Addiction is a serious problem around the world and it is known to affect women and men alike. Statistics show that more men get addicted, but women bear the brunt of addiction more as they find it much more difficult to overcome their addiction.

While men face many more circumstances that expose them to drugs and other substances, it takes a much shorter time for a woman to get addicted. And when they do, they are usually seriously hooked to their addiction.

A good number of studies show that today, women have a harder time dealing with drugs and other substances, compared to men. Researchers have found that females consume drugs even more than males. They have also noted that women generally take substances that are stronger than what men take. Of course, this can only mean one thing; women are more susceptible to addiction than men. The impact of their addiction is much greater than that of men.

At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, researchers carried out a study and their finding is staggering; women are more sensitive to cocaine. According to the study, cocaine produces its most powerful effects during the menstrual cycle, at the point when estrogen is most released.

This can only mean one thing; women undergo the “feel good” effects of cocaine more than men. This probably explains why women show a more rapid behavioral adherence to cocaine than men. It also explains why the impact cocaine has on them is much stronger than in women.    

From the Icahn study, we can conclude that cocaine may not be the only substance that produces serious effects on women. Estrogen may also strengthen the pleasurable effects in other forms of substance abuse.

One other conclusion the Mt. Sinai study helps us draw is that birth control pills used to regulate hormone secretion could be successfully used to deal with addiction in women.