What Drugs Can Cause Breathing Problems?

How Substance Abuse Affects The Respiratory System

The respiratory system’s principal function is to deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The lungs are the primary organ in the respiratory system, which is actually quite complex and the system contains numerous other components, including:

• The mouth, nose, and nasal cavity.
• The pharynx, commonly called the “throat,” connects the mouth and nasal passages with the esophagus and larynx.
• The larynx, a muscular organ commonly called the “voice box,” which is essential for human speech and contains the vocal cords and allows air to pass into and out of the lungs.
• The trachea is commonly referred to as the “windpipe” and is a cartilaginous tube extending into the two bronchial tubes .
• The bronchi, which are the major air passages in and out of the lungs.
• The alveoli, which are tiny sacs in the lungs and the location where gas exchange occurs: carbon dioxide leaves the blood and oxygen enters it—the blood then distributes oxygen to the tissues in the body and picks up carbon dioxide to be exchanged when it gets back to the lungs.

Respiratory disorders can range from mildly common conditions such as the common cold to very serious and life-threatening disorders and diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respiratory infections caused by viruses like influenza or coronavirus can potentially be fatal to children, seniors and those with chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease or lung disease. People who chronically use alcohol and other drugs are also more susceptible to respiratory infections, due to the harm these substances may do to the immune system in addition to damage they can do to the organs in the body’s respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

What are the Signs of Respiratory Issues?

There may be some signs that can be used to determine if someone is developing or has developed a respiratory issue. Some of the signs include:

• Increased or labored breathing
• Pale, grayish, or bluish skin around the mouth or lips
• Increased perspiration without being overheated or without a fever along with labored and increased breathing
• Grumbling in the lungs, crackling sounds, or whistling sounds that occur when a person breathes

The exact treatment for a respiratory condition will be contingent on the type of condition that is being addressed. Initially, there will be some type of a clinical examination to determine what the problem is and then the particular intervention will be decided upon.

Interventions can include medications, respiratory physiotherapy (working on inflating the lungs fully, breathing properly, etc.), and various forms of ventilatory support using suction or other methods to clean the airways can be used. Some individuals may require oxygen if their condition is advanced.

Obviously, if a respiratory condition is believed to be caused by substance abuse, the individual would need to be involved in a recovery program that focuses on abstinence and treatment of their substance use disorder. Only a commitment to abstinence from drugs and/or alcohol can eventually help to counteract some of the changes that may have occurred as a result of ongoing drug abuse. This means these individuals must be involved in long-term recovery programs.

Smoking Tobacco and the Respiratory System

The damage that occurs to the respiratory system from smoking tobacco products cannot be understated. The effects of smoking tobacco progress relatively slowly and increase in severity over time. The respiratory system attempts to clean itself by trapping dirt and other foreign bodies, such as microbes, and then removing them through the cilia via mucus or other methods. So-called “smoker’s cough” is often a result of the lungs attempting to rid themselves of impurities associated with tobacco products. Over time, these products take their toll, and many of the carcinogens cannot be removed completely.

People who continue to smoke tobacco products lose elasticity in the walls of the system, and many of the small structures within the system rupture or become thickened. Toxic chemicals in cigarettes and other tobacco products number literally in the hundreds, and eventually, these substances lead to an increase in the risk of getting certain respiratory conditions and the risk of developing numerous forms of cancer by changing the cellular structure of the tissues.

The major respiratory conditions associated with smoking tobacco products include the following:

These are typically chronic conditions that slowly develop but become progressive and worsen at an accelerated rate. Interestingly, many of these conditions can be alleviated significantly by simply quitting use of tobacco products.

Opioid Drugs and the Respiratory System

Opioids drugs are a large class of prescription analgesic (pain-relieving) drugs and some illicit drugs. Opioids have received quite a bit of media attention due to a rise in overdoses and recent stories of abuse of prescription opioids.

