Addiction
Quips and Quotes
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's
the stuff life is made of.
This lesson discusses a variety of substance abuse and
addictive behaviours ranging from alcoholism to
smoking.
Benjamin Franklin
Lesson Objectives
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How do we define substance abuse and addiction?
What are the defining characteristics of a substance abuser?
Are some people more likely than others to become alcoholics?
Why do people become addicted?
Under what conditions are people likely to become addicted?
Why is alcoholism a disease?
What are the myths and models of alcoholism?
What are some risks for prolonged alcohol abuse?
How prevalent is the problem of alcohol abuse in Canada?
Why do people smoke?
Suggested
Instructional
Strategies
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Discussion: Nature/nurture and addictive behaviours.
o Using the template supplied in the Curriculum Support Materials, discuss
how inherited traits, as well as the environment, can influence addictive
behaviours.
Research: Beliefs in smoking
o Replicate the “Beliefs in Smoking” study (see Teacher Information for
details), and include nonsmokers for comparison purposes.
Research: Gambling addiction
o How severe is the problem in Saskatchewan?
o What are the similarities and differences between gambling addiction
and other forms of addiction?
Discussion: What implications does the research on behavioural conditioning
and drug use have for other addictive behaviours such as drinking, smoking and
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Direct
Independent
Interactive
Indirect
Experiential
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gambling?
Discussion: Warnings on cigarette packages: Are they effective?
Discussion: Drugs and patents
o Should drug companies be allowed to patent their drugs?
o What are the issues in patenting drug therapies?
Research: Myths about alcoholism
o Design and conduct a research study investigating the prevalence of the
myths of alcoholism listed in the Teacher Information section.
Discussion: How do we prevent young children from smoking, drinking or
taking drugs?
Consensus decision making: One conviction for drinking and driving should
result in permanent loss of driving privileges.
Making Connections
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Research: Nature, nurture and addiction
o Prepare a report on the relative influences of genetic inheritance and the
social environment on addictive behaviours.
Resources
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Curriculum Support Materials:Nature/Nurture and Human Development
Taking the Pulse of Saskatchewan
Lesson 4.6.7: Teacher Information
How do we define substance abuse and addiction?
Substance abuse is a pattern of use that causes serious social, legal or interpersonal problems. Thus, people can become
psychologically dependent on psychoactive drugs without becoming physically addicted to them. Addiction is the physical need for a
substance (physiological substance dependence). Even when use of a drug does not create physical addiction, some people may
overuse, or abuse, it because it gives them temporary self-confidence, enjoyment or relief from tension (Bernstein and Nash, 1999, p.
467).
What are the defining characteristics of a substance abuser?
A substance abuser is a person who overuses and relies on drugs to deal with stress and anxiety. Most substance abusers turn to
alcohol, tobacco and other readily available drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, but substance abuse is not confined to these
drugs. A growing number of people are abusing legal drugs such as tranquilizers and diet pills, as well as illegal drugs such as
amphetamines and heroin. A person is a substance abuser if all three of the following statements apply:
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The person has used the abusive substance for at least a month.
The use has caused legal difficulties or social or vocational problems.
There is recurrent use in hazardous situations such as driving a car (Lefton et al., 2000, p. 138).
Are some people more likely than others to become alcoholics?
The answer is yes, according to researchers who study the biological aspects of alcoholism. Researchers assert that genetics, blood
and brain chemistry, and specific brain structures predispose some people to alcoholism. Children of alcoholics are more likely to
become alcoholics, even if they are raised by non-alcoholic adoptive parents. The correlations suggest that certain individuals'
physiology predisposes them to alcoholism (Lefton et al., 2000, p. 141).
Why do people become addicted?
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Biological Model: Addiction to substances such as heroin and cocaine is largely seen as a biological process brought about by
the physical effects of the drugs, but explaining why people first use them is more complicated. The causes of initial drug use
are even less well established than the reasons for alcohol abuse. One line of theorizing suggests that there might be a genetic
tendency toward behavioural compulsions that predisposes some people to abuse many kinds of drugs, including
alcohol. Psychological factors, such as the need to reduce stress, peer pressure, thrill seeking, and poor social adjustment, have
all been proposed as triggers for addictive behaviour. While research has not yet established why continued drug use occurs in
some people and not in others, again, it is likely that some predisposition sets the stage on which specific psychological
processes and stressors play out their roles (Bernstein and Nash, 1999, p. 468).
