Lifestyle Choices
It’s your choice to drink, use drugs or not. In this section, learn about the effects drugs, drinking alcohol, and smoking or vaping can have on OI and your health.
Drugs
The term “drug” can refer to a medication that is prescribed by a doctor or purchased without a prescription at a pharmacy. The term can also be used for recreational drugs. legally, or prescribed medications that are used recreationally like opioids.
There are many different types of recreational drugs, such as:
- Alcohol
- Nicotine (vaping/cigarettes)
- Marijuana (pot, weed, joint, THC)
- Cocaine (coke, snow, flake, blow)
- Benzodiazepines
- Opioids
- Amphetamines (ecstasy, X, E, uppers, XTC, dexies, speed, meth, ice, crank, cat)
- Heroin (H, horse, junk, smack)
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
- Psilocybin (magic mushrooms, shrooms)
- Anabolic steroids
Recreational drug use can be harmful in many ways:
- They can interact with your medications and possibly cause damage to organs like your liver.
- They may cause other physical problems like vomiting, kidney injury, or lung damage.
- They may cause psychological problems like confusion, anxiety, learning problems, or memory loss.
- They can lead to risky behaviour like unprotected sex, excessively spending money, driving a car while inebriated, or riding in a car with a drunk driver.
- They can lead to addiction. Addiction means that you use the drug for a psychological high and your body becomes used to the effects of the drug. It can be very hard to stop using them.
- Some drugs, especially when bought illegally, can have other drugs or chemicals in them. It is difficult to know what is in them and what effect they can have on you.
- Many drugs are illegal and can lead to trouble with the law.
- A drug overdose can cause serious mental or physical damage or even death.
- They may affect your bone density.
Some young people believe drugs will help them think better, be more popular, become more active, or become better athletes. Others are simply curious and figure trying one won’t hurt. Others want to fit in with their peers. Many young people also use drugs because they are 🔗 depressed or think drugs will help them escape their problems.
Actually, drugs don’t solve problems but can in fact cause more issues. Drugs can hide feelings and problems, preventing them from being resolved. When a drug wears off, these feelings and problems remain – or become worse. In some cases, drugs can ruin every aspect of a person’s life – physically, mentally, socially, and financially.
Vaping and Cigarette smoking
There are many different reasons for why people start smoking. What’s important to know is that vaping/cigarette smoking is bad news for your health. The addicting ingredient in the vaping/cigarette tobacco, nicotine, causes the body and mind to become so used to the nicotine that you feel that you need to have it to feel normal. Vaping/cigarette smoking has been found to cause cancer, a lung disease called emphysema, and heart disease.
Vaping/cigarette smoking is also expensive. Once it becomes a habit, smoking can cost you thousands of dollars a year. It won’t take long for smoking to make a big dent in your wallet.
E-cigarettes, often called vape pens, are cheaper and usually come with different flavours that may make it more attractive than cigarettes. Some products also contain no nicotine and are seen as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. However, they also come with their own health risks, which include lung injury, increasing LDL cholesterol in the blood (the “bad cholesterol”), negative effects on the heart, and enhanced changes of blood clot formation. The long-term effects of vape pens are still being investigated since they are still a relatively new product.
Some consequences of smoking can worsen your OI:
- Smokers lose bone density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can cause the bones to become thin and weak, and more likely to fracture. If you smoke, your chances of developing osteoporosis become greater.
- Smoking can tighten blood vessels in our body. This can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to our skin. It can make you look pale and unhealthy, and can make you prone to wrinkly skin at an early age. Some research studies have also linked smoking to an increased risk of developing psoriasis.
- Smoking can cause a faster heartbeat, poor blood circulation, and shortness of breath.
Other consequences of smoking include:
- Developing wrinkles and yellow teeth
- Bad breath
- Bad-smelling clothes and hair. It is often hard to get the smell of smoke out as it lingers for awhile.
- Problems if you take birth control. Girls taking hormone-based birth control, such as The Pill, The Patch, or The Ring increase their risk of blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks if they smoke.
- Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking can affect your body’s ability produce collagen, which is the protein that connects your bones, tendons, cartilage, and muscles. This means that damage to tendons and ligaments will heal more slowly in smokers.
