Thursday, February 22, 2007

People underestimate power of addictive cravings

People systematically underestimate the power of cravings for addictive drugs, says a new study sponsored by the Carnegie-Mellon Institute. The study measured what people addicted to heroin would give for a dose of the medication buprenorphine, a heroin blocker, when their cravings were highest v. when they had just received the drug and their cravings were at their lowest.

People play around with addictive drugs because they don't believe that they will become hooked, says Professor George Loewenstein, lead author of the study. Similarly, people without personal experience of addiction have no clue to the compelling force of the addict's craving, once addiction is established. Source.

No comments: