“Health, alcohol and drug habits. Causes and solutions”

Drugs & Alcohol Today we are going to speak about these problems. As we all know drugs and alcohol are very bad for human’s health. They are dangerous not only for you but for the people around you too.

The control, production, commerce and use of drugs are regulated by: "The law on the control of drug substances and their precursors" Laws of drug prevention in Bulgaria

"The law on the control of drug substances and their precursors" According to the law, each action, connected to use, stimulation of use, production, conservation and distribution of psychoactive substances and their precursors (the consisting elements), is illegal and punishable. The subject and the resources of these crimes are confiscated in State benefit.

Penalties for drug possesions The consequences that determine the actions as illegal are foreseen in the Punishing codex of the Republic of Bulgaria. According to the burden of the crime, the punishments could be: Penalty - 100lv. to lv. Privation of freedom – 1 to 15 years Privation of freedom and penalty Probation Persons who are addicted to drugs have the right to prophylaxis, treatment and rehabilitation in state and municipal programs. The inclusion in the programs is voluntary.

Drug strategies in Bulgaria  Bulgaria has developed a National Anti-Drugs Strategy, which has been adopted by the Government on  Correspondent to the Strategy Action Plans have been developed and adopted as well by the Government in April 2003.

Drug Rehabilitation  A National Programme for Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Addictions was developed in  Its main objective is to support the implementation of a health care reform in the field of problems associated with the abuse of narcotic drugs.

The situation in Bulgaria In Bulgaria drugs are a really big problem, especially among young people. This is due to several factors. First of all, Bulgaria is situated at a very strategical position (in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula) and connects many Asian countries with Central and West Europe.

Drug traffic This holds good for any other commodities, but is exclusively tangible and important for drugs. Annually, huge amounts of various kinds of drugs are transported through our country. Here is some data for the drug traffic for 1999:

Heroin kg

Cocaine kg

Marihuana kg

Opium kg

Morphine kg

Ecstasy- 14,230 pills

Popular drugs in Bulgaria Now in Bulgaria almost all kinds of drugs are available. The most distributed and the lightest one is marihuana. "Joints" (cigarettes containing some form of cannabis) are extremely popular among students.

Drugs among the children The most frightening thing is that pupils start smoking at a very early age (at 16 or 17 - the average age is about 18) and the price of one cigarette is only 0,2 lev. (0.1 euro).

Cigarettes  Cigarettes are very popular among the children between years. Most children start smoking because they think it is fun and fashionable.  The government in Bulgaria has created new laws to forbid smoking in public places.

Nicotine Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) that constitutes approximately 0.6– 3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves.

Nicotine functions It functions as an antiherbivore chemical with particular specificity to insects; therefore nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past,and currently nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid continue to be widely used.

Locations Nicotine is also found in several other members of the Solanaceae family, with small amounts being present in species such as the Eggplant and Tomato.

Alcohol The alcohol is the most ancient and still widely spread substance which can cause relaxation, excitement or anger. All alcoholic substances are intoxicating and have narcotic effect. They are produced by fermentation of biological matter that consist carbohydrates. The wine comes from grape juice and the beer comes from wheat. Concentrate alcohols are produced only by distillation.

Alcohol usage Alcohol is used as a drink and it’s absorbed by the organism by the stomach ( 20% ) and the small intestines ( 80% ). The main quantity of it is processed by the liver. The effects of alcohol usage depends on it’s concentration in the blood: 0,5 – 1 g/l - slight excitement; 1 – 1,5 g/l – most people become noisy and unruly; 1,5 – 3 g/l – nausea and vomiting; 3 – 5 g/l – lost of consciousness; over 5 g/l – death.

Consequences of alcohol usage I. For the physical health – alcohol acts as a tissue poison for the whole organism. The effects of long term usage damage mostly the liver and the nerve system. The damaged liver leads to lowering of the immunity and bigger exposure of the body to different infections. And that increases the chance of developing cancer. II. For the mental health – the most common effect is the change of personality. Intellectual degradation can reach to full stupidity.

Thank you for your attention!