BUS 17 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Paracetamol, Spasm, Palpitations
Document Summary
Drug-specific mortality: how poisonous a substance is by comparing the amount needed to give psychoactive effects & the amount that would be fatal (death) => gives safety ratio (e. g. alcohol has a safety ratio of 10. Means, that if two units are enough to give psychoactive effects, 20 would be fatal) Drug-related mortality: includes deaths from chronic illnesses caused by drug-taking such as cancers etc. (people who inject drugs are at higher risk of getting hiv, driving under drug influence causes traffic accidents,) Drug-specific harm: any physical damage specifically caused by the drug (e. g. tobacco related lung cancer, cocaine nose) Drug-related harm: damage from drug-related activities, short of death (viruses, infections, accidents, non-fatal traffic accidents) Drug-specific impairment of mental functioning: how far being intoxicated impairs judgement, which may lead to risky behaviors (e. g. unprotected sex, drunk driving) Drug-related impairment of mental functioning: refers to psychological effects that continue once the drug has left the body.
