Facts on File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

cigarette and smoke it, which allows absorption
through the LUNGS.
The short-term health risks of narcotic use
include

• drowsiness


• reduced alertness or consciousness


• NAUSEA, VOMITING, and constipation

Health risks that may occur with long-term use
of narcotics include

• TOLERANCE, dependence, and addiction


• INFECTIONthrough shared needles among those
  who inject the drugs


• depressed respiration and RESPIRATORY FAILURE
  leading to death as the boundary between
  effective and toxic dosages grows increasingly
  narrow

Narcotic antagonists are drugs that have greater
affinity for opiate receptors than do narcotics; they
are able to “bump” opioids from the receptors.
These drugs are often effective for treating nar-
cotic OVERDOSEand addiction. DETOXIFICATIONfrom
narcotic addiction often entails numerous with-
drawal symptoms that are more severe the longer
a person has taken or abused the drugs.

COMMON NARCOTICS

Opiates (Narcotics of Natural Origin)

codeine HEROIN
hydrocodone hydromorphone
morphine oxycodone
paregoric (opium) thebaine

Synthetics (Opioids)

BUPRENORPHINE butorphanol
dextropropoxyphene fentanyl
meperidine METHADONE
pentazocine

See also ANALGESIC MEDICATIONS; ILLICIT DRUG USE;
NARROW THERAPEUTIC INDEX(NTI); PRESCRIPTION DRUG
ABUSE; SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION; SUBSTANCE ABUSE
TREATMENT; WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME.

needle exchange programs See INJECTING DRUGS,

RISKS OF.

nicotine The primary psychoactive DRUG in

tobacco and SMOKING CESSATIONproducts. Nicotine

has stimulant as well as vasoconstrictive effects

and is highly addictive. Many health experts con-

sider nicotine at least as addictive as COCAINEand

HEROIN. Most tobacco users, particularly smokers,

attempt to quit numerous times before they

achieve long-term success. Nicotine crosses the

BLOOD–BRAIN BARRIER within seconds of tobacco

use, where it affects the presence and activity of

several BRAINneurotransmitters, notably DOPAMINE

and acetylcholine. These actions set in motion a

cascade of events throughout the body that affect

multiple functions, ranging from mood to cardio-

vascular activity.

Common sources of nicotine include

• cigarettes


• cigars


• NICOTINE REPLACEMENTproducts


• smokeless (chewing) tobacco
  •snuff

HEALTH RISKS OF NICOTINE ABUSE

Short Term

activation of STRESS RESPONSE HORMONAL CASCADE

elevated BLOOD PRESSURE

increased HEART RATE

vasoconstriction

Long Term

ADDICTION

ARTERIOSCLEROSIS

chronic HYPERTENSION

health complications associated with tobacco use

inability to focus without nicotine in the BLOODcirculation

As a stimulant nicotine can heighten a person’s

mental focus and cognitive capability. However,

tolerance develops rapidly such that with contin-

ued use (nicotine ADDICTION) this effect diminishes.

Nicotine, through its effect on acetylcholine in the

brain, activates the STRESS RESPONSE HORMONAL CAS-

CADE, increasing the flow of EPINEPHRINEand NOR-

nicotine 345