Introduction
To our contemporary society where everybody undergoes one particular form of stress or the other, people often those drugs and alcohol to cope with or manage their stress. Some however take these substances as a means of socialization. No matter the reasons for taking them; these substances cause more serious problems than the initial one that led to their uses.
These substances come in different forms and they vary in their potency. because they are usually misused by people, they are termed "Substance of abuse". Examples are alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine and crack etc. prescription drugs. this is the commonest day-to-day drugs abuse. They are normally prescribed by the medical practitioners but are often abused by people most especially people that perform strenuous jobs like labourers . Examples are Paracetamol, alium, Aspirin, Fansidar, Tetracycline etc. They can lead to sluggishness and hyperactivity, impaired reflexes, addiction and brain damage. alcohol.
This is so far, the most widely abused substance. It comes in form of beers, , wines etc. It is usually taken to believe stress by the adults; and when taken by the children, especially adolescents or teens, it is usually due to peer pressure. Alcohol consumption has a lot of side effects some of which are: poor judgement and co-ordination, drowsiness, mood swings, and the accumulation of alcohol in the body can lead to liver damage and heart dysfunction. Caffeine. This is another common substance of abuse.
It is a major constituent in coffee, and other beverages. Students usually abuse it at the time of examination to keep them awake throughout the night. This unfortunately leads to disruptions of the normal sleep cycles of the individual. The dangers inherent in its usage include: poor level of assimilation, irritation, restlessness, and brain block at the commencement of examination.
Nicotine: Nicotine is next in line to alcohol in terms of prevalence. Quite a high percentage of the worlds population take cigarettes and cigar, both of which have nicotine as the main, constituent. Worse, Many people by virtue of the smokes being puffed out by the smokers have themselves become secondary smokers. Thus, this puts them at the risk of getting the complications of nicotine inhalation.
The adverse effects of nicotine are: respiratory dysfunction such as pneumonia and bronchitis; cardiovascular dysfunction such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis e.t.c. Its effects may also manifest as reno vascular dysfunction. Marijuana. Like nicotine, marijuana is addictive but it is more potent. It can cause impaired short term memory, slow reaction time, lung diseases and infertility.
Cocaine and crack: These are highly addictive, They cause excitement and speed up performance but this is usually short - lived. It leaves more permanent damages as follows: short attention span, irritability and depression, seizure and heart attack. Parting shot. Generally, everyone pays when the side effects of these substances starts to manifest, since each individual is affected either directly or indirectly.
Hence the need to fashion out ways by which affected .individuals can be helped. Campaign programmes against these substances should be intensified among Muslims and they should be enlightened on the problems associated with those substances.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited