Should smart drugs be allowed for university students?

Introduction

The debate over the use of smart drugs in universities continues due to its pros and cons.

Some people believe that it should be allowed for university students because of its benefits such

as it enhance the cognitive abilities of the students that help the students to ensure good

performance in sports. On the other hand, the short term benefits cause long term negative

effects on the students. According to Cakic (2010), smart drugs or performance-enhancing drugs

must be banned for university students because of these drugs' unethical environmental as well as

the uneven and irregular field of playing. It is because it discourages the students that possess the

capabilities to perform and those who take these drugs show more performance in the field for

that particular time which is unjust for the competitive students. Besides, these drugs also cause

negative impacts on the health and personality of the students. The essay will argue that the use of

smart drugs should be avoided by university students as it may have negative impacts on their health,

personality, and ethics.

Supporting Arguments

Drugs & Negative Impact on Human Health

Smart drugs have been reported to have negative impacts on human health and they must be

banned and not allowed to the university students. According to Repantis et al (2010), smart drugs have a

lot of side effects for those students who use it for the sake of temporary benefits. The most prominent

side effects caused by these drugs include dizziness, sleeping disruptions, anxiety, depression,

gastrointestinal issues, nervousness, headaches, tachycardia, and many others. It shows that smart drugs

negatively impact the psychological health of its consumers. Thought man authors argue that it does not

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impact the health on that proportion which cannot be treated but it has certain moderate negative impacts

(Buyx, 2015). It shows that the use of smart drugs cannot be just as it is not harmless. This is however

true that the use of smart drugs is not completely risky and unsafe but those who declare it unproblematic

and safe are taking unsound and irrational decisions because it has a direct impact on the health of the

students including children and adults. Many people argue that these drugs are only risky for those who

are patients as they need protection from such things but this is not the complete reality. It is because it

enhances the risk factors among adults as well by affecting their health negatively (Greely et al, 2018). It

shows that the side effect frequency could be higher in children, adolescents and healthy individuals

rather than sick people. That’s why they should not be allowed to use such drugs because of their side-

effects.

Drugs & Negative Personality Changes

The use of smart drugs may lead to negative personality changes and university students must not be

allowed to consume them at any cost. It is reported that these drugs cause addiction which then leads to

several alarming situations. Everyone knows that the addiction or extreme of anything is not good and it

is the same in the case of consumption of smart drugs. It could have negative personality effects such as

the addiction that will lead towards the negative and unexpected behavior of the consumers (Guardian,

2012). Moreover, the same fact has found by Bostrom in 2010 in his study that the use of these drugs

leads towards the personality changes negatively because its addiction does not only cause harm to the

person who takes it but also to the people associated with him. It is because anything that happens in

society with an individual has an impact on the society as a whole such as it might be possible that the

person who is addicted to such drugs utilize unfair means to get it which is ethically wrong and have a

negative effect on the society as a whole. Though people in some professions when using these smart

drugs will indeed experience a positive impact on their cognitive abilities this will only for that particular

time and will harm their personality for a longer time. It is because this will not only lead towards

personal changes but also social changes negatively (Hyman, 2011). It states how people of certain

professions including students are forced to use smart drugs but have to face the negative personality

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impacts in the long run. According to President Council (2013), the use of smart drugs discourages the

authenticity of a person because the efficiency factor is a boost for some time to win which person does

not perform according to what he/she actually can do or perform. It shows how the use of these drugs

underestimates the authenticity, originality, and purity of a person in different fields of life. Moreover, it

concludes that the authenticity and real feelings of a person are challenged if he/she uses smart drugs

Counter Argument & Refutation

Smart Drugs & Increased Academic Performance

Smart drugs can help enhance the academic performance of students and they should allow using

smart drugs. According to Partridge (2011), the consumption of smart drugs ensures several benefits for

the students because it enhances their ability to work, brain functioning, and cognitive skills. These drugs

help to ensure focus, keen attention, reduction of fatigue, and improvement in learning. Moreover, it helps

a person to do more work in less time as well as stay awake for more performance. Besides, one can also

utilize these smart drugs to get relief from the jet-lag. However, smart drugs could do more harm than

good. The detailed research should be done on each smart drug to weigh its harms and goods and then

should be used to enhance performance by students. It is because several studies have shown the negative

impacts of these drugs on health, ethics, and personality of its users that are not for some time but longer

period. Also, it shows how risky these drugs can be for a person as well as for society.

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Bibliography

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Dijstelbloem, & D. Ringoir (Eds.), Reshaping the human condition: Exploring human

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Cakic V. Smart drugs for cognitive enhancement: ethical and pragmatic considerations in the era of

cosmetic neurology. J Med Ethics. 2010;35:611–615

Greely, H., Sahakian, B., Harris, J., Kessler, R. C., Gazzaniga, M., Campbell, P., & Farah, M. J. (2018).

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