The concept of addiction: Its use and abuse in the media and science

Since it relates to common and frequently troublesome aspects of human behaviour, the concept of addiction is of considerable interest to the media, as it is to the health sciences and medicine. With some exceptions, the problems that emerge from the media's use of the concept are similar to those evident in the scientific literature. The term is sometimes used simply to draw attention to a behaviour which evokes disapproval, and the concept may be applied so broadly that sight of its core meaning is lost. However, the fact that there are problems in the way we employ the concept of addiction does not mean that there is no problem of addiction. Important aspects of human experience are well captured by much lay and scientific usage of the term. These experiences involve a range of appetitive behaviours (frequently but not exclusively drug-related) which the person concerned finds genuinely difficult to control and which are the source of conflict both within and between individuals. Among drug-related behaviours, opiate use can be considered the paradigm of addiction; and it is meaningful, even if not always appropriate, to consider the addictive potential of other psychoactive drugs in relation to this standard.