The World of Entopia Cares about you!
Finding Help
If You Know Someone in Crisis
Call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to everyone. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the NSPL’s website.
Call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to everyone. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the NSPL’s website.
Tobacco
Overview
What is tobacco?
Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are dried and fermented before being put in tobacco products. Tobacco contains nicotine, an ingredient that can lead to addiction, which is why so many people who use tobacco find it difficult to quit. There are also many other potentially harmful chemicals found in tobacco or created by burning it.
How do people use tobacco?
People can smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco. Smoked tobacco products include cigarettes, cigars, bidis, and kreteks. Some people also smoke loose tobacco in a pipe or hookah (water pipe). Chewed tobacco products include chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, and snus; snuff can also be sniffed.
How does tobacco affect the brain?
The nicotine in any tobacco product readily absorbs into the blood when a person uses it. Upon entering the blood, nicotine immediately stimulates the adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline). Epinephrine stimulates the central nervous system and increases blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. As with drugs such as cocaine and heroin, nicotine activates the brain’s reward circuits and also increases levels of the chemical messenger dopamine, which reinforces rewarding behaviors. Studies suggest that other chemicals in tobacco smoke, such as acetaldehyde, may enhance nicotine’s effects on the brain.
What are other health effects of tobacco use?
Although nicotine is addictive, most of the severe health effects of tobacco use comes from other chemicals. Tobacco smoking can lead to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. It increases the risk of heart disease, which can lead to stroke or heart attack. Smoking has also been linked to other cancers, leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia. All of these risks apply to use of any smoked product, including hookah tobacco. Smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancer, especially mouth cancers.
Pregnant women who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of miscarriage, stillborn or premature infants, or infants with low birth weight. Smoking while pregnant may also be associated with learning and behavioral problems in exposed children.
People who stand or sit near others who smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke, either coming from the burning end of the tobacco product or exhaled by the person who is smoking. Secondhand smoke exposure can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease. It can cause health problems in both adults and children, such as coughing, phlegm, reduced lung function, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of ear infections, severe asthma, lung infections, and death from sudden infant death syndrome.
How does tobacco use lead to addiction?
For many who use tobacco, long-term brain changes brought on by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction. When a person tries to quit, he or she may have withdrawal symptoms, including:
How can people get treatment for nicotine addiction?
Both behavioral treatments and medications can help people quit smoking, but the combination of medication with counseling is more effective than either alone.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established a national toll-free quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, to serve as an access point for anyone seeking information and help in quitting smoking.
Government Regulation of Tobacco Products
On May 5, 2016, the FDA announced that nationwide tobacco regulations now extend to all tobacco products, including:
This ruling includes restricting sale of these products to minors. For more information, see the FDA's webpage, The Facts on the FDA's New Tobacco Rule.
Behavioral Treatments
Behavioral treatments use a variety of methods to help people quit smoking, ranging from self-help materials to counseling. These treatments teach people to recognize high-risk situations and develop strategies to deal with them. For example, people who hang out with others who smoke are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit.
Nicotine Replacement Therapies
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) were the first medications the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use in smoking cessation therapy.
Current FDA-approved NRT products include chewing gum, transdermal patch, nasal sprays, inhalers, and lozenges. NRTs deliver a controlled dose of nicotine to relieve withdrawal symptoms while the person tries to quit.
Other Medications
Bupropion (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) are two FDA-approved non-nicotine medications that have helped people quit smoking. They target nicotine receptors in the brain, easing withdrawal symptoms and blocking the effects of nicotine if people start smoking again.
Can a person overdose on nicotine?
Nicotine is poisonous and, though uncommon, overdose is possible. An overdose occurs when the person uses too much of a drug and has a toxic reaction that results in serious, harmful symptoms or death. Nicotine poisoning usually occurs in young children who accidentally chew on nicotine gum or patches used to quit smoking or swallow e-cigarette liquid. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, vomiting, fainting, headache, weakness, and increased or decreased heart rate. Anyone concerned that a child or adult might be experiencing a nicotine overdose should seek immediate medical help.
Points to Remember
Learn More
For more information about tobacco products and nicotine, visit our Tobacco/Nicotine webpage.
For more information about how to quit smoking, visit smokefree.gov.
This page was last updated June 2018
Souce: National Institue of Drug Abuse website on 7.10.19 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cigarettes-other-tobacco-products
What is tobacco?
Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are dried and fermented before being put in tobacco products. Tobacco contains nicotine, an ingredient that can lead to addiction, which is why so many people who use tobacco find it difficult to quit. There are also many other potentially harmful chemicals found in tobacco or created by burning it.
How do people use tobacco?
People can smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco. Smoked tobacco products include cigarettes, cigars, bidis, and kreteks. Some people also smoke loose tobacco in a pipe or hookah (water pipe). Chewed tobacco products include chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, and snus; snuff can also be sniffed.
How does tobacco affect the brain?
