Addiction is no joke. Though we’ve all joked about being addicted to “Stranger Things” or pumpkin spice or, obviously, the wonderful Curiosity app, those things aren’t out to ruin anyone’s lives. Entering the realm of the world’s most addictive substances will do just that. Research from 2007 identified the top five most addictive things on Earth.
Might as Well Face It, You’re Addicted
A group of addiction experts came together in 2007 to publish a study in the Lancet about the most addictive substances in existence. To do this, they developed a rational scale that could measure the harm of different drugs and their potential misuse. They averaged three factors: pleasure, psychological dependence (cravings, irritability from withdrawal, etc.), and physical dependence (symptoms like headache, nausea, etc.). They scored each drug on a scale from 0-3, where 3 was the most addictive and 0 the least. Here are the top five most addictive substances:
Heroin. Rank: 3 out of 3.
Cocaine. Rank: 2.4 out of 3.
Nicotine. Rank: 2.2 out of 3.
Barbiturates. Rank: 2 out of 3.
Alcohol. Rank: 1.9 out of 3. Read more