What is Tobacco & Substance Abuse?

Through the use of tobacco, nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs and the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the United States. Cigarette smoking accounts for nearly one of every five deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent scientific advances have revolutionized our understanding of the abuse of tobacco and other substances, which has improved our ability to both prevent and treat addiction.

Definition

• We now know that while the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, addiction is a disease of the brain that compels a person to become singularly obsessed with obtaining and abusing drugs despite their many adverse health and life consequences. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) compares drug addiction to riding in a car with no brakes. Like many diseases, drug addiction can be prevented and treated successfully. However, left untreated its effects can last a lifetime.

Characteristics

• People take drugs to feel good (thrill seeking) or to feel better (self-medicating). The chemical structure of nicotine and other drugs is similar to brain chemicals, which allows them to alter normal brain messages. Most illegal drugs increase dopamine, a chemical in the pleasure and motivation pathways of the brain that responds to cues such as food and sex, rewarding normal activities critical for survival. "It is because drugs activate these brain regions--usually more effectively and for longer periods of time than natural rewards--that they have an inherent risk of being abused," according to NIDA.

Contributors

• Drug availability is the primary environmental factor in drug abuse and addiction. A history of physical or sexual abuse or other stressors such as witnessing violence are also contributing factors. The developmental disease of dependence on tobacco, alcohol and marijuana is typically diagnosed in adolescence or early adulthood. NIDA reports that 67 percent of those who try marijuana for the first time are between the ages of 12 and 17. Prevention must be aimed at young adolescents.

Effects

• The effects of tobacco and drug abuse are many. Addiction is the primary health danger, but drug abuse is linked to other health problems including HIV/AIDS, cancer and heart disease. The cost to society is high as well, in homelessness, violent crime, incarceration, law enforcement, health care and loss of productivity. The total costs of drug abuse and addiction due to use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs in America are estimated at $524 billion a year, according to NIDA.

Treatment

• Addiction is a complex illness, but treatment can work. Research over the last 30 years has shown that behavioral therapies along with medications can be most effective. Medications are now available to treat tobacco, alcohol and opioid addiction and more treatments are on the horizon. Behavioral therapies modify the attitudes and behaviors related to substance abuse and help people defeat addiction.