Smoking. Drinking. Using.

Smoking. Drinking. Using.

Nicotine and alcohol. These two substances, according to the NIH, are two of the most simple carbon based molecules that share similar very similar attributes: they produce a high, and they are highly addictive. Furthermore, both are two of the deadliest addictions taking a staggering toll in human suffering, mortality and medical costs.  Research shows that alcohol and nicotine–as well as coffee and sweets, in the same catagory–all can become habit-forming in similar ways.  In regards to nicotine, smokers drink twice as much alcohol as non-smokers–and their risk of drinking too heavily is also twice that of non-smokers. One study found that alcoholism is 10 to 14 times more prevalent among smokers. And, while the percentage of smokers has dropped to 30 percent of American adults, it is unchanged among alcoholics. In addition, smokers are more likely to take illicit drugs than non-smokers are. In 1995, 13.6 percent of smokers were illicit drug users, compared with only 3.0 percent of non-smokers.

Each overstimulate the brain’s so-called reward system, as do the major drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin.  This network of neurons, a circuit running through the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex, is normally activated when an animal or human does basal things–such as eating or sex–that help it to survive. This activity increases levels of several neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and seratonin, therefore triggering pleasurable feelings. Most drugs overactivate the circuit, so that addicts in danger of withdrawl or “not having enough” will often turn to one or several subtances instead of self-preservation (sobriety).