THE EVIL FIVE: THE WORLD'S 5 MOST ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCES

Pre-WWI Bayer heroin bottle, originally containing 5g of heroin. Wikimedia Commons

The verdict we have always sought is finally here. The question we have asked for centuries has finally been answered. What is the world's most addictive substance? Which substance is the most capable of enslaving its user?

Addiction experts have released a list of the five most addictive drugs on earth which I call The Evil Five. Some of these drugs speedily render people homeless and sleeping in the streets. Others just mess with your mind and make you an alter ego of your true self. Some are legal and some illegal. Please please please, mind your consumption of these substances folks.

Following shortly are the most addictive drugs in the world, according to an article written by Eric Bowman, a lecturer in psychology and neuroscience at the University of St. Andrews. Mr Bowman's article is based on the research of Professor David Nutt and his colleagues - whom we will refer to, in the traditions of academia, as Nutt et al. - who asked addiction experts to rank substances according to degrees of "addictiveness."

Although Eric started from the most addictive to the least addictive, I will take the liberty of doing a countdown, from the least addictive to the most addictive. For the sake of gravity - and drama.

5.  ALCOHOL
Coming in fifth place in the race to be the substance likely to destroy users and their families, alcohol was given a score of 1.9 out of 3 by the expert's working with Nutt et al. In laboratory experiments on animals, alcohol increased the dopamine levels in the brain's reward system by 40-360%, and the more animals drank, the higher dopamine levels got.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 2 billion people used alcohol in 2002, and more than 3 million people died in 2012 from damage caused by alcohol consumption. Expers rank alcohol as the most damaging drug - oh yes, it is a DRUG - and an estimated 22% of people who have had a drink will become dependent on the drug at some point in their life, so please think twice before you order that pint at your favourite pub this weekend. "It's just a pint man, it's Friday" I hear you say, but for some people, a good Friday night has led to a lifetime of sleeping on the sidewalks.

4. BARBITURATES
In fourth place is one of the most-favoured drugs of entertainers the world over. Taken in low doses, barbiturates - also known as downers, blue bullets, gorillas, nembies, barbs, pink ladies, and whatever new names they are now called by afficionados - cause euphoria, but at higher doses, they can be lethal as they suppress breathing. Originally used to treat anxiety and induce sleep, barbiturates interfere with chemical signalling in the brain, resulting in the shutting down of various brain regions.

3. NICOTINE
Good old nicotine, the fellow responsible for turning humans into walking, talking chimneys comes in at a respectable third place. More than two-thirds (a whopping 75%) of Americans who tried smoking reported developing a dependence at some point in their lives. According to a report by the WHO in 2002, there were more than 1 billion tobacco smokers in the world, and it is estimated that tobacco will claim the lives of over 8 million people per year by 2030. Lab rats experienced an increase of about 25-40% in the dopamine levels in the reward system of their brains.

2. COCAINE
Cocaine is a helluva drug! I have heard people say this in Youtube videos and in the comment sections below Youtube videos, but I do not know the author of these words. Anyway, the cocaine works by interfering with the brain's utilisation of dopamine to transmit messages from one neuron to another. Neurons are prevented from turning the dopamine signal off by cocaine, leading to an abnormal activation of the reward pathways of the brain. However, not all cocaine are made equal.
The variant of cocaine known as crack cocaine, is the third most damaging drug on earth, while powdered cocaine is the fifth most damaging drug. About 21% of people who try cocaine will become dependent on it at some point in their lives. 

Next up, the evil one, the evil number one. The drug most likely to make you deserving of the title "addict." Drum roll if you please...

1. HEROIN
The experts charged with ranking the most addictive substances, gave heroin a perfect score of 3 out of 3, making it the most addictive drug known to man. "Known to man," is key I believe, because we do not know all that is out there. An opiate, heroin causes the dopamine level in the brain's reward system to snowball by up to 200% in laboratory animals. The dose that can lead to a fatality is only five times greater than the dose needed for a high, making it an exceedingly dangerous drug too. 
Heroin is also considered the second most harmful drug in terms of damage to the users and to society. In 2009, the market for illegal opiates, with the inclusion of heroin, was estimated to be $68 billion worldwide.

There you have it; the Evil Five. The world's five most addictive substances. Hope the statistics presented in this article lead someone to make more informed decisions in their relationships with these substances and with people addicted to these substances.

P.S: I would have put "money" in first place, but I guess that is just me!