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What is an addiction? Drugs, alcohol, nicotine

Source: https://unsplash.com/, domena publiczna.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • health is a value that has to be protected;

  • life choices of men highly influence their health.

You will learn
  • to explain what an addiction is;

  • to describe the mechanism of addiction;

  • to present the negative consequences of drug addiction, alcoholism, smoking.

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Nagranie dźwiękowe abstraktu dotyczące czym jest uzależnienie, narkotyki, alkohol, nikotyna

What is an addiction?

For ages people were using different chemical substances, the so‑called stimulants, which influence our moods, well‑being and the way we view the reality. Among the stimulants there are widely used and accepted substances like caffeine in coffee or theine – ingredient of tea, as well as dangerous substances, like nicotine. Other legal and dangerous substance is alcoholalcoholalcohol – consumed in large amounts can lead to i.e. alcohol addiction (alcoholism), liver damage or evan death. Substances that can permanently influence our health are: designer drugs, medicines taken contrary to doctor’s orders, drugs. All of them can become strong addictive substances, in some cases the addiction is so strong that addicts can resort to theft and other crimes. AddictionaddictionAddiction is a type of an illness.

Psychological addiction is based on constant thinking of taking and obtaining of a given substance. It is accompanied by justifying oneself and looking for important reasons which are supposed to justify taking of the substance. At the same time, it lowers the interest in other aspects of life and leads to the disappearance of will. Psychological addiction remains in people forever, so relapsing is possible even when a person has been an abstinent for many years.

Physiological dependence results from our body getting accustomed to the action of a particular substance at a certain level. Lowering that level can lead to numerous problems called withdrawal syndrome. Those include pains, feeling cold, diarrheas, high blood pressure and heart problems, insomnia, excessive sweating and dryness in the mouth.

Drugs

DrugsdrugsDrugs are dangerous addictive substances. When taken regularly they lead to physiological addiction and psychological addiction called drug addictiondrug addictiondrug addiction. Substances that are considered narcotics are substances of plant origin and synthetic origin. According to the WHO, narcotics are also alcohol and nicotine. Drugs damage the liver, kidneys, they degenerate brain tissue and influence the brain, limit the ability to think and remember, as well as cause negative changes in behaviour. Depending on the substance, narcotics can cause unnatural state of agitation, delusions and hallucinations or lowered activity of the body. Overdosing on drugs can lead to death. In addition, it is common among drug addicts to use the same needles and syringes to introduce the narcotics, which makes it easy to transfer the HIV virus and viruses that cause hepatitis type B and C.

Alcohol

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How does alcohol influence the body of a human?
Source: Dariusz Adryan, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

AlcoholalcoholAlcohol is one of the most popular stimulants that have intoxicating effects. It has accompanied us for ages. Alcohol is consumed during family events and official events, it has a particular role in many people's lives. However, when consumed excessively, it influences their behaviour and health.

Alcohol does not require digestion – it is directly absorbed from the digestive tract to the blood. That is why it quickly reaches all the organs. Just after consuming it, alcohol causes pleasant relaxation. However, even small amounts of alcohol absorbed by the brain weaken the areas that control neural coordination, movement coordination, attention and the ability to assess the situation. Alcohol consumed in excess causes intoxication, whose symptoms are: slurring speech, double vision, problems with balance and stupor. Regular use of alcohol can lead to alcoholismalcoholismalcoholism – an addiction that is hard to manage. Alcohol level in the blood is expressed in Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), expressed in % by volume. For instance, in North America a BAC of 0.1 (0.1%) means that there are 0.10 g of alcohol for every 100 ml of blood.

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Alcohol in various forms acts the same way
Source: Dariusz Adryan, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

Nicotine

While smoking tobbacco, nicotine is absorbed to the blood already in the oral cavity and upper airways. Delivered to blood, it goes through the alveoli and, with blood, reaches all the cells. Under the influence of nicotine, the brain produces substances that influence the emotions. They stimulate the organism and cause the feeling of pleasure. The brain quickly begins expecting regular amounts of nicotine and, when it stops receiving them, it experiences withdrawal symptoms – this is how nicotine addictionnicotine addictionnicotine addiction is created. Regular consumption of nicotine damages the cardiovascular system. It increases the frequency of heart beats and narrows the arteries. It causes the blood pressure to rise, which may lead to heart diseases and damage to other organs. Large amounts of nicotine cause intoxication, which often results in nausea, vomiting, heart pounding and fainting.

