For years, addiction was seen as a matter of personal failure—a bad habit or a lack of discipline. People believed those who struggled with substance abuse could stop if they simply wanted to. But ...

Mental health experts are nearly unanimous in endorsing the disease model of addiction. Alcoholism (now alcohol use disorder) was declared a disease in 1956 by the American Medical Association, and ...

More than 48 million Americans are battling substance use disorder. Many are deteriorating in plain sight — on sidewalks, in encampments, and in emergency rooms. Others decline behind closed doors.

Addiction is often debated as either a disease or a choice, but in reality, it involves elements of both. Many people first partake in addictive activities by choice, whether out of curiosity, social ...

Most medical experts say that addiction is a disease—whether that addiction is to drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. That ever-expanding list is one reason why neuroscientist Marc Lewis takes issue with ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Over the past year and a half, Scientific ...