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According to the learning model, drug addiction is not a disease but a “central activity of the individual’s way of life” that
depends on learning and culture. To understand why people become addicted the learning model focuses on the behaviours
surrounding the addiction. Four arguments support this view:
o Addiction patterns vary according to cultural practices and the social environment. Alcoholism is much more likely to
occur in societies that forbid children to drink but condone drunkenness in adults than in societies that teach children
how to drink responsibly and moderately but condemn adult drunkenness. Within a particular country, addiction rates
can rise or fall rapidly in response to cultural changes such as when people move from their own culture of origin into
another that has different drinking rules.
o Policies of total abstinence tend to increase rates of addiction rather than reduce them.
o Not all addicts have withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking a drug.
o Addiction does not depend on properties of the drug alone, but also on the reason for taking it. Addicts use drugs to
escape from the real world, but people living with chronic pain use some of the same drugs in order to function in the
real world and they do not become addicted (Tavris and Wade, 2000, p. 601).
Under what conditions are people likely to become addicted?
Abuse and addiction reflect an interaction of physiology and psychology, person and culture. To summarize, problems with drugs are
most likely to occur under these conditions:
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When a person has a physiological vulnerability to a drug;
When a person believes he or she has no control over the drug;
When laws or customs encourage or teach people to take a drug in binges, and moderate use is neither encouraged nor taught;
When a person comes to rely on a drug as a way of coping with problems, suppressing anger or fear, or relieving pain;
When members of a person's peer group drink heavily or use other drugs excessively (Tavris and Wade, 2000, p. 604).
Why is alcoholism a disease?
There are five reasons:
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The illness can be described. The alcoholic’s compulsion to drink is manifested in drinking habits that are inappropriate,
unpredictable, excessive and constant. The behaviour oscillates to extremes so that people around the alcoholic are confused
and bewildered.
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The course of the illness is predictable and progressive. It will get worse, it’s as simple as that. Sometimes there are plateaus
where the drinking behaviour seems to remain constant for months or even years. Occasionally some event will trigger what
seems to be a spontaneous improvement. But, over a period of time, the course of the disease is inevitably toward greater and
more serious deterioration. This deterioration can be physical, mental and spiritual.
The disease is primary – that is, it is not just a symptom of some other underlying disorder. Alcoholism is a primary disease, it
causes mental, emotional and physical problems. Other problems that the victim might have cannot be treated effectively until
the alcoholism has been treated first.
It is permanent. Once you have it, you have it. Trying to learn to drink responsibly just won’t work. The only solution is to
seek help to permanently arrest the disease – the earlier the better. The chances for successful treatment are much better in the
earlier stages of the disease.
It is terminal – if left untreated, it inevitably results in premature death. Whether the chemical complicated a heart condition,
high blood pressure, liver problem, bleeding ulcer, or precipitated a suicide, it is still the agent that caused the death (Glace
Bay Drug Awareness Project).
What are the myths and models of alcoholism?
There are several myths regarding alcoholism:
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Impaired Model: “Alcoholics cannot change”. Treatment is viewed as a waste of time. This model resulted in the creation of
the “town drunk”.
Dry Moral Model: “Denouncing demon rum”. Morals have to do with right or wrong, and moral models put blame for
alcoholism on the individual’s inability or unwillingness to do the “right thing”. This model emphasizes that alcoholics need
to learn to act rightly rather than wrongly. With the Dry Moral model, alcoholism is viewed as the natural consequence of the
use of alcohol by someone without sufficient moral strength to resist its temptation. The assumption is that moral people
simply choose to leave it alone entirely, or to drink it so sparingly that it has no effect on them.
