7.2. Substance Use and Abuse

Substance is the word health professionals use for most things you might take into your body besides food. When people talk about substances, they often mean drugs—but alcohol and nicotine are also drugs and are considered substances.

Substances—any kind of drug—have effects on the body and mind. People use these substances for their effects. But many substances have negative effects, including being physically or psychologically addictive. What is important with any substance is to be aware of its effects on your health and on your life as a student, and to make smart choices. Use of any substance to the extent that it has negative effects is generally considered abuse.

First, consider your own habits and attitudes with the Substance Use Self-Assessment.

Activity 7.5: Substance Use Self-Assessment

Check the appropriate boxes.

	Daily	Sometimes	Never
1. I smoke cigarettes or use smokeless tobacco.
2. I drink beer or other alcohol
3. I have missed class because I was hung over from drinking the night before
4. I have taken a medication that was not prescribed for me.
5. I have used illegal drugs.

Write your answer.

Are your habits of smoking, drinking, or using other drugs affecting your studies or grades?

Smoking and Tobacco: Why Start, and Why Is It So Hard to Stop?

Everyone knows smoking is harmful to one’s health. Smoking causes cancer and lung and heart disease. Most adult smokers continue smoking not because they really think it won’t harm them but because it’s very difficult to stop.

If you have never smoked or used smokeless tobacco, feel good about your choices. But read this section anyway because you may have friends now or in the future who smoke, and it’s important to understand this behavior. If you do smoke, even only rarely as a “social smoker,” be honest with yourself—wouldn’t you like to stop if you thought you could without suffering? Simply by being in college now, you’ve shown that you care about your future and your life. You likely care about your health, too.

Many young smokers think there is plenty of time to quit later. Social smokers, who may have a cigarette only occasionally with a friend, usually think they won’t develop a habit. But smokers are fooling themselves. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs in our society today.

Admitting this to yourself is the first step toward becoming smoke free.

First, the good news. Stopping smoking brings immediate health benefits, and the benefits get better over time. Just twenty minutes after quitting, your heart rate drops. After two weeks to three months, your heart attack risk begins to drop, and your lung function begins to improve. After one year, your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s. And every year your health continues to improve.

Tips for Stopping Smoking

Stopping isn’t easy. Many ex-smokers say it was the hardest thing they ever did. Still, over 45 million adults in the United States once smoked and then successfully stopped.

You know it’s worth the effort. And it’s easier if you think it through and make a good plan. There’s lots of help available. Before you quit, the National Cancer Institute suggests you START with these five important steps:

1. S = Set a quit date.
2. T = Tell family, friends, and coworkers that you plan to quit.
3. A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you’ll face while quitting.
4. R = Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.
5. T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

To get ready, download the booklet “Clearing the Air: Quit Smoking Today” at http://www.smokefree.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. The table of contents of that booklet outlines the basic steps that will help you be successful.

Get Help to Stop Smoking

A lot of people are not able to stop smoking by themselves, so don’t feel bad if you aren’t successful the first try. Ask your doctor about other ways to stop. Maybe nicotine-replacement therapy is what you need. Maybe you need prescription medication. Stop by your college’s student health center and learn about smoking cessation programs. Your doctor and other health professionals have a lot of experience helping people—they can help you find what works for you.

What’s the Big Deal about Alcohol?

Of all the issues that can affect a student’s health and success in college, drinking causes more problems than anything else. Everyone knows what happens when you drink too much. Your judgment is impaired, and you may behave in risky ways. Your health may be affected. Your studies likely are affected.

Most college students report drinking at least some alcohol at some time—and even those who do not drink are often affected by others who do. Here are a few facts about alcohol use among college students from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

• Death. Each year, 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol related unintentional injuries, and 599,000 students are injured.
• Assault. More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
• Sexual abuse. More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
• Academic problems. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.
• Health problems. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem.
• Alcohol abuse and dependence. In the past twelve months, 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence.

So why is drinking so popular if it causes so many problems? You probably already know the answer to that: most college students say they have more fun when drinking. They’re not going to stop drinking just because someone lectures them about it.

Like everything else that affects your health and happiness—eating, exercise, use of other substances—drinking is a matter of personal choice. Like most decisions we all face, there are trade-offs. The most that anyone can reasonably ask of you is to be smart in your decisions. That means understanding the effects of alcohol and deciding to take control.

How Much Alcohol Is Too Much?

There’s no magic number for how many drinks a person can have and how often. If you’re of legal drinking age, you may not experience any problems if you have one or two drinks from time to time. “Moderate drinking” is not more than two drinks per day for men or one per day for women. More than that is heavy drinking.

As with most things that can affect your health and your well-being as a student, what’s important is being honest with yourself. You’re likely drinking too much or too often if

• you have missed classes or work because you were hung over or overslept after drinking;
• your friends or family members have hinted that you drink too much, or you’ve hidden your drinking from others;
• your drinking is causing trouble in a relationship;
• you can’t remember what you did or said while drinking;
• you need to drink to have a good time at a party or with friends;
• you have driven a car when you know you shouldn’t have after drinking;
• you binge drink (consume five or more drinks at a time).

Did you know that one night of heavy drinking can affect how well you think for two or three weeks afterward? This can really affect how well you perform as a student.

If You Feel You Need Help

Visit the student health center or talk with your college counselor. They understand how you feel and have a lot of experience with students feeling the same way. They can help.

Prescription and Illegal Drugs

People use drugs for the same reasons people use alcohol. They say they enjoy getting high. They may say a drug helps them relax or unwind, have fun, enjoy the company of others, or escape the pressures of being a student. While alcohol is a legal drug for those above the drinking age, most other drugs—including the use of many prescription drugs not prescribed for the person taking them—are illegal. They usually involve more serious legal consequences if the user is caught. Some people may feel there’s safety in numbers: if a lot of people are using a drug, or drinking, then how can it be too bad? But other drugs carry the same risks as alcohol for health problems, a risk of death or injury, and a serious impact on your ability to do well as a student.

As with alcohol, the choice is yours. What’s important is to understand what you’re doing and make smart choices. What’s the gain, and what are the risks and costs?

While society may seem to condone drinking, and the laws regarding underage drinking or being drunk in public may not seem too harsh, the legal reality of being caught with an illegal drug can impact the rest of your life. Arrest and conviction may result in being expelled from college—even with a first offense. A conviction is a permanent legal record that can keep you from getting the job you may be going to college for.

Although the effects of different drugs vary widely, a single use of a drug can have serious effects and consequences. Even if you’re told that a pill is a prescription medication whose effects are mild or safe, can you really be sure of the exact ingredients and strength of that pill? Do you fully understand how it can affect you with repeated use? Can it be addictive? Could it show up on an unexpected random drug test at work?

Good decisions also involve being honest with oneself. Why do I use (or am thinking about using) this drug? Am I trying to escape some aspect of my life (stress, a bad job, a boring class)? Could the effects of using this drug be worse than what I’m trying to escape?

Resources for Help

If you have questions or concerns related to drug use, your doctor or student health center can help. Check these Web sites for additional information:

• National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: http://store.samhsa.gov/home to an external site.
• Drug and Alcohol Treatment Hotline: 1-800-662-HELP

References

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College

Drinking Consequences,” College Drinking—Changing the

Culture, http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/StatsSummaries/snapshot.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (accessed July 13, 2010).

Smokefree.gov, “Quit Guide: Quitting,” http://www.smokefree.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (accessed July 13, 2010).

This is a derivative of COLLEGE SUCCESS by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution, which was originally released and is used under CC BY-NC-SA. This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..