The nicotine in any tobacco product readily absorbs into the blood when a person uses it. Upon entering the blood, nicotine immediately stimulates the adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline). Epinephrine stimulates the central nervous system and increases blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. As with drugs such as cocaine and heroin, nicotine activates the brain’s reward circuits and also increases levels of the chemical messenger dopamine, which reinforces rewarding behaviors. Studies suggest that other chemicals in tobacco smoke, such as acetaldehyde, may enhance nicotine’s effects on the brain.
What are other health effects of tobacco use?
Although nicotine is addictive, most of the severe health effects of tobacco use comes from other chemicals. Tobacco smoking can lead to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. It increases the risk of heart disease, which can lead to stroke or heart attack. Smoking has also been linked to other cancers, leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia. All of these risks apply to use of any smoked product, including hookah tobacco. Smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancer, especially mouth cancers.
Pregnant women who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of miscarriage, stillborn or premature infants, or infants with low birth weight. Smoking while pregnant may also be associated with learning and behavioral problems in exposed children.
People who stand or sit near others who smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke, either coming from the burning end of the tobacco product or exhaled by the person who is smoking. Secondhand smoke exposure can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease. It can cause health problems in both adults and children, such as coughing, phlegm, reduced lung function, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of ear infections, severe asthma, lung infections, and death from sudden infant death syndrome.
How does tobacco use lead to addiction?
For many who use tobacco, long-term brain changes brought on by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction. When a person tries to quit, he or she may have withdrawal symptoms, including:
- irritability
- problems paying attention
- trouble sleeping
- increased appetite
- powerful cravings for tobacco
How can people get treatment for nicotine addiction?
Both behavioral treatments and medications can help people quit smoking, but the combination of medication with counseling is more effective than either alone.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established a national toll-free quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, to serve as an access point for anyone seeking information and help in quitting smoking.
Government Regulation of Tobacco Products
On May 5, 2016, the FDA announced that nationwide tobacco regulations now extend to all tobacco products, including:
- e-cigarettes and their liquid solutions
- cigars
- hookah tobacco
- pipe tobacco
This ruling includes restricting sale of these products to minors. For more information, see the FDA's webpage, The Facts on the FDA's New Tobacco Rule.
Behavioral Treatments
Behavioral treatments use a variety of methods to help people quit smoking, ranging from self-help materials to counseling. These treatments teach people to recognize high-risk situations and develop strategies to deal with them. For example, people who hang out with others who smoke are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit.
Nicotine Replacement Therapies
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) were the first medications the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use in smoking cessation therapy.
Current FDA-approved NRT products include chewing gum, transdermal patch, nasal sprays, inhalers, and lozenges. NRTs deliver a controlled dose of nicotine to relieve withdrawal symptoms while the person tries to quit.
Other Medications
Bupropion (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) are two FDA-approved non-nicotine medications that have helped people quit smoking. They target nicotine receptors in the brain, easing withdrawal symptoms and blocking the effects of nicotine if people start smoking again.
Can a person overdose on nicotine?
Nicotine is poisonous and, though uncommon, overdose is possible. An overdose occurs when the person uses too much of a drug and has a toxic reaction that results in serious, harmful symptoms or death. Nicotine poisoning usually occurs in young children who accidentally chew on nicotine gum or patches used to quit smoking or swallow e-cigarette liquid. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, vomiting, fainting, headache, weakness, and increased or decreased heart rate. Anyone concerned that a child or adult might be experiencing a nicotine overdose should seek immediate medical help.
Points to Remember
- Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are dried and fermented before being put in tobacco products. Tobacco contains nicotine, the ingredient that can lead to addiction.
- People can smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco.
- Nicotine acts in the brain by stimulating the adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) and by increasing levels of the chemical messenger dopamine.
- Tobacco smoking can lead to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. It increases the risk of heart disease, which can lead to stroke or heart attack. Smoking has also been linked to other cancers, leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia. Smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancer, especially mouth cancers.
- Secondhand smoke can lead to lung cancer and heart disease as well as other health effects in adults and children.
- For many who use tobacco, long-term brain changes brought on by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction.
- Both behavioral treatments and medication can help people quit smoking, but the combination of medication with counseling is more effective than either alone.
- Nicotine overdose is possible, though it usually occurs in young children who accidentally chew on nicotine gum or patches or swallow e-cigarette liquid.
- Anyone concerned that a child or adult might be experiencing a nicotine overdose should seek immediate medical help.
Learn More
For more information about tobacco products and nicotine, visit our Tobacco/Nicotine webpage.
For more information about how to quit smoking, visit smokefree.gov.
This page was last updated June 2018
Souce: National Institue of Drug Abuse website on 7.10.19 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cigarettes-other-tobacco-products
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For help from the National Cancer Institute: 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848) The National Cancer Institute's trained counselors are available to provide information and help with quitting in English or Spanish, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more about quitting smoking |
NIDA TV Spotlight: Tobacco Partnership with FDA
To find treatment, go to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) at: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/locator/home
OR
Call the SAMHSA’s National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or 1-800-487-4889 (TDD)
Free and confidential information in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing substance abuse and mental health issues. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
OR
Call the SAMHSA’s National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or 1-800-487-4889 (TDD)
Free and confidential information in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing substance abuse and mental health issues. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The WOE Care Cards
For Teens & Parents
Can HELP!
