Gender and Drugs; Who wants Some?

         Gender plays a big role in the use and abuse of drugs. Both men and women alike get addicted to certain kinds of drugs, with some of these drugs being dominated by men and others being dominated by women. Men and women, if given the opportunity, are equally willing to try drugs for the first time and to progress from initial use to addiction but men are more likely to have the opportunities to use drugs. When it comes to hardcore drugs, both men and women are equally likely to become addicted or dependent on them such as cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, tobacco, and inhalants. Women appear to become more addicted to or dependent on sedatives and drugs designed to treat anxiety or sleeplessness. At the same time, women are less likely than men to abuse alcohol and marijuana [1].

            Many people smoke cigarettes, both men and women. The reason why people get addicted to cigarettes is because of the nicotine. Nicotine can be found in tobacco leaves and can enter the body when someone smokes, chews, or sniffs it and when they do, it goes directly to the brain. Nicotine is the reason why people keep smoking, even though people know that cigarettes are harmful to the body.  Nicotine is so harmful that one drop could kill a person. When a person smokes a cigarette, they only inhale some of the smoke which only gets partially absorbed into the lungs and at the same time they only receive 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine with each cigarette [2]. Men and women equally smoke cigarettes and can become addicted to nicotine but women are more than likely to smoke cigarettes with less nicotine and don’t inhale as much smoke as men [1].

            Drugs will always be around in the world and people, men and women, will have those uncontrollable urges and will want to keep doing those drugs because of their addictive properties. Many people believe that if they only try the drug one time they won’t get addicted but that’s not entirely true. The more hardcore drugs, such as meth and crack cocaine, can have a person hooked after one try whether they are male or female. All in all, nobody is safe from drugs and people need to do their best to stay clean.

[1]“Addiction and Gender Differences.” Accessed December 2, 2010. http://www.addiction-help-line.com/gender_differences.html

[2]“Nicotine.” Accessed December 2, 2010. http://www.medicinenet.com/nicotine/article.html