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Theodore Dalrymple, Romancing Opiates: Pharmalogical lies and the addiction bureaucracy
(Encounter Books 2008) s 21.)
Som vi ser er ikke opiatavhengigheten i seg selv spesielt dramatisk. Mange
opiatavhengige mener selv at sigaretter og piller er verre å kutte ut enn heroinen. Og
avhengighetseksperter som Jack Henningfield og Neil Benowitz rangerer tobakk som mer
avhengighetsskapende enn heroin, kokain, alkohol og cannabis (Peter Reuter & Robert
MacCoun, Drug War Heresies; Learning from Other Vices, Times, and Places (Cambridge
University Press 2005) s 170). Legen Andrew Weil sier det slik:
“In the form of cigarettes, tobacco is one of the most addictive drugs known, equivalent to
crack cocaine and ice. It is harder to break the habit of smoking cigarettes than it is to stop
using heroin or alcohol. Moreover, many people learn to use alcohol and heroin in
nonaddictive ways, whereas very few cigarette smokers can avoid becoming addicts.”
(Andrew Weil & Winifred Rosen, From Chocolate to Morphine; Everything You Need to Know
About Mind-Altering Drugs (Houghton Mifflin 2004), s 58.)
I tillegg til det er, som Dalrymple nevnte over, også alkoholavhengighet værre enn
heroinavhengighet. Weil bekrefter: “Dependence on alcohol is a true addiction, marked by
extreme craving for the drug, tolerance and withdrawal. The craving for alcohol among
alcoholics is legendary and has been the subject of many books and films. Recovering
alcoholics tell frightening stories of the lengths to which they went to obtain their drug when
deprived and of squandering all of their money on drink. Withdrawal from alcohol is a major
medical crisis. Some of its worst forms, such as delirium tremens, can be fatal and more
serious than the withdrawal from narcotics. Moreover, because alcohol is such a strong and
toxic drug, prolonged regular use can cause tremendous physical damage. Cirrhosis of the
liver, in which normal liver cells are replaced by useless scar tissue, is a direct and common
result of overuse of alcohol and leads to many distressing symptoms, among them loss of
sexual potency and inability to digest food. The other organs that bear the brunt of alcohol’s
poisonous effect are the brain and the pheripheral nervous system. Alcoholics develop
shakes, amnesia, and loss of intellect, which may reflect permanent damage to nerves. The
list of medical problems associated with excessive drinking is too long to reproduce here. It
includes adverse effects on unborn babies of alcoholic women (fetal alcohol syndrome) and
increased susceptibility to such infectious diseases as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Hospitals
around the world are filled with chronic medical patients whose bodies are ravaged by
alcohol.” (Andrew Weil & Winifred Rosen, From Chocolate to Morphine; Everything You Need
to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs (Houghton Mifflin 2004), s 75-76)
“Withdrawal from narcotics is also less hazardous than withdrawal from sedative-hypnotics.
Alcohol, downers, and the minor tranquilizers can produce violent withdrawal, marked by
convulsions and, sometimes death. Narcotics withdrawal can be intensely unpleasant, but it
is not life threatening. Also, the physical consequences of long-term narcotics use are minor
compared with those of alcohol. People can take opium and opiates every day for years and
remain in good health, provided they maintain good habits of hygiene and nutrition.”
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