Top 5 Addictive Substances On Earth

Addictive drugs often cause a rise in dopamine in the brain's reward centre

Many of us have fallen into the trap of having a glass of wine on an evening or a social cigarette on a night out.

In 2007, David Nutt and his colleagues asked addiction experts to rank top addictive substances- Their findings might interest u:  

NICOTINE 

Nicotine is the main addictive ingredient of tobacco. 

When somebody smokes a cigarette, nicotine is rapidly absorbed by the lungs and delivered to the brain. 

While Nutt et al’s expert panels rated nicotine (tobacco) as only the 12th most addictive substance, there are reasons to believe that nicotine is a very powerful addictive drug.

Tobacco will kill eight million people a year by 2030 so why do so many of us still smoke? Nicotine causes dopamine levels in the brain’s reward system to rise

More than two-thirds of Americans who tried smoking reported becoming dependent during their life. 

In 2002 the WHO estimated there were more than 1 billion smokers and it has been estimated that tobacco will kill more than 8m people annually by 2030. 

Laboratory animals have the good sense not to smoke. 

However, rats will press a button to receive nicotine directly into their bloodstream – and this causes dopamine levels in the brain’s reward system to rise by about 25-40 per cent.

COCAINE 

Cocaine directly interferes with the brain’s use of dopamine to convey messages from one neuron to another. 

In essence, cocaine prevents neurons from turning the dopamine signal off, resulting in an abnormal activation of the brain’s reward pathways. 

In experiments on animals, cocaine caused dopamine levels to rise more than three times the normal level. 

Cocaine caused dopamine levels to rise more than three times the normal levels, resulting in an abnormal activation of the brain’s reward pathways, tests found

It is estimated that between 14-20m people worldwide use cocaine and that in 2009 the cocaine market was worth about $75 billion.

Crack cocaine has been ranked by experts as being the third most damaging drug and powdered cocaine, which causes a milder high, as the fifth most damaging. 

About 21 per cent of people who try cocaine will become dependent on it at sometime in their life. 

Cocaine is similar to other addictive stimulants, such as methamphetamine – which is becoming more of a problem as it becomes more widely available – and amphetamine.

ALCOHOL

Although legal in the US and UK, alcohol was rated as the second most addictive substance by Nutt et al.’s experts (scoring 2.2 out of a maximum of 3). 

Alcohol has many effects on the brain, but in laboratory experiments on animals it increased dopamine levels in the brain’s reward system by 40-360 per cent – and the more the animals drank the more dopamine levels increased.

More than a fifth of people who have taken a drink will develop dependence on alcohol, despite its damaging effects on health, researchers have found

Some 22 per cent of people who have taken a drink will develop dependence on alcohol at some point during their life. 

The WHO has estimated that 2 billion people used alcohol in 2002 and more than 3m people died in 2012 due to damage to the body caused by drinking. 

Heroin is both addictive and dangerous as a lethal dose is only five times more than a dose for a high

Alcohol has been ranked as the most damaging drug by other experts, too.

HEROIN 

Nutt et al.’s experts ranked heroin as the most addictive drug, giving it a score of 2.5 out of a maximum score of 3. 

Heroin is an opiate that causes the level of dopamine in the brain’s reward system to increase by up to 200 per cent in experimental animals. 

In addition to being arguably the most addictive drug, heroin is dangerous, too, because the dose that can cause death is only five times greater than the dose required for a high.

Heroin also has been rated as the second most harmful drug in terms of damage to both users and to society. 

The market for illegal opiates, including heroin, was estimated to be $68 billion worldwide in 2009.

BARBITURATES (SEDATIVES)

Barbiturates – also known as blue bullets, gorillas, nembies, barbs and pink ladies – are a class of drugs that were initially used to treat anxiety and to induce sleep.

They interfere with chemical signalling in the brain, the effect of which is to shut down various brain regions. 

At low doses, barbiturates cause euphoria, but at higher doses they can be lethal because they suppress breathing. 

Barbiturates of sedatives interfere with chemical signalling in the brain, shutting down various regions. Dependence became common when they were readily available but declines as other drugs replaced them

Barbiturate dependence was common when the drugs were easily available by prescription, but this has declined dramatically as other drugs have replaced them. 

This highlights the role that the context plays in addiction: if an addictive drug is not widely available, it can do little harm. 

Nutt et al’s expert panels rated barbiturates as the fourth most addictive substance.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3474571/The-five-addictive-substances-Earth-brain.html?

Use And Abuse Of Tramadol in Nigeria

Tramadol is an opiod pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. When taken as an immediate-release oral formulation, the onset of pain relief usually occurs within about an hour. Tramadol is a type of strong opiod that works on the nervous system and brain to reduce the feel of pain. There are many different forms, strengths and brands of tramadol. Some forms and brands start working quickly to ease the pain, while others release the tramadol they contain more slowly, over several hours, to provide a constant and more even pain control. These are called ”modified-release” and often have ‘XL’ ‘SR’ or ’24hr’ in front of the brand name.

Why is tramadol abused?

Apart from its pain relieving effects, tramadol has been discovered to give a feeling of euphoric high when taken in large quantity. When opiods like tramadol are mixed with alcohol, it increases the effects of the alcohol.

Toyosi Ogunjobi, a 19-year-old public secondary school student in Lagos, who is into the abuse of the drug told The Nation that he mixes tramadol with alcohol when he wants to engage in manual labour. He claims it allows him to work harder and longer but that if he takes the mixture without working, it weakens him.

Gabriel Oladoye, a 21 year-old undergraduate of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta also admits to abusing tramadol. To him, tramadol serves as an aphrodisiac. He says he normally takes the drug few minutes before sex and it enables him last longer and perform better in bed.

Bode, a 27 year-old liquor seller says mixing tramadol with Bullet alcohol drink helps him last longer during intercourse, since he normally suffers from premature ejaculation. He shared an experience in which he engaged in intercourse all night with a commercial sex worker after taking tramadol with ‘Bullet’. He said they had marathon sex all night, but confessed that he had to visit the clinic during the day, when he began experiencing pains on his manhood. The doctor, after checking him up for infections, warned him to desist from such medications and marathon sex, as he was lucky not to have ruptured his tissues.

Effects of tramadol abuse

Although tramadol is an over-the-counter medication, its abuse can cause some undesirable effects similar to those of other opiates, such as dizziness, weakness, sleepiness, insomnia, headache, shaking, heartburn, panic attacks, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, itching, sweating and dry mouth.

According to Adekunle Adeseye of Ariset Medical Hospital, tramadol belongs to a family of analgesic and it is actually a synthetic opiod. He said it can lead to addiction like other opiods such as morphine, cocaine and the rest. Some of its other side-effects include light-headedness, serious vomiting and even sedation, as it is narcotic in nature.

Dr. Jude Okonkwo, a medical practitioner at Medicare Hospital Ota, added that overdosing on the drugs can make some people experience difficulty in breathing; and that once addicted to the drugs, abusers won’t be able to function well without the drug, as it has neurological side-effects.

Asked to confirm the claims that the drug has aphrodasic effects and also gives extra strength, Dr. Okonkwo said “Those claims could be true, as it is a narcotic. It heightens the senses, but its effects vary from persons to persons. Abusing the drug has more” negative effects than any perceived positive.

He advised that abusers-turned addicts should stop and youths who take it for recreation because of its euphoric effect should stop as well; as drugs should only be taken on doctor’s prescription.

When asked how the increase in tramadol abuse can be curbed, he advised that parents and guardians should tutor their wards more on the hazards of drug abuse. He also wants the government to place serious sanctions and restrictions on the use of the medication.

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