Cigarette smoking is one of the largest global contributors to disease and premature death. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of cancers of the mouth and throat, lung, oesophagus, pancreas, cervix, kidney, bladder, stomach, colon, rectum, and liver, further it increases the risk for heart attack, stroke and a number of terrible lung diseases. Smoking is…
Alcohol ranks second in the list of drugs most abused. Chronic use of alcohol and overdose have caused countless deaths worldwide. With regular use of alcohol, tolerance develops. With tolerance the amount of alcohol one needs to get high increases. As tolerance develops, the body reacts to "not drinking" by trembling, aching and refusing to…
As the world continues to become more and more fond of drug-induced happiness/escape, the number of people consuming psychoactive substances such as alcohol has been on the rise. As more people begin to consume alcohol, there is a consequent increase in the number of people in whom it becomes problematic. When alcohol consumption or drug…
If Raghu developed a fever, he would gain several concessions from school/work and at home. People may sympathize for him and maybe even send him a "get well" soon card. He wouldn't worry about going to the doctor. The doctor would run a few tests and prescribe medication. He would get better and get back…
Some people claim that marijuana is safe and that its a safe alternative to tobacco and/or alcohol and that it has magical healing powers. Attitudes toward cannabis are also constantly changing, a number of countries are choosing to legalize marijuana and have passed medical marijuana laws. Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in…
Addiction can be described as excessive indulgence in activities in a way that interferes with one's social, interpersonal or occupational functioning. Addiction is a relatively common problem in modern societies. It is roughly estimated that between 8-13% of people living in developed countries experience addiction in some form to food, video games, alcohol or recreational…
Seldom do we realize that all our beliefs, perceptions and behaviors are gradually hardwired into the brain. Addictions are also encoded into our brains, with certain structures playing an important role in the genesis of addictive behavior. Below we try to simplify and understand the biology of addiction. It is a great challenge to beat…