I really love this analogy. This right here should shut up anyone who thinks just because something is self afflicted, that somehow negates it from being a disease.
Drug addiction is most certainly with out a doubt a full blown disease.
Is it a contagious disease transmissible trough blood or air? No
Are some people more susceptible to this disease than others? Yes
Do GENETICS play a HUGE role in WHO gets this DISEASE? YES
Are there observable physiological signifiers that someone has this disease? MOST DEFINITELY.
To those of you convinced drug addiction is just a life style choice, I'm assuming that by your logic diabetes and heart disease are just "life style choices" too, right? Environment and these little things called Genetics play absolutely no role in someone being susceptible to these supposed "life style choices". Also, that would mean that various forms of cancer that have been scientifically proven to be caused by poor health decisions such a smoking, are also just Life style choices.
Contradiction much?
LOL
Give me a break.
Listen kiddies, I'M A TOP DOG!
I'm a professional!
You aint ready to play in the big leagues.
Stay in school and do your homework.
A disease is a pathogen or pathogens create a disease, so, show me the pathogen that causes Addiction.
Just because you can answer a few vague questions that several different things could fit into does not make it a disease.
If addiction is a disease, why is it not in any list of diseases like all the other diseases? Especially since you say its a FULL BLOWN disease. You would also be able to test for the disease like you test for STDs, you know sexually transmitted DISEASES. If I have addiction disease do I need to notify my sexual partners? Because they might get it it!
Is it a contagious disease transmissible trough blood or air? Yes "
Transmission of pathogens occurs through many different routes, including airborne, direct or indirect contact, sexual contact, through blood, breast milk, or other body fluids, and through the fecal-oral route."
By definition you can "catch" addiction like you catch the measles, thats just fucking STUPID! Addiction is not contagious.
Are some people more susceptible to this disease than others? NO! BUT some people are more susceptible to not being able to stop/quit once they become addicted.
Do GENETICS play a HUGE role in WHO gets this DISEASE? YES, but addiction is not a disease. You do not "get" addiction like you "get" the flu.
The drug the addict is taking itself is the major contributor to the addiction by altering the brain causing a desire for more and or a need to avoid a comedown resulting in constant repeated use as examples.
If you never take the drug, you will never be addicted to it or have a desire for it. Those 2 things only happen AFTER you have taken said drug.
Also each drug effects the body differently in different parts of the body, from the different chemicals in each drug. Disease is caused by a specific thing that creates a specific disease such as measles, chicken pox that require a specific remedy unique to each disease. Addiction can be fixed with rehab
Since each drug has a specific thing that effects you, like THC in pot, Amphetamines in meth etc they would create separate diseases, such as weed disease, meth disease, coke disease. Not the addiction disease. There are no diseases that have several in one disease.
Addiction is a blanket term for many types of addiction, drugs, porn, sex, gambling, shopping. If addiction were a disease they would have vaccines like we do for most of the disease we have today or treat it with medical procedures like they do for every other disease.
When you take the drug of choice, it affects the brain, which affects your behavior, which affects your choices which results in side effects from said drug to cause you to become addicted to it. There is NO disease that "makes" you take or try a drug for the first time. You choose that of your own free will, curiosity or peer pressure. Porn and gambling are not a drug and has no mind altering chemicals but people become addicted to it because it effects the same pleasure centers of the brain that drugs do.
Addiction is caused by your choice to do something that results in an overwhelming desire for more.