The Gamble of Your Life

In the Study “The Relationship of Tobacco Use With Gambling Problem Severity and Gambling Treatment Outcome” done by Brian L. Odlaug, Jon E. Grant, Randy Stinchfield and Ezra Golberstein, researchers came to the conclusion that most people who gamble also smoke as well. They have found that the nicotine in the tobacco increases impulsivity. Those gamblers who used tobacco had more of a gambling problem. Out of the 385 participants in this search 61% percent of them reported using tobacco over the 12 months preceding this research.

Some Implications found from this research is that those who have used tobacco have had an early age of gambling. Beginning young, around the time that began to use tobacco. Smoking gave the adrenaline rush to just go out and do something. In a way Gambling had a high reward system. The possibility of winning thousands of dollars, was what kept gamblers in the game. Smoking helped the gamblers either calms their urge to keep going, or for others smoking would induce the impulse to keep going. Other gamblers were in the game for the winnings. The gamblers who used as well as gambled, had more of a problem when it cam to stepping back from the tables and no longer becoming a heavy gambler.

Some limitations to this research is the fact that all the participants for this research were all seeking treatment for the known problem that they had. The study was very generalized. Researches have to keep in mind that not everyone is going to want to share that they have a problem. They could even lie to themselves and say that they have no problem at all. It is easier for participants to go through treatment when they are choosing to change. It would be a lot more difficult for others to go through treatment when they feel they do not need a change.

Odlaug, B., Stinchfield, R., Golberstein, E., & Grant, J. (n.d.). The relationship of tobacco use with gambling problem severity and gambling treatment outcome. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 696-704. Retrieved October 28, 2014.

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