatty, care less about how you appear to people. • Lowers inhibitions – more confident, chatty but care less about what you do • Relaxes people. • • Depressant – brings mood down Addictive, more you have, the more you need • Slows your reactions down • Too much can cause vomiting and terrible headaches the next day • Too much can cause blackout where the drinker can’t remember anything about what they were doing, where they were, who they were with etc. • 10, 000 (about 10 times the amount of people in the school) people are killed or seriously injured in drink driving incidents each year • Is legal. • Small amounts of red wine may be good for the heart. • Strong beers like Guinness rich in iron, a glass a day used to be used after childbirth or operations. • Safe in moderation.

Tobacco Advantages: • Relaxes people. • We have a right to choose what we put into out bodies. • The sale of cigarettes puts billions of pounds into the economy each year – spent on education, health and transport. Disadvantages: • Depressant – makes people sad. • Tar in cigarettes causes tongue, mouth, stomach and lung cancer. • Causes lung disease and affects breathing – bad for sports people and asthmatics. • Addictive and giving up is very difficult. • Damages the heart – heart disease = early death. • Affects breathing. • Harms other – passive smoking can cause lung cancer. • Expensive (1 pack of 10 can cost £ 6 – most smokers would use at least 10 a day). • Makes you smell.

Caffeine Advantages: Disadvantages: • Increases alertness • Too much causes heart damage • Reduces sleepiness • Too much can give you the shakes • Gives you a burst of energy • Can cause irritability and anxiety • May reduce risk of stroke and improve blood flow in moderation • Feel more tired when the effects wear off • Addictive • Withdrawal from caffeine causes big headaches • Takes two weeks to reverse effects

Aspirin Advantages: Disadvantages: • Useful for Pain relief. • Irritates the stomach. • Cures headaches. • Causes stomach bleeding each time it is used. • Good for colds, flu, muscle pain. • Can help prevent strokes and blood clots. • Sold in small amounts to reduce risk of overdose. • Can damage the liver. • Children under twelve may have allergic reaction.

Morphine Advantages: Disadvantages: • Strong pain killer • Nausea • Used in hospitals when treating people in severe pain • Vomiting • Sweating Makes people feel relaxed and happy • Itching • Mood swings Effective over a short period of time e. g. to treat pain for broken bones, after operations or severe muscle pain • Feelings of lethargy (tiredness) • Addiction • In overdose, breathing stops Can be combined with paracetamol and ibuprofen and bought from the chemist • Slow reactions down • Dizziness • High doses can cause kidney or liver failure • • •

Cannabis Advantages: Disadvantages: • Sometimes relaxes people • Can be a pathway to other drugs. • It can make it difficult for you to concentrate and learn. • Can relieve pain in some conditions • Make you anxious , paranoid and panicky. • Shuts down sense of responsibility. • Available on prescription until 1973. • Make your memory worse. • Make you feel less motivated. • May cause long term mental damage. • May cause cancer of the mouth in the long term. • It’s illegal and possessing it can give you up to 7 years in prison!

The outcome… If most drugs have really bad side effects, why do people still take them? Discuss this question with a partner – think about what you have learnt today and your own opinions…does everybody know what you know?

The outcome… What makes illegal drugs different from legal ones? Discuss this question with a partner – think about what you have learnt today and your own opinions…does everybody know what you know?