ScienceofAddiction

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Module 2:

The Cycle of Addiction

Addiction doesn’t start overnight, it’s a process. It often begins with curiosity, a desire to fit in, or a way to escape stress or pain. What may seem harmless at first, can turn into something your brain and body depend on. This section explores the cycle of addiction, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and outside influences that can make quitting hard.

Addiction is a cycle or a pattern that many people fall into without realizing it. The cycle can keep repeating, too. Unless something interrupts the cycle, like reaching out for help, learning healthy ways to deal with stress, or getting support from others, addiction will continue. The good news is, understanding the cycle is the first step to breaking an addiction.

Read the stages below to help you understand the cycle of addiction.

Initial Use/Experimentation

This can look like trying a substance out of curiosity, peer pressure, or to cope with stress, anxiety, or boredom. At this stage, it may seem harmless, but over time, the brain starts to remember how that drug or activity made you feel.

Regular Use/Building Tolerance

At this point in the cycle, the person is using the substance on a repeated basis. This can lead to needing to use more to get the same effects. For example, using a vape with higher nicotine concentration than during the initial use.

Dependence

This part of the cycle is when the need for the substance takes over, and using becomes the main focus of their life. The person may no longer be interested in activities or hobbies. Their brain and body are focused on making decisions based on the next time they can use.

Addiction

This part of the cycle is when the need for the substance takes over, and using becomes the main focus of their life. The person may no longer be interested in activities or hobbies. Their brain and body are focused on making decisions based on the next time they can use.

Relapse

This is when someone who is trying to stop using a substance starts using again. It doesn’t mean they have failed, it just means they need more support and a chance to try again. Recovery is a process. What matters is not giving up on breaking the cycle of addiction.

Do You Know the Signs?

These examples are only meant to help you learn and understand what addiction can feel like. They are not meant to promote or encourage any type of substance use.

Scenario

Amanda remembers when she first started vaping, a few puffs here and there were good enough to give her a buzz. But now, it isn’t having the same effect. She asked a friend to buy her a new one with more puffs that would last longer.

Stage

Dependence

Building Tolerance

Addiction

Miguel has been using his vape for the past two months, but recently he’s found himself needing to use it more. He can’t go to baseball practice without taking a hit. He says it helps him “feel normal” and ready to play. He keeps it in his gym bag and thinks about it throughout the day.

Michael started vaping at parties with his friends. At first, it was just for fun, but now, he vapes during lunch breaks, before class, and sneak’s hits in the bathroom at school. He tells himself he’s not addicted, but he gets anxious and irritable when he can’t vape. He’s struggling to keep his grades up and he stopped hanging out with his old friends.

The Challenges of Quitting

Quitting an addiction isn’t easy, especially for a teen. Just trying to stop can cause stress, mood swings, cravings, and physical discomfort. On top of that, peer pressure, emotional struggles, or daily routines can trigger the urge to use again. Trying to quit vaping isn’t any easier. With thousands of flavors and social media marketing, the temptation to vape is everywhere.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Quitting a drug like nicotine isn't just about willpower, it's a real challenge because of how the drug affects the brain. When someone, especially a teen, tries to quit using nicotine, their brain and body react. This happens because the brain has gotten used to having nicotine to feel good. Once it's taken away, symptoms like headaches, feeling tired or cranky, having trouble sleeping, feeling hungrier than usual, and having a strong urge to vape can occur. These are known as nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms happen because the body is getting used to not having nicotine, which it started to depend on. The good news is that these symptoms are temporary and a sign that the body is trying to get back to feeling normal.

Social Influence

Many young people are also exposed to vaping through powerful social influences that shape their thoughts about whether to try a vape or not. Peer pressure plays a significant role, as teens want to be accepted by their friends and peers. Sometimes, young people will vape or use a tobacco product because their friends do too, a friend gave it to them, or someone bought it for them. If family members use tobacco, that can normalize its use, too, making it seem like a normal, acceptable thing to do.

Social Media

Social media plays a big role in encouraging young people to vape. Many vape companies use colorful ads, trendy music, and influencers to make their products look cool or harmless. Even if it is not a direct ad, students often see people their age using vapes in videos, selfies, or challenges online. This kind of content can make vaping seem fun, popular, or normal. The more teens see it online, the more likely they are to think "everyone is doing it," which increases the chances to vape.

Flavored Products

For many teens, their first experience with vaping is through flavored products. Research shows that young people are more likely to keep using a product if it tastes like sweet foods or candy. That’s why the vaping industry shifted their marketing from menthol flavors to sweeter ones like fruit and candy.

Sources for module 2 include: The Addiction Cycle, Why youth Vape – CDC, Frequency of social media use and exposure to tobacco or nicotine-related content in association with E-cigarette use among youth, Truth Initiative -Nicotine and the young brain, Nicotine and the developing brain, Short- and long-term consequences of nicotine exposure during adolescence for prefrontal cortex neuronal network function.