Effects of drugs and alcohol

Short-term effects of drugs and alcohol appear within minutes of intake and are brief: a false sense of well-being, pleasant drowsiness, euphoria, dulled senses, altered behaviour and blood pressure, narcosis (deep sleep), nausea and vomiting.

Long-term effects arise from constant, excessive use and cause serious, often permanent damage that makes the user's life increasingly unbearable. Heavy drinking, for example, permanently damages the liver and brain. During adolescence in particular, alcohol interferes with the liver's ability to break down fat; over time, fat accumulation and sustained high alcohol levels destroy liver cells, which are replaced by scar tissue — a condition called liver cirrhosis. Alcohol also irritates the stomach lining by stimulating excess acid production, leading to ulcers, and excessive use weakens the heart muscle as scar tissue builds up in cardiac fibres, raising the risk of high bl …