

ADHD increases likelihood of smoking, substance abuse [study] - kmccarth
http://bostinnovation.com/2011/06/01/boston-mass-general-study-adhd-increases-likelihood-of-substance-abuse/

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tokenadult
This is not news, but a replication of a frequent finding of studies of
ADD/ADHD individuals. It's likely that some ADD patients use nicotine as
"self-medication" of their attention disorder, for which nicotine has a
partial, haphazard therapeutic effect (along with lots of side effects from
smoking as a drug delivery system).

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phren0logy
Just to add, well-treated ADHD has much a much lower incidence of substance
abuse, but still slightly higher than the average joe. This may be related to
the impulsivity and novelty-seeking elements of the diagnosis.

