Science

The 5 most addictive substances on the planet

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Definitively ranking how addictive various substances are is tough work, even for scientists.

Each of us reacts differently to distinct drugs, from the pleasurable reaction we experience when we use the substance to the cravings or even physical discomfort we feel when we're suddenly deprived of it. Nevertheless, a group of addiction experts, including specialists from the Royal College of Psychiatrists as well as chemists, forensic scientists, and pharmacologists, took a stab at listing them by averaging numerous aspects of addiction.

Their work was published in the journal The Lancet in 2007. Here's what they came up with:

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Mike Nudelman/Business Insider

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Mike is Business Insider's graphics editor. He majored in printmaking at Cornell University and earned an MFA in painting and drawing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He previously worked as an illustrator in Groupon's Humor Department. He regularly exhibits his drawings.
Erin was a senior health and tech reporter at Business Insider based in San Francisco, where she focused on startups and Silicon Valley. She's broken news on a variety of life science and health-tech stories, including: Before joining BI, Erin worked as a freelance health and science reporter for outlets including Newsweek, Popular Science, and Scientific American. Erin graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, San Diego and received her master's from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York, where she spent an extra semester completing her degree after breaking both wrists in a snowboarding accident.