| any drug that mimics the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. See cholinergic drug. |
| any chemical substance that affects the functioning of living things and the organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and protozoans) that infect them. Pharmacology, the science of drugs, deals with all aspects of drugs in medicine, including their mechanism of action, physical and chemical properties, metabolism, and therapeutics and prophylaxis. |
| the excessive, maladaptive, or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purposes despite social, psychological, and physical problems that may arise from such use. Abused substances include such agents as anabolic steroids, which are used by some athletes to accelerate muscular development and increase strength and which can cause heart disease... |
| Complete and reliable data on the extent of drug abuse in recent years is simply not available. To specify the size and extent of the drug problem, accurate information as to manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs would be needed. Complete evaluation would also require knowledge of the incidence of habituation and addiction in the... |
| The U.S. pharmaceutical industry began 1994 with a good deal of trepidation, aware that it was likely to absorb much public criticism for prices and profiteering when Congress began considerations on a new health care bill. Drug manufacturers had been singled out as villains for being major contributors to the problem of health care costs, but... |
