Addiction is a chronic disorder proposed to be precipitated by a combination of genetic, biological/pharmacological and social factors. ~ Addiction is characterized by the repeated use of substances or behaviors despite clear evidence of morbidity secondary to such use.Decades ago addiction was a pharmacologic term that clearly referred to the use of a tolerance-inducing drug in sufficient quantity as to cause tolerance (the requirement that greater dosages of a given drug be used to produce an identical effect as time passes). ~ With that definition, humans (and indeed all mammals) can become addicted to various drugs quickly. ~ Almost at the same time, a lay definition of addiction developed. ~ This definition referred to individuals who continued to use a given drug despite their own best interest. ~ This latter definition is now thought of as a disease state by the medical community.
Physical dependence, abuse of, and withdrawal from drugs and other miscellaneous substances is outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR). ~ Unfortunately, terminology has become quite complicated in the field. ~ To wit, pharmacologists continue to speak of addiction from a physiologic standpoint (some call this a physical dependence); psychiatrists refer to the disease state as dependence; most other physicians refer to the disease as addiction. ~ The field of psychiatry is now considering, as they move from DSM-IV to DSM-V, transitioning from "dependence" to "addiction" as terminology for the disease state
