by Kelan Putnam

Created on: March 08, 2009

Think about it. Drink about it. Sink into a tolerance to drugs that makes you crave more and more and more. Yes, this is obviously a disease. A desire to continue using drugs or drinking without thinking about the consequences. Again, and again. To do so would be a disease much like any other. Smoking is no different; an unpleasant, addictive poison that places a person at risk for many other illnesses. It is a known fact that the cigarette industry includes addictive substances in each cigarette so that a smoker has a terrible burden to bear once the decision to stop is made.

People don't want to have horrible hangovers, go through detoxification from cocaine, heroin, the myriad of pills that create a desire then a drive to repeat the experience day after day. Would anyone go through the muscle tremors, the insomnia, the shakes, the headaches, the racing thoughts, the gastrointestinal problems that accompany detoxification from addiction only to repeat the process? Would they lose a wife, a husband, children, a job? What could possibly be the upside to those results?

How can that not be a disease? Many go through a tough physical situation that requires pills for pain and do not become addicted. Others drink socially and drive home responsibly, without being drunk. Some get so loaded that they cannot drive, but they do. People die, as a result. Or there can be a plethora of other consequences. Who would consider this a life to not rectify unless they are seriously ill?

Most can remain in control when aware of what their tolerance for a drink or a drug is. If not, how can a life be so disordered that the drinks or drugs continue until oblivion or a blackout sets in? Who would ever actually want to be in that situation if not for a condition they cannot control?

What is sad is that all the consequences in the world won't stop an addict. Would anyone consider that a matter of will power or bad character?

The answers and solutions to the disease of addiction are many, and relapse is a serious consideration. No one would choose that sort of life. Mistakes made that cannot be undone. Pain within from addiction is not immune to repetition. Relapse waits at the door, triggered by any number of life circumstances that are intolerable yet can be overcome. For an addict, that is a reason to relapse.

Addiction is one of the most common, one of the worst, one of the most misunderstood of serious sickness. The addict (usually) has no empathy or compassion from those close to

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