Drug addiction (inhalant addiction) is a mental disease characterised by a pathological attraction to various narcotic (psychoactive) materials, development of addiction and progressive degradation of the personality.
The frequent, systematic intake of drugs causes chronic intoxication, forms stable painful predilection (mental and physical dependence) to these toxic materials. Discontinuation (cessation) of drug intake leads to decompensation of mental activity.
In Russian science, it is convenient to distinguish various types of drug and toxic materials addiction.
Drug addiction includes diseases caused by intake of materials, which are included in the official List of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Materials and Their Precursors to Be Controlled in the Russian Federation (sublists I, II, III), i.e. such materials are recognised by law to be narcotic drugs.
The term "narcotic material" thus contains medical criterion (specific effect on the central nervous system, sedative, stimulating, and hallucinogenic one), social criterion (social significance and danger) and legal one (being a part of the previous List).
Inhalant addiction is the name of diseases that are caused by the abuse of psychoactive materials that are not recognised as drugs legally.
When two or more narcotic materials are used, it is polydrug addiction.
According to ICD-10, drug and toxic materials addiction are not separated; this systematisation is based only on clinical criteria (F11-F19).
There are 10 groups of psychoactive materials including alcohol.
OPIUM ADDICTION (F11)
This type of addiction is recently the most common in our country. It is diagnosed in patients who abuse opium, handicraft opium preparations (acetylated opium), as well as those in who there develops a dependence on morphine, codeine, trimeperidine (Promedol♠), fentanyl, and heroin.