Annoyed with addiction deniers

I think this is one of those cases of opinion writers digesting the work of journalists who are attempting, clumsily, to understand and communicate the relevance of recent scientific studies. In medical circles, the word addiction sometimes carries a specific meaning above and beyond our ordinary usage of the word. That medical definition implies a predictable re-wiring pattern in the brain. Some scientists did A study in which that predictable pattern was not observed. Press release. Article. Tie-in to recent celebrity news. (Slate)

But you know what? In practical terms, it's still the SAME THING. I bet most of the people calling it a "compulsion" don't fully understand the definition of addiction or compulsion, or what the difference would mean in terms of culpability and treatment. A lot of people are just repeating headlines, and I think they can be safely dismissed.

 

e5s summed it up well. I would add that the persons doing scientific studies are also human and not immune to bias, inadequate study design, and erroneous conclusions/opinion. This has been discussed at length several times in the forum; I don't have the links offhand but you should be able to find it with a search. At least 2 articles have been mentioned here (in addition to the one above) with long explanations of why the articles aren't valid. The bottom line - it is an addiction. That doesn't mean that you or anyone else are necessarily addicted. Don't let media reports or what someone says get to you. Most likely they honestly believe what they are saying, but just acknowledge it and move on.