What is Addiction?

The Science of Drug Abuse

Who is addicted?

• 9 in 10 adults who currently smoke cigarettes first began using nicotine before their 18th birthday
• 4 in 10 teenagers who begin drinking at age 13 or younger will develop alcoholism
• 40-60% of people who suffer from addiction will relapse

How does addiction work?

Both environmental and biological factors can influence the likelihood that a person will develop an addiction.

Long-term drug abuse can permanently damage how the brain functions.

Unlike some diseases, there is not one gene responsible for addiction. Instead, researchers have found that addiction occurs as the result of many gene interactions.

Environment plays a significant role in addiction. A person may have biological tendencies toward drug or alcohol addiction, but those addictions may lie dormant until activated by an environmental factor.

While not everyone becomes addicted after abusing a substance, environmental and biological factors increase the likelihood of developing an addiction.