As we or any coffee drinker knows, not all drugs are harmful. Caffeine, the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world, is not a danger to human health.
To give people an overview of the most dangerous substances, a team of experts in psychiatry, chemists and pharmacists at the Royal College of Psychology has organized them in a systematic way. , based on three factors: how much bodily harm they cause, how addictive they are, and how much total damage they cause to society, as measured by factors such as the cost of health care. strong. The researchers published their findings in the medical journal The Lancet.
The following rankings focus on users’ dependence on each substance. Researchers continue to delve deeper and divide this category into three factors that determine what is addictive:
Opioids scored three-thirds of the three factors considered: satisfaction, craving, and physical dependence.
However, it has been considered less psychologically addictive than heroin and is only about half as addictive as heroin in terms of physical addiction.
Nicotine has reached 2.6/3 compared to 2.8/3 for cocaine. But it is also considered less satisfying and less physically addictive.
This category includes brand-name drugs such as Amobarbital and Thiopental. Barbiturates reach two-thirds of the total dependence index – they are considered less gratifying and less physically and mentally addictive than nicotine, heroin and cocaine.
Alcohol and tobacco ranked equally in terms of “satisfaction” in their addictiveness, with an addictive rating of 2.3/3. Alcohol and tobacco also have similar ratings for the same physical addiction.