Substance-Related Disorders Essay Example

While terrorism and accidents are blamed for the increase in deaths over the whole globe, deaths caused by other factors that are also controllable to a great extent are largely ignored. 440,000 people presumably die only in the United States because of smoking (Comer, 2013). There is no telling what the actual figure would be if the statistics for the whole world are collected. Moreover, other substance abuse results in more deaths.
Nicotine is the substance that is held culpable for addiction to tobacco smoking. When a person tries to quit smoking, he/she craves for the effects of nicotine and thus develops fractiousness, disturbance in sleeping patterns, disturbed appetite, and other withdrawal symptoms (Comer, 2013). It is for this reason that products like nicotine gum and nicotine patch have been developed, in order to ease the process of quitting. However, the willingness to quit is always necessary.
Overdose refers to the intake of a drug above than the normal or suggested amount. In the case of more dangerous drugs, an overdose can spell death. Heroin overdose is one of such cases. When injected into the body, heroin’s effects are felt more speedily (Christensen, 2014). Other ways of taking it are by way of smoking, eating or snorting. Heroin converts into morphine inside the body which creates the feeling of going ‘high’. However, heroin overdose can result in death because the effects of morphine are so severe that it causes the person to sleep, and the body forgets to breathe (Christensen, 2014). Heroin overdose can also lead to heart failure by causing a drop in blood pressure (Christensen, 2014). Therefore, there are numerous risks associated with a heroin overdose.

References

Christensen, Jen. (2014, Aug. 29). How heroin kills you. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/04/health/how-heroin-kills/
Comer, Ronald J. (2013). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York City, New York: Worth Publishers.