Is sugar really as addictive as cocaine? Scientists row over effect on body and brain

Heated debate has greeted an article in a medical journal suggesting sugar should be considered an addictive drug, as experts deride the claims as 'absurd'

An article suggesting that sugar should be considered an addictive substance, and could even be on a par with abusive drugs such as cocaine, has sparked a furious backlash with experts describing the claims as "absurd".

In a narrative review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine the authors write that sugar could act as a gateway to alcohol and other addictive substances, adding that like sugar, like cocaine and opium, is refined from plants to yield pure white crystals - a process they say "significantly adds to its addictive properties."