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Exercise 1
Select all the statements that are true. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. Addiction is a type of an illness and should be treated correctly., 2. You can get addicted not only to a chemical substance, but also to a certain behaviour., 3. Excessive and uncontrollable use of computer, TV or mobile phone is not an addiction., 4. The withdrawal syndrome can lead to pain, a feeling of heat, and low blood pressure., 5. A person who conquered her addiction once before does not need to be afraid of relapsing.
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Exercise 2
Match the names with their corresponding groups. Addiction to an action Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. gambling, 2. tanorexia, 3. nicotine addiction, 4. sugar addiction, 5. anorexia/bulimia, 6. computer addiction, 7. addiction to training, 8. shopaholism, 9. workaholism, 10. drug addiction, 11. caffeine addiction, 12. alcoholism. Addictions to chemical substances Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. gambling, 2. tanorexia, 3. nicotine addiction, 4. sugar addiction, 5. anorexia/bulimia, 6. computer addiction, 7. addiction to training, 8. shopaholism, 9. workaholism, 10. drug addiction, 11. caffeine addiction, 12. alcoholism
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Exercise 3
Match the consequences of using addictive substances to their names. alcohol Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. they can alter our consciousness in various ways, overdose leads to death, 2. stimulates our body causing the feeling of pleasure, increases the frequency of heat beats and narrows the arteries, which leads to higher blood pressure, 3. in small doses it causes us to relax, at the same time lowering the attention, coordination of movements and the ability to assess the situation, 4. in small doses it stimulates our body, but in large doses it can cause bad mood, states of dread and heart pounding caffeine Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. they can alter our consciousness in various ways, overdose leads to death, 2. stimulates our body causing the feeling of pleasure, increases the frequency of heat beats and narrows the arteries, which leads to higher blood pressure, 3. in small doses it causes us to relax, at the same time lowering the attention, coordination of movements and the ability to assess the situation, 4. in small doses it stimulates our body, but in large doses it can cause bad mood, states of dread and heart pounding drugs Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. they can alter our consciousness in various ways, overdose leads to death, 2. stimulates our body causing the feeling of pleasure, increases the frequency of heat beats and narrows the arteries, which leads to higher blood pressure, 3. in small doses it causes us to relax, at the same time lowering the attention, coordination of movements and the ability to assess the situation, 4. in small doses it stimulates our body, but in large doses it can cause bad mood, states of dread and heart pounding nicotine Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. they can alter our consciousness in various ways, overdose leads to death, 2. stimulates our body causing the feeling of pleasure, increases the frequency of heat beats and narrows the arteries, which leads to higher blood pressure, 3. in small doses it causes us to relax, at the same time lowering the attention, coordination of movements and the ability to assess the situation, 4. in small doses it stimulates our body, but in large doses it can cause bad mood, states of dread and heart pounding

Summary

  • Addiction is the strong need to take a certain addictive substance in order to feel pleasure or to get rid of negative consequences of its lack, e.g. alcohol consumption, smoking tabbacco, computer games, shopping.

  • Drugs mainly work on nervous system, especially how the brain works, and they lead to the addiction of the organism.

  • Alcoholism is a social disease that damages the drinker and his family.

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Grafika przedstawiająca tablicę szkolną, na której znajdują się zdania do dokończenia. Finish selected sentences. 1 It was easy for me (uzupełnij). 2 It was difficult for me (uzupełnij). 3 Today I learned (uzupełnij). 4 I understood that (uzupełnij). 5 It surprised me (uzupełnij).
How was this lesson? Did you like it? Finish selected sentences.

Keywords

nicotine, alcohol, drugs

Glossary

alcohol
alcohol
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka alcohol

alkohol – potoczna nazwa napoju zawierającego alkohol etylowy (etanol), odurzający związek chemiczny o działaniu narkotycznym i uzależniającym; powoduje chorobę nazywaną alkoholizmem

alcoholism
alcoholism
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka alcoholism

alkoholizm – choroba alkoholowa wywołana nadużywaniem alkoholu; polega na niemożności rezygnacji z jego spożywania

drug addiction
drug addiction
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka drug addiction

narkomania – potoczna nazwa uzależnienia od substancji chemicznych wpływających na pracę mózgu

drugs
drugs
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka drugs

narkotyki – potoczna nazwa niektórych substancji odurzających działających na ośrodkowy układ nerwowy; ich regularne przyjmowanie prowadzi do uzależnienia fizycznego i psychicznego nazywanego narkomanią

nicotine addiction
nicotine addiction
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka nicotine addiction

nikotynizm – uzależnienie polegające na częstym paleniu tytoniu

addiction
addiction
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka addiction

uzależnienie – nabyta silna potrzeba wykonywania jakiejś czynności lub zażywania jakiejś substancji