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Effects of smoking and nicotine essay
Effects of smoking and nicotine essay
Effects of smoking and nicotine essay
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The use of Phenol as an antiseptic prevented the actual contraction of infectious bacterium, but once the infection was in your body, it was practically a death sentence. When prontosil red enters the body, it breaks down into sulfanilamide, which was the active bacteria fighting ingredient of the prontosil red molecule. Once it was discovered that sulfanilamide was the molecule responsible for the antibacterial properties, the structure of this molecule was changed many times in hopes that it would make the drug more effective. Sulfa drugs were found to be very effective against infections such as pneumonia, scarlet fever, and gonorrhea, but they also had a long list of side effects including an allergic response, rashes, fever, and kidney …show more content…
A more primitive form of birth control was the use of the female hormone, progesterone. Its released naturally by female’s body during pregnancy to control ovulation. This is the same idea as the use of progestesterone as a contraceptive, progestesterone prevents ovulation. The only problem is that it’s difficult and expensive and also it has to be injected to maintain it strength. To fix the problem of progestesterone the pill was used. It is eight times more powerful and can be taken orally. Morphine, nicotine, and Caffeine are all addictive alkaloid molecules that had a great impact on trade relations between various nations. Morphine, the active ingredient in Opium, is an extremely effective painkiller has a narcotic, and psychedelic effect. Morphine imitates the painkilling endorphins in our heads. Morphine has been a cure for many different symptoms. The molecule must have a phenyl or aromatic ring, a quaternary carbon atom, and a CH2-CH2 group attached to a tertiary Nitrogen atom. Morphine is responsible for the narcotic effects of many chemical compounds. Tobacco was spread because of its addictive qualities. Nicotine is the common alkaloid in tobacco. It is also used as an effective natural
It is a long-with-standing stereotype that Italians love to gamble. This is true. My great grandfather, Pasquale Giovannone, played the riskiest hand of cards when he immigrated to the United States as an illegal stowaway at the age of thirteen. He forged a life for himself amidst the ever-changing social and political shifts of the early nineteenth century. The legacy he left would later lead to the birth of my father, John Giovannone, in Northern New Jersey in 1962.
In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.
Before the mid 1900’s the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was formed to tax those making, importing or selling any derivative of opium or coca leaves. In the 1920s, doctors became aware of the highly addictive nature of opioids and started to avoid treating patients with them (Center, 2004). In 1924 heroin became illegal. However according to a history published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, anesthesiologists opened "nerve block clinics" in the 1950s and 1960s to manage pain without having to resort to surgery (Meldrum, 2003). This push for treating pain without surgery was a major factor in the opioid epidemic we see today. In 2008 the overdose death rate was almost four times the rate in 1999, and the sales of prescription pain relievers in 2010 were four times higher than in 1999 (Paulozzi et al, 2011). The substance use disorder treatment admission rate is also greater than in 1999, with it having been six times higher in 2009. Chasing Heroin’s claims surrounding the fear of prescribing pain medications is accurate as you see an increase in public policies surrounding opiate use in the early 1900’s. The climbing rates of overdose deaths and the increased amount of people seeking addiction treatment suggests that the fear of prescription opiates was
The first two chapters of the book are about the drugs in general. The chapters explained how drugs have been used in the early history of the peoples for clients welfare, religious rites, but also to produce intoxication and euphoria.
The wonder-drug of the early nineteenth century was finally being recognised as a dangerously addictive substance, although the interests of imperial traders kept it legal for another five decades, until the Dangerous Drugs Act was passed in 1920. This Act made it illegal to possess opiates without a doctor’s prescription.
Brecher, Edward M. (1972) Licit and Illicit Drugs; The Consumers Union Report on narcotics, stimulants, depressants, inhalants, Hallucinogens, and marijuana- including caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. New York, 291-390
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Almost overnight one such venerable substance (or class of substances) has been catapulted into the national spotlight: prescription painkillers, namely those derived from the opium poppy. This class of analgesic encompasses everything from the codeine in prescription cough syrup to the morphine used in the management of sever pain. These compounds are commonly referred to as opiates and are produced naturally by the poppy. The sub-class of this type that has gotten all of the attention recently is the opioids, which are semi-synthetic compounds derived from the opiates (Wade 846). Opioids were developed for a variety of reasons, such as reducing the cost of production (morphine is expensive to synthesize) and attempting to reduce the addictiveness of the drugs.
