Unit 3 –Drugs

Alcohol & Tobacco

Learning Intentions
 Describe rates of drinking and smoking

amongst young people

 Explain health risks associated with

alcohol and tobacco

 Explore effects of alcohol and tobacco

Alcohol? What is it?
Alcohol is a colourless liquid contained in wine,

beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks

Alcohol is a depressant because it slows down the

way your brain relays information to the rest of the

body
The legal age to buy alcohol in Australia is 18 years of

age
Types of Alcohol
Beer

Wine

Cider

Spirits (e.g. vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, whisky)

Liqueurs (e.g. coffee, hazelnut or melon flavoured alcohol)

Pre-mixed drinks (e.g. cans of bourbon and cola, bottles of

vodka or rum mixed with soft drink)

Fortified wines (e.g. port, sherry)
Young People and Alcohol
The human brain is still developing and maturing

well into the 20s

Research findings show that drinking alcohol during

the teenage years can disrupt healthy brain

development
For this reason, teenagers are advised to avoid

drinking for as long as possible

Young People and Alcohol
On average, young people have a smaller body mass than

adults and so have less water

This means that in a younger person there is less water to

dilute the alcohol, so the alcohol will have a greater effect

When young people do drink, it is often out with friends

in a situation where they are at high-risk of accidents or

injury
Effects of Alcohol
Alcohol is the most commonly used recreational

drug in Australia
After tobacco, it is the second leading cause of drug-

related death and hospital admissions

Effects of Alcohol
Immediate
Slower breathing and heart rate
Drowsiness
Feeling of relaxation
Long Term Health Risks
Dependence (addiction)
Increased risk of anxiety and depression
Increased risk of diabetes and obesity

Dehydration Brain damage

Unsteadiness, loss of coordination Heart and liver problems

Risky behaviour Cancer

Nausea, vomiting Alcohol use during pregnancy can lead

to serious birth defects
Alcohol Use Among Young Australians
The use of alcohol among young people aged 12-17

declined from 74% in 2011 to 66% in 2017

This means that in 2017 about one in three (34%) young

people in Australia have never consumed alcohol and

reflects a downward trend over recent decades
More young people in Australia are choosing not to

drink
Alcohol Use Among Young Australians
Rates of high-risk drinking among young people remain

high
One in four young people report drinking five or more

alcoholic drinks in a single session in the past month

(23%)
Among young people who had drunk alcohol, one in

three reported they did something they later regretted

(28%)
Smoking
 Cigarettes are made from the dried and cured leaves of the

tobacco plant
 Nicotine is the key addictive drug in tobacco

 Nicotine can be found in:

 Tailor-made manufactured cigarettes

 Roll-your-own cigarettes

 Cigars
 What else do cigarettes contain?
 Research shows that cigarette smoke contains more than 7 000

chemicals, many of which are harmful toxins. These include:

 Carbon monoxide — this also comes out of car exhausts

 Lead, mercury, chromium — toxic metals

 Ammonia — found in cleaning products and added to

cigarettes to increase the nicotine hit

How many young people have tried it?
 Smoking rates among school students have fallen greatly

since the 1980s

 According to the 2017 Australian secondary schools' survey,

1 in 20 students (5%) aged 12–17 reported they had smoked

in the previous week
Effects of Smoking
Even though smoking is legal, it doesn’t mean that

it’s safe, or that it is less harmful than illegal drugs

Smoking is responsible for more deaths than any

other drug
Smoking is legal because it was already widely used

and socially accepted before the health risks

became understood
Effects of Smoking
Immediate
Increased heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Shortness of breath
Stained teeth and fingers
Bad breath
Risky behaviour
Persistent coughing Increased risk of heart disease (smokers
Long Term Health Risks
Dependence (addiction)
Dental problems 
Premature aging
Reduced physical fitness
Diabetes, cancer
Lung disease (e.g., emphysema)
are 2-4 times more at risk)