- Increased risk of illness. Smokers tend to have more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. Also, young people who diet by smoking instead of eating lack the nutrients to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
- Staying smoke-free
The best way to avoid the problems caused by vaping/cigarette smoking is to not start smoking in the first place. It may be difficult to do this if others around you smoke and you are offered vape pens or cigarettes. If you find yourself in this situation, have your reason for not smoking ready, such as “I just don’t like it,” or “I want to stay in shape for swimming,” or “No thanks, not right now.”
If you do smoke and would like to quit, there is a lot of support available. Information is available on the internet, through your local hospital, and organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society. You can also speak to your doctor. These resources can help you with whichever approach to quitting you prefer. Some people decide to give up smoking all at once and others find that a gradual approach is better. Others may even prefer a support group for young people who would like to quit. This website from the Canadian Cancer Society can help you find different types of support to help you quit smoking based on your location.
Quitting smoking can be difficult at first, but don’t give up! Staying smoke-free can help bring back more energy, better looks, and more life to live!
Alcohol
Deciding to drink is a personal decision that a lot of young people are faced with, even before they are the legal age to drink. Before you make that decision, it helps to get as much information as you can. Below is some information you may find helpful.
- What is Alcohol?
Alcohol can come in many different forms. Some people drink it for the taste or the effect it can produce such as helping you relax. It can also be used as a cleaner or antiseptic. When people drink alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, which then carries the alcohol throughout the body. The alcohol affects the brain and spinal cord, which are important in controlling almost all bodily functions.
- How alcohol affects you
Alcohol is a depressant. This means it slows down the functioning of your central nervous system – your brain and spinal cord. Alcohol can slow down the messages trying to get to your brain. In some cases, it can block the messages all together. This causes changes in your perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.
If you have had a lot of alcohol to drink, you will become drunk. You may start to stagger, lose coordination, slur your speech, and be confused and disoriented. Impaired coordination and judgment can increase the risk of accidents or falls. You might become very friendly and talkative or you could become angry and aggressive. Alcohol will also slow down your reaction time. If you drive, it takes longer to respond to a person running out in front of the car you are driving. This is why drinking and driving is illegal.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short time period can lead to alcohol poisoning. This is exactly what it sounds like. The body becomes poisoned by a large amount of alcohol. Vomiting is usually the first symptom. Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, low blood sugar levels, seizures, and even death may result. If you suspect someone may have alcohol poisoning, get them medical help as soon as possible.
If you drink a lot of alcohol for a long time, your central nervous system makes changes to adapt to the alcohol. If you stop abruptly, your brain is not used to functioning without alcohol anymore and you can have alcohol withdrawal. The symptoms of withdrawal can go from anxiety, shaky hands, nausea, and vomiting, to hallucinations, seizures, and even death. This is very serious, and you should seek medical help if you suspect you or someone you know is in this situation.
It is your choice to drink, use drugs, or NOT!
Even if you don’t really want to smoke, drink, or use recreational drugs, it can be hard to avoid it, especially when your friends are doing it. You might not want to feel left out. There are, however, different strategies you can try. Some people find it helps to just say “no” without giving any explanation. Others like to give a reason. You could say, “I’m not into drinking/smoking”, “I have a game tomorrow”, “My parents are coming to pick me up soon”, “I already got in trouble for drinking once, I can’t do it again”, “I don’t like the taste; it makes me feel sick” or “I can’t smoke this with my medications”.
If you are going to a party where you know alcohol or other drugs will be available, it’s essential to take extra precautions to ensure your safety and well-being. Take the time to discuss your intentions and potential concerns with your friends before the event. Work together to create a safety plan that addresses your specific needs and concerns. Consider choosing a trusted friend who understands your condition to accompany you to the party as a designated support person. This individual would be able to assist you in navigating the event safely. You and that friend can make up a signal for when it’s time to leave or if you’re feeling unsafe.
- Getting help
If you think you need some help or just someone to talk to, you can speak to your doctor, school counselor, or even a trusted adult relative.
There are a lot of resources available to help those who require help for alcoholism or recreational drug use. You can find a list of these in the Resource section of this website.