Opium was first used mainly for medical purposes before the 17th century, the transition from a recreational drug was marked by the change from swallowing the compound raw, to mixing it with tobacco and smoking it (Chang 1964). Although the morphine component...
Opium, the first opioid, is derived from the sap of opium poppies, whose growth and cultivation dates back to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia around 3400 BC. Egyptians and Persians initially used opium. Eventually spreading to various parts of Europe, India, China, and the Middle East. During the 18th century, physicians in the U.S. used opium as a therapeutic agent for multiple purposes, including relieving pain in cancer, spasms from tetanus, and pain attendant to menstruation and childbirth. It was merely towards the end of the 18th century that some physicians came to recognize the addictive quality of opium.
Anti-drug legislation has had an extensive and fascinating record in the United States. The initial drug that showed prevalent use in the nation was Opium, which came primarily from China. Opium was utilized as a recommendation drug by doctors, but the growing cases of addiction led to laws alongside this drug. The greater part of the opium addicts were girls due to the doctors tend to recommend the drug for many women’s particular problems. In 1875, a law was approved in California barring individuals from smoking opium. While the law pertained generally to Chinese immigrants it was the first place in anti-drug provision is the Unites States. At the Federal stage, the prohibition of importation of opium by Chinese nationals happened in 1887 and in 1905 opium smoking was constrained in the Philippines (Harrison). While these regulations were the initial steps, they did not have any absolute provisions to decrease drug supply and use in the country. The laws beleaguered the lessening of delivery of drugs in the country and do not deal with the problem of treatment of a true illness.
It is said that they had many different uses for it. Uses ranged from relaxing to calming a young child (History of Drug Abuse). It is also believed that Opium was not only used for medical purposes, but also for rituals. When used in rituals, it was used by magicians, priests, warriors and shamans (About Opiate Addiction). It was not until much later that people began using opiates recreationally. This occurred around the fourteenth century in the Middle East, fifteenth century in China and late in the 1800’s for the United States. Once the Chinese began immigrating to the United States, they brought Opium with them and introduced the Americans to abusing and depending on it (About Opiate Addiction). Another take on where opium came from originally is from London. It is also believed that opium was big in London, and introduced to America when it would be shipped overseas to settlers here in the United States (The history of drug). It seems safe to say that no one truly knows exactly where the use of opiates originated or when it did. History in this matter is just not clearly stated
Drug use has been around since the B.C. era and will continue until the extinction of man. Humans have a history of using drugs that affect the mind and vision and that aspect of humanity still continues to this day. “Since the dawn of history, mankind has found ways to relieve the daily grind of life.” The earliest known use of drugs dates back to the ancient city of Mesopotamia where the farming of wheat and barley came a product known as beer. The ancient Mesopotamians would indulge on the beer and get drunk creating a problem with alcoholics for the ancient city. This is not uncommon to see, mankind has always had an experimental side. If it wasn’t for that experimental side civilization would not be where it is today. Humans used drugs in the past in the medical field, such as cocaine to alleviate toothaches, or opium which was also cultivated by the Mesopotamians as a relaxing plant. Even ancient Greece used a special mixture of beer to induce hallucinations, or they would also partake in using opium to stimulate their minds and get the creative flow started. Ancient Rome was also known to be a civilization that had a large population of drug users. Drugs in the past weren’t always used just for recreational use; they did have a part in the medicinal field. Doctors of ancient times would give the patients a prescription depending on their ailments. Opium was used as a headache medicine, pain reliever or even a stress reliever. The use of opium has even been used up until recently in the civil war in the United States, even former President Harrison was given opium to try and help with pneumonia. Opium is also the plant that morphine is derived from, which is used in the medical field today as a powerful pain reliever. Drugs ...
The use of tobacco dates back to the 17th century. The primary reason for its beginning was purely economic at first. It later became apparent to researchers over the decades that tobacco was more than just a commodity to be traded for economic gain. It was actually a drug, nicotine, which developed into physical dependency and had adverse side effects as people began to live longer. Further research at the social level, revealed its social impact on the western culture.
Opium was introduced to America when Chinese immigrants came to California in the 1850’s to work in the gold mines and on the railroads (DEA Museum). It didn’t take long for American’s to become addicted to opium. Opium dens became common in communities and women and young people started to take pleasure in the far off land of euphoria that opium provided. Due to the overgrowing popularity and concern of the affects this drug had taken on the population the government tried to implement taxes. “Initially, opium was taxed, then licensed, then discouraged, and ultimately made illegal for most us...