PREVENTION
The WOE Care Cards are designed to help you in time of need. Please use them whenever necessary. Your parents expect great things from you because they know you deserve them.
But they don’t expect you to be great all the time.
You are human and prone to mistakes.
The goal is to limit the mistakes and get help before it becomes too late.
But they don’t expect you to be great all the time.
You are human and prone to mistakes.
The goal is to limit the mistakes and get help before it becomes too late.
There are three different WOE Care Cards:
I Need Help - Let’s Talk - This card should be placed on a parents’ pillow whenever you need to tell them something very important, but you are afraid to tell them. This card will signify that your parents need to take time and allow you to talk. This will not lead to any hasty decision to judge or punish by your parents; but will allow them to help you and get everything worked out.
This card is you holding out your hand and your parents helping you.
There may be Trouble - This card is meant to be given to your close friends. A parent's cell number will be on the card. When your friends see you going into a situation that may be harmful to you, they will notify your parents. They will not be mentioned by your parents or brought into the conversation. They are there to help you, by letting your parents know you may be in danger.
Cool-off Plan - As a teen, things may get crazy now and then. There may come a day; hopefully, it won't, but if it does, this card is designed to have a plan of where to go to cool off. Running away from home and not having a real plan can be very dangerous. Many teens run-a-way from home, only to end up on the streets, addicted to drugs, and possibly forced into prostitution.
So, this card will have the Cool-off plan of a safe place to go, hopefully, a relative’s house, where, if the s**t hits the fan with your parents, and you cannot take it anymore, the Cool-off Plan will allow you to go and cool off in a safe, pre-planned environment, for a day or two. This must be agreed upon by your parents first.
Please note: These WOE Care Cards are an option to help someone, and not a guarantee. Please be responsible.
To print each WOE Care Card below,
click on the picture to download. Then save and print.
Place on a parent’s pillow when you need help.
WOE Care Card - There may be Trouble, is extremely valuable. Since your parents can’t be with you in high school, others can. Your friends know what you’re up to, what you have and haven’t done and what you’re capable of. Unfortunately, some teens tend to migrate off the Path and go to where they think the “fun” and “action” is.
The idea behind this WOE Care Card is to alert your parents when there may be something going on. It’s not meant to get you in trouble or put you on the spot. But to inform them of a possible problem you may be having or notify them that you have left the main Path. It is meant for them to be alerted and get involved before something more serious does take place.
If you are given one of these cards, please use it responsibly and know that you are being counted on and trusted to help. Please play your role responsibly and be a good friend, parent or guardian angel.
The idea behind this WOE Care Card is to alert your parents when there may be something going on. It’s not meant to get you in trouble or put you on the spot. But to inform them of a possible problem you may be having or notify them that you have left the main Path. It is meant for them to be alerted and get involved before something more serious does take place.
If you are given one of these cards, please use it responsibly and know that you are being counted on and trusted to help. Please play your role responsibly and be a good friend, parent or guardian angel.
Know someone who could use these WOE Care Cards?
Please let them know!
Please let them know!
Mental Illness
Finding Help
Learn more about mental health by
going to the NIH Website.
going to the NIH Website.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
Call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
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Short video about depression and suicide. |
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Beverly, Pam, and Sally have developed WOE Care Cards to try and
help teenagers in time of need and before real danger arises.
They could help save a life!
You can read why they decided to
create these WOE Care Cards
by reading their story; Drugs can Kill.
Find treatment and help at The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Department: (SAMHS) https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov
OR
Call them at:
1-800-662-4357 (HELP)
TTY: 1-800-487-4889
Additional Resources
National Institute of Drug Abuse Easy to Read drug facts: http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov
National Institute of Drug Abuse: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse
Drug Information for Teens: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts
For parents who would like to know if their son or
daughter is on drugs and how to find help: Click here
Video of why drugs are addictive: https://youtu.be/zV6zKmt7S5E
OR
Call them at:
1-800-662-4357 (HELP)
TTY: 1-800-487-4889
Additional Resources
National Institute of Drug Abuse Easy to Read drug facts: http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov
National Institute of Drug Abuse: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse
Drug Information for Teens: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts
For parents who would like to know if their son or
daughter is on drugs and how to find help: Click here
Video of why drugs are addictive: https://youtu.be/zV6zKmt7S5E
Find Past Need to Know Topics by clicking here.
Beverly, Pam, and Sally have developed WOE Care Cards to try and help teenagers in time of need and
before real danger arises. They could help save a life!
You can read why they decided to create these WOE Care Cards by reading their story; Drugs can Kill.
before real danger arises. They could help save a life!
You can read why they decided to create these WOE Care Cards by reading their story; Drugs can Kill.