Opioids are central nervous system depressant drugs that reduce the activity of the neurons in the brain and spinal cord. This central nervous system depressant action also affects the functioning of the respiratory system by slowing down a person’s breathing rate. The actions also result in their medical uses as analgesics and contribute to their abuse as they produce a reduction in a person’s experience of pain, feelings of relaxation, and euphoria.

In most cases, opioid drugs are not smoked. They are taken in pill form, ground up and snorted, or mixed with liquid and injected. Nonetheless, due to their significant ability to suppress breathing, chronic use of these drugs can lead to respiratory issues. Some of the issues include:

• Decreased functioning of the immune system, which can lead to susceptibility for numerous infections and diseases, including pneumonia and other diseases
• Worsening existing respiratory issues, such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma
• A significant increase in the risk to develop pulmonary edema, fluid buildup in the lungs, which can be fatal if left unchecked and can also facilitate the development of other respiratory problems

Over the long-term, there is the increased risk of developing problems that are associated with reduced oxygen delivery to various organs. Decreased levels of oxygen delivered to certain organs, like the brain, liver, and heart, can result in damage. In some cases, if oxygen is cut off to certain areas of these organs, the tissue will die.

Chronic use of opiate drugs also increases the risk of the development of all forms of cancer, including different cancers of the respiratory system.

Alcohol and the Respiratory System

Chronic use of alcohol is associated with an increased risk for numerous diseases and health conditions. Alcohol is also a central nervous system depressant and reduces the breathing rate of people who use it. Some sources refer to alcoholic lung disease or a disease of the lungs that is caused by a chronic and excessive alcohol use disorder; however, this is not a recognized medical condition.

Nonetheless, chronic use and abuse of alcohol is known to increase the risk for the development of numerous infectious diseases and disorders, numerous forms of cancer, and other health issues associated with poor nutrition and a lack of attention to self-care. When alcohol is combined with other drugs, such as tobacco products, the risk for health issues is increased even further.

Cocaine Use and the Respiratory Health

Cocaine is a controlled substance that is typically snorted or smoked. This type of use can result in numerous respiratory issues.

Cocaine is a very harmful central nervous system stimulant that increases the firing rates of the neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Its use results in a constriction of the veins, arteries, and capillaries in the vascular system, and it can lead to hardening of the cellular walls in organs like the lungs and death of cells in the respiratory system.

Smoking cocaine can lead to:

• Pulmonary edema, swelling of the lungs, and even hemorrhages (ruptures of the veins or arteries) in the lungs
• Ruptures of the air sacs in the lungs (pulmonary barotrauma)
• Increased probability to develop asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, or exacerbation of these conditions

While researchers suspect that smoking crack does increase the risk for lung cancer, the evidence remains inconclusive at the time of this writing.

Although smoking cocaine is far more detrimental to the health of the respiratory system, individuals who snort cocaine can also develop various issues, including:

• Damage to the nasal passages and significant tissue death in these passages
• Increased risk to develop nasal infections
• Ischemic damage in the trachea and nasal passages (the death of tissue due to a lack of oxygen)

Inhalant Use

Inhalants are products like solvents, cleaners, paint thinners, and aerosol products that are used by some people to produce different types of euphoria by inhaling their gas or vapor. Most of the individuals who use these products are younger individuals, under the age of 25. The majority of individuals in this age group do not normally have issues with respiratory functioning, but chronic inhalant abuse can produce numerous potential issues, which can include:

Cannabis Products and Respiratory Health

There have been numerous studies that have investigated the effects of smoking cannabis products on the respiratory system. As recreational use of marijuana becomes legalized in many states, researchers will continue to look at the findings from the data, which remain mixed. The overall findings suggest the following:

Again, the evidence remains mixed. At the time of this writing, much of the research is inconclusive. It is suggested that very heavy, chronic smokers of cannabis products are at a greater risk to develop respiratory problems; however, the exact definition of “heavy, chronic smokers” may vary from study to study.