Prescription drug abuse causes

All prescription drug abuse may lead to harmful consequences such as accidents, injuries, blackouts, legal problems, and unsafe sexual behavior, which can increase the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Specifically, each class of drugs has certain potentially life-threatening consequences of abuse. The abuse of opioids may lead to severe respiratory depression and inability to breathe, which can lead to death. Depressants may also cause respiratory depression and may lead to seizures if an addict suddenly stops taking them. Stimulants speed up the body s activities and raise blood pressure and heart rate, and when abused, may lead to a heart attack, stroke, or a seizure. Combinations... 

Sibutramine use also carries the risk of side effects, which include elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, dry mouth, nausea, and dizziness. Abuse of sibutramine can cause dilated pupils, excessive bleeding or bruising, tremor, and anxiety. As with all prescription drugs, it is essential to use sibutramine according a doctor s instructions. The alternative is the possibility of unpleasant side effects and dangerous outcomes. 

The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioids and opiates such as oxycodone and morphine, central nervous system depressants such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines, and stimulants such as dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate. Brand-name painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin, depressants such as Valium and Xanax, and stimulants such as Ritalin and Dexedrine are commonly abused (as are some OTC cough remedies). Although helpful and safe when used appropriately, these drugs can cause serious harm when taken in unapproved ways. 

All barbiturates have the potential to be abused and cause addiction. Different barbiturates are designated as schedule II, III, and IV drugs, which means that all barbiturates require a prescription from a doctor or health care provider and the prescription must contain the doctor s DEA number. Physicians must obtain a special license to get a DEA number in order to prescribe controlled or addictive substances such as barbiturates. Doctors are very cautious about prescribing barbiturates to patients who have a history of drug abuse. 

Worker impairment caused by mood-altering substances is not new. For several decades, alcohol has topped the hst of drugs that can adversely impact an employee s health however, use of over-the-counter medications, as well as abuse of prescription drugs, poses an increasingly large problem in the workplace. In addition to alcohol, the common types of drugs that may be encountered in toda/s workplace include ... 

Prescription and over-the-counter drugs and substances of abuse that can cause depressive symptoms. 

Michael Jackson, one of the world s most popular singers and performers, who died in 2009 from misuse of a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep. Jackson had a history of abuse of prescription painkillers, caused initially by injuries sustained during a rehearsal accident that set his hair on fire. The inappropriate use of propofol, the drug that killed him, has led authorities to charge Jackson s personal physician with manslaughter. 

The adverse effects of amphetamine and related sympathomimetic appetite suppressants are well documented. All of these agents are classified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as controlled substances (classes II-IV) according to their potential for causing addiction (see Table 15.4). Class II agents such as amphetamine are highly abused, with prescription restricted to speeial circumstances class TV anorectic drugs such as sibutramine, phentermine, di-ethylpropion, and mazindol have minimal abuse potential. 

Dextromethorphan, an effective antitussive drug, is the dextrorotatory stereoisomer of a derivative of levorphanol. The drug is available without a prescription and is the active component in many over-the-counter cough suppressants. Dextromethorphan has no appreciable analgesic activity and minimal abuse liability. In comparison with codeine—also an effective antitussive—dextromethorphan causes less constipation. The answer is (D). 

Abuse of legally obtainable substances is also of growing concern worldwide. Alcohol and tobacco abuse continue to create a major burden on the economies and health care systems of most developed countries because of high rates of morbidity and mortality caused by associated diseases, including cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hepatic cirrhosis, and others. In addition, there is substantial anecdotal evidence that abuse of prescription psychoactive drugs continues to increase as use of these synthetic pharmaceuticals becomes more widespread in many countries where they are commonly available in over-the-counter forms in the absence of professional medical advise or supervision. 

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