Titanic wrote: I think JAS must live in a cocoon.Addiction is a illness just like alcoholism....
Addiction including alcoholism is an "illness" only to the extent that some people are genetically predisposed to become addicted more easily than others, and because anyone can develop a physiological change creating dependency on any addictive substance if they use enough of it for long enough. From memory I think for alcohol it is about 1 person in 7.
However, there is an element of choice.
One can choose not to overuse/abuse addictive substances in the first place.
One can heed the warnings - I did the one time I drove home and didn't remember doing so the next day - it was sometime in 1976 I think.
If you get addicted to something and get a withdrawal reaction, there is a choice - you are not helpless in the grip of a purely medical condition.
You can say "this is too hard" and go get more of your drug of choice or a substitute, or you can taper down the dose, under medical supervision if it is severe, and bear the pain and discomfort for as long as it takes. Physiological withdrawal can be anything from a few days to 10 or 14 days depending on the severity of physiological dependence.
Then you no longer chemically addicted, unless you go back to using and start the pattern again.
However, you are now sensitised and predisposed to become physiologically addicted more easily on using the drug again.
Habit, or psychological dependence, is a longer fight, and thence one can get into the debate about whether
that is illness or choice.