14 DAY TRIAL // Being addicted to sex can be almost normal if it does not affect your social life and mental health. But other types of addictions hint directly to your brain. And some of us can be genetically vulnerable to many narcotic chemicals. There is a wave of new researches revealing the physical aspects of addiction and explaining why just one shot of heroine, for example, can make you an addict. Of course, the same studies have helped researchers to develop drugs to block the craving sensation.
The intense research has led to greater knowledge on how "deeply and completely" addiction can impact the brain, and many new drugs are being made to impede patients being prone to relapse.
A survey made by Time magazine estimated that 18.7 million Americans (7.7 % of the population) abuses of alcohol or is alcohol dependent. About 3.6 million (1.1 %) of the American people are drug addicted, while 700,000 are undergoing treatment for drug addiction.
About 71.5 million (24 %) of the Americans smoke tobacco. About 25 % of men and 20 % of women are cigarette smokers. 80-90 % of Americans ingest caffeine, mainly in coffee and soda, and up to 4 million (1.3 %) of the American adults are addicted to food. This type of addiction has been connected to depression.
2 million Americans are believed to be pathological gamblers and other 4 million to 8 million are problem gamblers. A recent research made at the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism points to the fact that alcohol is America's first addiction with over 30 % of Americans suffering from alcohol abuse: 17.8% of them have alcohol abuse problems, and 12.5 % are alcohol-dependent.
"Alcohol dependence was significantly more prevalent among men, whites, Native Americans, younger and unmarried adults and those with lower income. Asians, Hispanics and blacks have a lower prevalence than whites. Alcohol abuse is greatest among those in the 30- to 60-year-old age range." stated the researchers.