Fatal Slowdown
Abusing prescription sedatives (like Xanax® or Valium®), prescription pain medication (like Vicodin® or Oxycontin®), or other opioids (like heroin) can slow breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels, which could lead to coma or death. Combining them with alcohol increases these risks.
Toxic Breath
Sniffing household chemicals like solvents (e.g., paint removers), aerosols (e.g., hair spray), or gases (e.g., nitrous oxide) can result in death within minutes from heart attack ("sudden sniffing death"). Inhalants can also cause death because inhaling these chemicals takes the place of oxygen in the lungs and brain, causing breathing to stop.8
Crash Warning
Drivers ages 16–20 are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when alcohol is involved.9
Overdose
In 2010, 60% of drug overdose deaths in the United States were related to prescription drug abuse.10
MORE ABOUT DRUGS +
THE BODY »
8 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Sept. 2012.
9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oct. 2012.
10 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9/9/13.
Abusing prescription sedatives (like Xanax® or Valium®), prescription pain medication (like Vicodin® or Oxycontin®), or other opioids (like heroin) can slow breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels, which could lead to coma or death. Combining them with alcohol increases these risks.
Toxic Breath
Sniffing household chemicals like solvents (e.g., paint removers), aerosols (e.g., hair spray), or gases (e.g., nitrous oxide) can result in death within minutes from heart attack ("sudden sniffing death"). Inhalants can also cause death because inhaling these chemicals takes the place of oxygen in the lungs and brain, causing breathing to stop.8
Crash Warning
Drivers ages 16–20 are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when alcohol is involved.9
Overdose
In 2010, 60% of drug overdose deaths in the United States were related to prescription drug abuse.10
MORE ABOUT DRUGS +
THE BODY »
8 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Sept. 2012.
9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oct. 2012.
10 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9/9/13.
Your Heartbeat: Silence Isn’t Golden
Click to hear how a healthy heart sounds compared to a heart on prescription drugs and alcohol, a combination that increases the risk of coma or death.
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Last Update: 1/20/2014