What do tobacco, alcohol and medicines do to my body?
Your guess
Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.
By the end you can
Explain how tobacco, alcohol and other drugs harm body systems
Explain why medicines must be taken only as directed
A drug is anything, other than food, that changes the way your body works. Some drugs are medicines. Others are tobacco, alcohol and drugs that some people use for the way they feel. This chapter gives plain facts. Build the picture of what they harm.
Draw it first
Draw what each one can harm
1 Draw the lungs and the heart. Tobacco harms both.
2 Add the liver and the stomach. Alcohol harms both.
3 Add the brain. Alcohol and other drugs change how it works.
Tobacco smoke harms the lungs. You read about this in the last chapters. It also makes the heart and the blood tubes work harder. Tobacco holds nicotine, a drug that makes a person want more. Chewed tobacco harms the mouth. Tobacco smoke also harms people who breathe it near a smoker.
Alcohol is a drug that slows the brain. A person who has drunk alcohol reacts more slowly, loses balance and judges badly. This is why alcohol and driving never mix.
The liver breaks alcohol down. Drinking a lot, for years, can badly damage the liver. It also harms the stomach, the heart and the brain. Young bodies are still growing, so they are harmed more. Alcohol is also harmful during pregnancy.
Other drugs affect the brain and the nervous system. Some make the heart race. Some slow the breathing. A drug from an unknown source can be especially dangerous, because nobody knows what is in it.
Each one can harm more than the organs named here. These are the main ones.
A drug can lead to addiction. This means the body and mind come to need it, and stopping is very hard. Addiction is a health problem. It is not a weakness, and nobody should be shamed for it.
Worried about a drug, for yourself or for a friend? You can always tell an adult you trust, or ask a health worker.
Someone may have taken a drug and be very sleepy. They may not wake, or may have trouble breathing. Get help at once, and stay with them. Tell an adult near you, or call the emergency number in your place.
A medicine is a drug that treats or prevents an illness. A medicine helps only when it is taken the right way. The amount you take each time is the dose.
See it three ways
With things
With an adult, read the label on a medicine box. Find how much to take, how often, for how long, and the last safe day.
As a picture
In words
Too little medicine may not work. Too much can poison the body, for example the liver. So take a medicine only as the label or a health worker says.
Take only the medicine that was meant for you. Never share it. Never take more to feel better sooner. Keep medicines where small children cannot reach them.
The order matters. Ask first, then take the medicine the way you are told.
Try it
Read a medicine label
You need: an empty medicine box or packet, given by a grown up, paper and a pencil.
Be safe: Use an empty box only. Never taste, smell or take any medicine as part of an activity. Keep real medicine where small children cannot reach it.
Ask a grown up for a medicine box that is empty. Put the box on the table in front of you.
Find the dose, how often it is taken, and the use by date.
Write each one in a table like the example in the picture.
What you will see: The label tells you exactly how much, how often and until when. It leaves nothing to guess.
If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A wrong idea many people have
If a little medicine helps, more will help more.
Why it feels right: More of a good thing often seems better.
The test that breaks it: The label gives one dose for a reason. Above that amount a medicine can harm the body. Too much of a common pain medicine, for example, can damage the liver.
What is true: Take a medicine only as a health worker or the label says. More is not better, and it can be harmful.
Key words
drug
anything, other than food, that changes how the body works.
medicine
a drug that treats or prevents an illness.
dose
the amount of a medicine to take each time.
addiction
a strong need for a drug that is very hard to stop.
Back to your guess
The answer is B: A medicine helps only in the right amount. Too much can harm.
A medicine helps when it is taken as directed. Too much, or the wrong one, can harm. Tobacco and alcohol can harm other people too.
Check yourself
Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.
Who can tobacco smoke harm?
See the answer
The smoker, and people who breathe the smoke nearby
Tobacco smoke harms the lungs of anyone who breathes it, not only the person who lights it.
If you chose B: Smoke spreads in the air. People near a smoker breathe it too, and it can harm their lungs. Go to S3.3.5.
If you chose C: Tobacco smoke carries harm at any amount. Less smoke means less harm, but not none. Go to S3.3.5.
What does alcohol do to the brain?
See the answer
It slows the brain down, so reactions and balance get worse
Alcohol slows the nervous system. A person who has drunk it reacts more slowly and loses balance.
If you chose B: Alcohol can feel as if it helps, but it slows the brain. A person is less able to think, react and balance. Go to S3.3.8.
If you chose C: Alcohol passes into the blood and reaches the brain. It slows the brain as well as harming the stomach. Go to S3.3.8.
Which organ breaks alcohol down, and can be badly damaged by drinking a lot for years?
See the answer
The liver
The liver breaks alcohol down. Years of heavy drinking can scar it and stop it working.
If you chose A: The bladder stores urine. It does not break alcohol down. Go to S3.3.8.
If you chose C: The skin does not break alcohol down. The liver does. Go to S3.3.8.
A person finds it very hard to stop using a drug. Which is true?
See the answer
It is a health problem, and a health worker can help without shaming them
Addiction is an illness. People get better with help from a health worker and from people who care.
If you chose A: Addiction is a health problem. It is not a weakness, and shame makes it harder to ask for help. Go to S3.3.8.
If you chose C: A drug can change the body so that stopping is very hard. Help makes it much more likely they can stop. Go to S3.3.8.
A label says to take one spoon of a medicine three times a day. Dev feels no better. What should he do?
See the answer
Tell an adult and ask a health worker, and not take more
The dose on the label is the safe amount. If the medicine is not working, a health worker can say what to do next.
If you chose A: More than the dose can harm the body. A medicine works only at the right amount. Go to S3.3.8.
If you chose C: A medicine is meant for one person. The right dose for Dev may be wrong for a friend. Go to S3.3.8.
From an earlier chapter
Which part of the lungs does tobacco smoke damage, so that less oxygen can pass into the blood?
See the answer
The air sacs
Smoke breaks down the walls between air sacs. Fewer, bigger sacs have less surface, so less oxygen can pass into the blood.
If you chose A: The ribs are bones that guard the lungs. The smoke does its harm inside, in the tubes and air sacs. Go to S3.3.5.
If you chose C: The diaphragm is a muscle under the lungs. The smoke harms the tubes and the air sacs where gases cross. Go to S3.3.5.
Keep it
Copy this into your exercise book.
Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs can harm the lungs, heart, liver and brain. Addiction is a health problem. Take a medicine only as directed. Ask a trusted adult or a health worker for help.
Draw: Draw the lungs, heart, liver and brain. Under each one write a drug that can harm it.
