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Topics: Drugs, Mental Health, Health
James Moorhouse
Addiction can be extremely dangerous, no matter what it is you become dependent on, but now psychiatrists have come up with a list of the top most addictive substances on Earth.
You might think that caffeine, given it's the most used 'psychoactive' drug on the planet, would make the list, but you're probably safe there unless you're knocking back enough coffees to have a serious impact on your health.
While there are often warning signs that you can be aware of, it's easy to slip into an addiction if you become reliant on something, whether it be a drug or something else.
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But in general, if you want to treat your body like a temple, then it's well worth staying away from all five of these substances.
A team of psychiatrists, chemists, and pharmacologists at the UK's Royal College of Psychiatrists systematically ranked the substances based on three factors of dependency (intensity of pleasure, physical and psychological dependence), physical harm (the potential to cause short and long-term injury) and social harm (intoxication, other social harms and health-care costs).
After publishing their findings in the medical journal The Lancet, they focused on dependency when it comes to finding the most addictive substances on Earth.
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Taking the number five spot is the one you've probably been expecting - alcohol.
We are seeing more and more celebrities and young people in particular move away from alcohol and instead embrace a life of sobriety, with Tom Hardy and Ed Sheeran two of the biggest examples.
The team of psychiatrists found that while people have a similar physical dependency on alcohol compared to nicotine and tobacco, and also a similar pleasure ranking, it wasn't quite as psychologically addictive.
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Coming in fourth was Barbiturates, which is perhaps one you haven't heard of.
The sedative drugs were once used to treat anxiety but were found to have high potential for abuse as well as higher risks of side effects, and scored a two out of three on overall dependancy.
In third place was nicotine, which is hardly surprising given there are six million smokers in the UK.
Interestingly, it was found to be almost as psychologically addictive as cocaine, but was also described as less pleasurable and far less physically addictive.
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Taking silver was cocaine which received three out of three in terms of pleasure but was deemed to be slightly less psychologically addictive than the likes of heroin and about half as physically addictive.
And, taking the top spot was the class A drug heroin, which got a 'perfect' score of three out of three in terms of pleasure, cravings, and physical dependence.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week