Wet Moral Model: “Social Drinking”. Instead of preaching avoidance of alcohol, the Wet Moral Model advocates controlled
drinking. In this model, an alcoholic is someone who doesn’t drink within the rules set down by society. This is the source of
the legendary alcoholic emphasis on “will power”. Factors such as physiological addiction, alcohol toxicity, progressive loss
of control, abnormal tolerance and liver or brain disease are routinely ignored.
The Old Medical Model: “A Patchwork Quilt”. Alcoholism is seen as a severely debilitating condition which is potentially
fatal and contributes to myriad complications. As one contracted alcoholism through excessive use of alcohol, it was viewed
as a self-inflicted illness. Thus, the act of drinking too much causes alcoholism, which in turn causes further drinking, which
produces more problems, which motivates still greater consumption, and so on.
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The New Medical Model: “Alcoholism as a real disease”. This model emphasizes the process of identifying drinking
practices and relating them to a disease process rather than to some other cause. Scientists are looking at an inheritable
disease, one of a group of chronic diseases that throughout history has been mistaken for personality disorders. Any method
through which the alcoholic chose to accomplish giving up drinking is perfectly acceptable.
The Bio/Psycho/Social/Spiritual Model: This model sees alcoholism as:
o A chronic disease, which means that it is long lasting. Once established, it is not going to disappear.
o It is also a progressive disease, which means that instead of getting better as time passes, it seems to get worse.
o The three common primary symptoms of alcoholism are tolerance, physical dependence and organ changes.
o This model views alcoholism as a disease that effects all aspects of an individual’s life. Not only does alcoholism
effect the physical functioning of the body, it also effects the psychological (how one views and perceives the world
around them), the social (how one interacts with others in society) and the spiritual (how one feels connected) aspects
of life.
o The recovery plan addresses those aspects effected in a holistic manner (Source Unknown).
What are some risks for prolonged alcohol abuse?
About 10 percent of Americansin excess of 25 million peopledisplay alcohol dependence or abuse, a pattern of continuous or on-andoff drinking that may lead to addiction and almost always causes severe social, physical, and other problems. Males exceed females in
this category by a ratio of 6 to 1, although the problem is on the rise among women and among teenagers of both genders. Prolonged
overuse of alcohol can result in life-threatening liver damage, reduced cognitive abilities, vitamin deficiencies that can lead to severe
and irreversible memory loss, and a host of other physical ailments. Alcohol dependence or abuse, commonly referred to as
alcoholism, has been implicated in half of all the traffic fatalities, homicides and suicides that happen each year. Alcoholism also
figures prominently in rape and child abuse, as well as in elevated rates of hospitalization and absenteeism from work. It is estimated
that 43 percent of U.S. adults have an alcoholic in their families. Children growing up in families in which one or both parents abuse
alcohol are at an increased risk for developing a host of mental disorders, including substance abuse disorders (Bernstein and Nash,
1999, p. 467).
How prevalent is the problem of alcohol abuse in Canada?
Alcohol consumption in Canada has been declining in the past decade. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, about
72 percent of urban Canadian adults report having used alcohol at some time; just over nine percent of those who drink report having
problems related to alcohol and just under half a million Canadians are classified as alcoholics. The highest proportions of people
reporting problems with alcohol are in the 15 to 24 year old range (Lefton et al., 2000, p. 139).
Why do people smoke?
There are genetic, psychosocial and cognitive reasons:
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Genetic: Some people may be genetically predisposed. Individual differences in the reaction to nicotine are taken as evidence
that our genes play a role in determining which people will become smokers. Also, nicotine enhances the availability of
certain neurotransmitter substances, such as dopamine. These neurotransmitters influence memory, attention, performance,
pleasure, tension, anxiety, appetite and pain, and can be pleasurable for some.
Psychosocial factors also play a role in establishing smoking behaviour, especially among young people. Adolescents may be
more likely to smoke if their parents or other role models smoke, or if they experience peer pressure to do so, or if their
brothers or sisters do.
The cognitive factors include believing that smoking allows them to stay alert and handle stress, even though there is no clear
evidence in support of those ideas (Baron et al., 1998, p. 549)