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Overview
Substance use can include the use of alcohol, nicotine or any other drug. Substance use is a well-known comorbidity of gambling. Both substance use and gambling can lead to serious addiction problems. It is argued that these addictions are similar in nature, which may explain why they are often associated. For example, both substance abuse and gambling involve persistence in the face of negative consequences and failed attempts to stop. Both addictions also involve a preoccupation with the addiction, usually to the detriment of other school, work, family or life responsibilities. Finally, both addictions share aspects of tolerance which in and of themselves can become an issue - that is, gamblers need to spend increasing amounts of money to get a thrill from the activity, and substance abusers need to use more substances to achieve the 'high'.
Key Points
Substance use and gambling addiction can interact. For example, as the stresses and financial losses of gambling increase, gamblers may turn to substances as a coping mechanism. Alternatively, substance abusers may turn to gambling as a means to obtain more funds to support their addiction. In either case, this relationship between substance use and gambling may result in a downward spiral, with each addiction exacerbating the other. Intervention is often necessary to treat both addictions, and health professionals need to be aware of any existing comorbidities.
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References
Ramirez, L. F., McCormick, R. A., Russo, A. M., & Taber, J. I. (1983). Patterns of substance abuse in pathological gamblers undergoing treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 8(4), 425-428.
Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1991). Evaluation of patients treated for pathological gambling in a combined alcohol, substance abuse and pathological gambling treatment unit using the Addiction Severity Index. British Journal of Addiction, 86(8), 1017-1028.
Lesieur, H. R., Blume, S. B., & Zoppa, R. M. (1986). Alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research,10(1), 33-38.
Kausch, O. (2003). Patterns of substance abuse among treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 25(4), 263-270.