Addictions
Definition-
Addiction
is a dependence on a behavior or sub-stance that a person
is powerless to stop. The term has been partially replaced
by the word dependence for substance abuse. Addiction has
been extended, however, to include mood-altering behaviors
or activities. Some researchers speak of two types of
addictions: substance addictions (for example, alcoholism,
drug abuse, and smoking); and process addictions (for
example, gambling, spending, shopping, eating, and sexual
activity). There is a growing recognition that many
addicts, such as polydrug abusers, are addicted to more
than one sub-stance or
process.
Description
Addiction
is one of the most costly public health problems in the
United States. It is a progressive syndrome, which means
that it increases in severity over time unless it is
treated. Substance abuse is characterized by frequent
relapse, or return to the abused substance. Substance
abusers often make repeated attempts to quit before they
are successful.
In 1995
the economic cost of substance abuse in the United States
exceeded $414 billion, with health care costs attributed to
substance abuse estimated at more than $114
billion.
By eighth
grade, 52% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 41% have
smoked tobacco, and 20% have smoked marijuana. Compared to
females, males are almost four times as likely to be heavy
drinkers, nearly one and a half more likely to smoke a pack
or more of cigarettes daily, and twice as likely to smoke
marijuana weekly.
However, among adolescents these
gender differences are decreasing. Although frequent use of
tobacco, cocaine and heavy drinking appears to have
remained stable in the 1990s, marijuana use
increased.
In 1999,
an estimated four million Americans over the age of 12 used
prescription pain relievers, sedatives, and stimulants for
"nonmedical" reasons during one month.
In the
United States, 25% of the population regularly uses
tobacco. Tobacco use reportedly kills 2.5 times as many
people each year as alcohol and drug abuse combined.
According to 1998 data from the World Health Organization,
there were 1.1 billion smokers worldwide and 10,000
tobacco-related deaths per day. Furthermore, in the United
States, 43% of children aged 2-11 years are exposed to
environmental tobacco smoke, which has been implicated in
sudden infant death syndrome,low birth weight, asthma,
middle ear disease, pneumonia, cough, and upper respiratory
infection.
Eating
disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and
binge eating, affect over five million American women and
men. Fifteen percent of young women have substantially
disordered attitudes toward eating and eating
behaviors.
More than
1,000 women die each year from anorexia nervosa. A 1997
Harvard study found that an estimated 15.4 million
Americans suffered from a gambling addiction. Over half
that number (7.9 million) were
adolescents.
- Bill
Asenjo, MS, CRC
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