LPN to RN Blog

For perhaps centuries, it was always thought that men were more susceptible to addiction to substances like nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drugs. It turns out, however, that this age-old bias was due more to social factors rather than physiological truths. In fact, recent evidence suggests that women may be significantly more susceptible to addiction. And once addicted, women may have a much tougher time kicking whatever habit.

Now, according to a recent Scientific American article, women are gaining–and with some substances–surpassing men in rates of experimentation and use. The article reports:

"…in a reversal of past trends, teenage girls are now trying marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes at higher rates than boys are, according to recent results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Meanwhile the survey demonstrated that overall illegal drug use among both girls and women rose from 5.8 to 6.3 percent between 2007 and 2008 as the rate for boys and men dipped from 10.4 to 9.9 percent."

The article goes on to explain how women’s desire to abuse substances ebbs and flows with their menstrual cycle, meaning that stopping addictive behaviors in women will be all the more difficult, since internal factors are never quite stable.

A recent New York Times articlediscusses addiction to nicotine specifically. While genetic predisposition is a very strong factor that plays into the likelihood of becoming addicted to smoking, the author stresses the importance of avoiding starting in the first place. The simple logic behind this is that potential addicts, even the more disposed ones, won’t have to go through the interminable, cyclical struggles of quitting. If parents can help their children?especially daughters?stave off experimentation until at least 18, the likelihood of developing an addiction plummets.

Pharmaceutical companies have developed drugs, like Chantix, which are aimed at people who want to quit smoking. The way Chantix works is that it blocks nicotine receptors, making smoking a less satisfying activity. Still, Chantix is not the holy-grail that will stop the single most prevalent cause of preventable death in the United States. Doctors suggest that since everyone becomes addicted for different reasons, and since the physiological and psychological makeup of each individual varies across gender, environmental, and genetic lines, there never will be a wholesale panacea for addiction.

The best cure, as the age-old saying suggests, is prevention.