Nearly 50million Americans are battling an addiction, and relapse is a common struggle in the recovery process.
Substance use disorder often requires multiple attempts to quit before successfully going sober, according to a report by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The authors surveyed nearly 350 people about how many attempts it took to quit a substance before they were finally able to maintain their sobriety – revealing which drugs could be the most addicting. ‘
The researchers looked at 12 substances ranging from alcohol and nicotine to cocaine and marijuana.
Some drugs are harder to put down than others, the team said. In a ranking of the substances with the most quit attempts, prescription pain medication such as OxyContin or Vicodin, took the top spot and was followed closely behind by non-prescription opioids such as fentanyl and heroin.
On average, it took addicts about six attempts to quit these vices before they stayed sober.
Quitting these drugs is extremely difficult because of the hold they have over users. The substances hijack the brain to become the user’s entire life, surpassing food and shelter in order of importance. All the while, the user has to keep increasing their dosages to achieve the high they experienced the first time.
An estimated 2.5 million American adults have an addiction to opioids, which were responsible for more than 107,000 fatal overdoses in 2023.