1. Chapter 3
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Mood-Altering
Drugs
http://blog.oup.com/2011/12/beer-3/
Sarah Meinelt
HE210-OL

2. Drugs Women and Girls Use:
The Stats
 Alcohol- most common drug used by
women; 45% of women over the age of
12
 Tobacco- 21% of women smoke
 Mood-Altering Prescription Drugs-
includes drugs such as pain relievers,
sedatives, stimulants, and tranquilizers.
Approximately 3% of women over age 12
have reported using them for nonmedical
reasons. (2002 survey)
 Illegal Drugs- 6% of women in the US
over age 12 were current users of illegal
drugs in 2002; most common: Marijuana

3. How Substance Abuse Affects
Our Health: Alcohol
 Can diminish: motor
coordination, judgment, emotional
control, and reasoning power
 Can disrupt normal menstrual cycles
 Increases risk of:
mouth, esophageal, and liver
cancer, major
depression, epilepsy, hemorrhagic
stroke, and cirrhosis of the liver
 Other risks:
hypertension, osteoporosis, breast
cancer, gastric ulcers, and alcohol
hepatitis
 Drinking during pregnancy can cause

4. How Substance Abuse Affects
Our Health: Tobacco
 Approximately 178,000 US women die from
smoking-related diseases each year
 Smokers are twice as likely to have heart attacks
and strokes
 Smoking causes 90% of all lung cancer deaths
and lung diseases
 Smoking increases risk of cervical cancer
 Women who smoke may have more difficulty
getting pregnant, have more period problems,
and go into menopause earlier
 Smoking during pregnancy can pass chemicals
to the fetus- newborns in homes of smokers are
more likely to die of sudden infant death
syndrome

5. Secondhand Smoke
 Exposure to secondhand
smoke is very dangerous
and poses a health hazard
 Regular exposure can
cause lung and heart
disease including: lung
cancer in adults,
pneumonia, bronchitis,
asthma, and chronic ear www.sacramentorealestatelawyerblog
infections in children .com/2011/09/lease-goes-up-in-
smoke.html
 Approximately 36,000
women die each year due
to secondhand smoke
exposure

6. How Substance Abuse Affects
Our Health: Tranquilizers
 Tranquilizers are commonly prescribed
for short-term relief of anxiety, sleeping
problems, and withdrawal from other
drugs
 Can be highly addictive, even at
standard doses
 Withdrawal symptoms: increased anxiety
and panic attacks, flu-like
symptoms, hypersensitivity to
light, depression, dizziness, weakness, tr
emors, heart
palpitations, sweating, nausea, indigestio
n, bodily pains
 Coming off the drug: consider tapering

7. How Substance Abuse Affects
Our Health: Ecstasy
 Ecstasy is a synthetic
combination drug that has
both stimulant and
hallucinogenic effects- can
have positive relaxing and
social effects http://www.562citylife.com/profiles/blogs/the-long-beach-rave-scen
 Use in settings such as raves
can cause severe
dehydration, heat exhaustion,
and liver malfunction
 Short term effects: paranoia,
anxiety, depression
 Long term effects: impairment
in mental function and
memory http://hometestingblog.testcountry.com/?p=8964
 Women are more sensitive to

8. Influences on Use- Why do we
still use these substances?
 Promotion- companies try to make us think
that these substances will bring us health,
happiness, success, sophistication, and
freedom
 Personal and Social Pressures- organize
social relationships, carve out time for
ourselves, control our emotions, create an
image, source of comfort and dependability
 Addiction- may be afraid or not know how to
stop, don’t know where to get help, many
women deny they have a problem, women
can be ashamed of the consequences of their
use leading them to be immobile

9. Promotions- Targeting
Women
 Women have specifically
been targeted by tobacco
companies
 1960s and 1970s- ads
equated smoking with
independence,
sophistication, and beauty.
Brands called “thins” and
“slims” played into social
pressures for women to
control weight
 1970s- “low tar” or “light”
cigarettes: all a myth to get
women to maintain their
addiction and prevent them
from quitting
http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/suppl_1/i18.full  Recent years- themes of
rebelliousness

10. Reducing the Risks
 General Guidelines:
◦ Tobacco - no level of use is safe
◦ Alcohol - have no more than one drink a day
◦ Do not drink: if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, before
you drive, if you are taking medication that reacts
negatively with alcohol, if you have medical problems that
get worse with drinking, if you have addiction problems
 Know the drugs you are taking
 Don’t take drugs at parties or clubs
 Don’t mix drugs
 Know your body’s limits and reactions
 Never share needles
 Be aware of how your choices may influence other
areas of your life
 Find other ways to reduce stress, cope with life, and
have fun

11. Finding Help
 Quitting Smoking:
◦ Go “Cold turkey”
◦ Use self-help materials available online
◦ Attend classes or support groups
◦ Call “quit lines”
◦ Receive counseling from health care providers
◦ Take medication: nicotine replacement, prescription
nasal inhaler or spray, antidepressants
 There is no right or wrong method- assistance
increases the chances of success
 Self-help groups (i.e. Alcoholics Anonymous)
 Over 2 million Americans, ages 12+, receive
some kind of special care each year for
substance abuse (another 20 million people
probably need it)

12. Working Together- Prevention,
Treatment, and Policy
 Drug Policy Alliance- leading US
organization working toward “new
drug policies based on
science, compassion, health, and
human rights”
 A number of policies have improved
public health and reduced smoking
 Health providers have been working to
develop trauma, mental health, and
substance use programs based on
women’s needs

13. Quote
 “I’ve been a waitress for forty years to
earn a decent living for my daughter
and myself. My doctor told me I had a
smoker’s tumor, and therefore I’m
dying. I never smoked a day in my
life.” pg. 48

14. Discussion Question
 Have you put yourself in a dangerous
situation involving drugs or alcohol
and realized after the fact that you
need to make a change? What led you
to finally decide to make that change?
How did you go about making that
change?