Regular, heavy cannabis use may damage the respiratory system over time. Like tobacco, cannabis contains many cancer-causing agents. Because many people who smoke cannabis also smoke tobacco, it is difficult to tell what separate effects each substance has on the respiratory system. Although both cannabis and tobacco may damage the respiratory system, smoking both substances may be even more harmful than smoking only one of them, because each one causes a different type of damage to the respiratory system. In the short-term, people can die of alcohol poisoning.
Alcohol poisoning can happen when a person drinks too much alcohol too quickly on one occasion.
When alcohol poisoning occurs, the brain no longer controls automatic functions, such as breathing. A person with alcohol poisoning may die of suffocation, because the brain stops telling the body to breathe. In addition, many deaths are caused by accidents involving impaired drivers. In the long-term, heavy alcohol use over a long period of time can cause many fatal diseases, such as alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Mixing alcohol with certain medications can cause a number of problems.