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Find out everything you need to know about drugs, their effects and the law. Talk to Frank for facts, support and advice on drugs and alcohol today. | FRANK

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1.3 - Use & Abuse of Drugs | gcse-revision, science, aqa-science, unit-1-biology, 1-3-use-abuse-drugs | Revision World

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Drugs affect our body chemistry. Medical drugs are developed and tested before being used to relieve illness or disease. Drugs may also be used recreationally as people like the effect on the body. Some drugs are addictive. Some athletes take drugs to improve performance.

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Effects of Smoking and Alcohol | 9-1 GCSE Biology | OCR, AQA, Edexcel

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Alcohol and liver function

Drinking excess can damage the liver, the organ responsible for processing and breaking down alcohol.

The liver can its cells, but long-term alcohol abuse causes serious damage:

the patient begins by feeling sick, experiences weight loss, loss of appetite, there is a yellowing of the eyes, confusion, drowsiness and vomiting blood

alcohol causes lipids to build up in the - fatty liver disease

alcohol damage leads to alcoholic , which can lead to death

of the liver can develop - the liver becomes scarred and loses its ability to function

changes are now irreversible and the reduced ability to process alcohol can also lead to brain damage

Alcohol and brain function

Alcohol affects the brain in several ways, it:

slows reaction time

causes difficulty walking

can impair memory

causes slurred speech

causes changes in sleep patterns and mood, including increased anxiety and depression

Longer term drinking of excess alcohol:

causes brain shrinkage

leads to memory problems

leads to psychiatric problems

may result in the patient requiring long-term care

The effects of alcohol on unborn babies

Alcohol can lead to a variety of physical, developmental and behavioural effects on the fetus. The most serious is alcohol syndrome - the fetus:

is smaller in size

has a smaller brain with fewer neurones

will have long-term learning and behavioural difficulties

has distinct facial features

Human and financial costs of alcoholism

Alcoholism has impacts on social and economic aspects:

there is increased violence, antisocial behaviour and other crime associated with alcoholism

there is an increased risk of accidents

there is increased absence from work

alcoholism causes mental decline

alcoholism increases treatment costs to NHS

In many countries, drinking during pregnancy is decreasing as awareness of the harm to the fetus that alcohol causes is increasing. The data in the stacked bar chart is from Australia:

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Non-communicable diseases - AQA - Revision 5 - GCSE Biology (Single Science) - BBC Bitesize

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Drinking excess can damage the liver, the organ responsible for processing and breaking down alcohol.