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The older the person is who becomes an alcoholic, the easier it is for them to become dependent because they can purchase it whenever they want and the cost is low compared to other types of substance addictions. "Alcohol use in adolescents rarely results in abuse observed in adults with chronic abuse of alcohol, such as withdrawal seizures."6 The longevity of alcohol abuse of more than a few years that is associated with alcohol addiction is seen mostly in the older adults rather than young adults. Younger users who drink too much alcohol, often move on to other forms of substance abuse to go along with drinking. Chronic alcohol consumption is seen mostly in the physical state of the user who has poor nutrition and poor hygiene. Unless treatment is sought by the abuser, they can be a functioning alcoholic for many years. This means that they can usually hold down a job and do not drink until they are home or off work for the day and usually drink more on the weekends.
Another form of substance abuse is heroin addiction. Heroin is "a white, odorless, bitter crystalline compound that is derived from morphine and is a highly addictive illegal narcotic."8 There are different types of heroin and it does not always look like a white powder. "Heroin is known by the street names of H, smack, boy, horse, brown, black, tar and others."5 When heroin is used medically for pain, it is called diacetylmorphine. Substance abusers who use heroin use a syringe to insert it into their veins. In some addiction studies conducted by researchers, it was found that former addicts showed a strong preference for heroin and morphine, which means that more people abuse these two drugs than others. The psychological effects of heroin was present and it was found that it produces a type of euphoria when taken intravenously. The physical effects of heroin is seen in the abuser who is standing on the street corner to try to get a fix or to try to get money to use to purchase heroin.