Appetites Addiction

I both popular and technical discussion, addictive behavior is said to be in some sense out of control. However, this description does not distinguish addiction from various forms of moral weakness. The excessive indulgence of appetites, for example, gluttony and promiscuity, are excesses for which we still hold one another responsible. The loss of control in addiction seems different Addiction appears to be a source of compulsive desire, desire too strong for the agent to resist.1 

The World Health Organization expresses this view in its 1969 definition of dependence (a term that replaced the use of addiction in its earlier declarations). Dependence is defined as 

Nonetheless, talk of compulsion remains controversial among theorists and practitioners as well as among nonprofessionals in their dealings with addictive behavior.2 In part, the controversy is due to moral ambivalence. If addiction is compulsive, then addicts might be absolved from responsibility. To some, this implication is a necessary step to a more humane policy ( Addicts need help, not blame ). Others find this way of thinking 

The controversy about compulsion is also conceptual. It is far from clear how the notion of motivational compulsion is to be analyzed. The moral and conceptual concerns interact with one another. Insofar as talk of compulsion is ill defined, it is Liable to abuse. As Grinspoon and Baku-lar (1976,191) skeptically put it, What we know so far is only that sometimes some people intensely desire to consume certain substances called psychoactive drugs. They suspected that 

With the recent appearance of twelve-step programs not only for food and relationship junkies but also for those hooked on debt or on the internet, perhaps these words have lost some of their rhetorical force. Still, the caveat is well taken we should remain wary of the tendency to conflate devotion and addiction, temptation and compulsion. 

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Davidson, J. 1994. Consuming Passions Appetite, Addiction and Spending in Classical Athens. Diss. Oxford. 

Phenmetrazine Clinically used for short-term appetite suppression in the longer term its supposed benefits for weight control are very doubtful recreational use is rare, with weaker CNS effects than amphetamine, but it is still addictive. 

Nicotine is responsible for the highly addictive properties of tobacco products. Addiction occurs in 30% of those who experiment with tobacco products, and more than 80% of those who attempt to quit smoking will relapse within a year. Withdrawal from nicotine produces a syndrome characterized by nicotine craving as well as dysphoria, anxiety, irritability, restlessness and increased appetite. It is treated with nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum and patches, and/or with buproprion, a drug that is classified as an antidepressant but has multiple and complex effects in brain. Buproprion reduces craving in some smokers. Nicotine addiction has been reviewed recently at cellular and systems levels [38-41]. 

The most commonly used therapies for anxiety and depression are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the more recently developed serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). SSRIs, which constitute 60% of the worldwide antidepressant and antianxiety market, are frequently associated with sexual dysfunction, appetite disturbances and sleep disorders. Because SSRIs and SNRIs increase 5-HT levels in the brain, they can indirectly stimulate all 14 serotonergic receptor subtypes [2,3], some of which are believed to lead to adverse side effects associated with these drugs. Common drugs for short-term relief of GAD are benzodiazepines. These sedating agents are controlled substances with addictive properties and can be lethal when used in combination with alcohol. The use of benzodiazepines is associated with addiction, dependency and cognitive impairment. 

Once a methamphetamine addict stops taking the drug, the withdrawal symptoms can be very severe and include depression and anxiety, increased appetite, fatigue, paranoia, irritability, aggressive behavior, and intense craving for the drug. Some of these symptoms can be eased with sedative drugs like Valium or antidepressants like Prozac . 

Reactions associated with treatment of narcotic addiction include difficulty sleeping, anxiety, nervousness, headache, low energy, irritability, increased energy, dizziness, abdominal cramps/pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, joint/muscle pain, delayed ejaculation, decreased potency, skin rash, chills, and increased thirst. 

Older drugs still available in some countries include phenylpropanolamine, benzphetamine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, phentermine, diethylpropion, mazindol, and phendimetrazine. These drugs are all amphetamine mimics and are central nervous system appetite suppressants they are generally helpful only during the first few weeks of therapy. Their toxicity is significant and includes hypertension (with a risk of cerebral hemorrhage) and addiction liability. 

I have, among other things, been presenting some grounds for dissatisfaction with talk about motivational compulsion, understood on the model of irresistible desire. Although addiction is commonly described (if not always strictly defined) in these terms, we need not be skeptical about the concept itself. For the crucial notion here, 1 suggest, is the idea of an acquired appetite. It is this notion that explains the stereotypical or... 

Since nonhuman animals lack a capacity for critical evaluation, they are not even prima facie candidates for either motivational compulsion or weakness. Addictions may move them contrary to their own good but not contrary to their own conceptions of the good. Nevertheless, when their addictive behavior displaces their natural appetites, they suffer from what might be called an appetitive impairment. 

To become addicted is to acquire an appetite, an appetite that, typically, is caused and sustained by the regular ingestion of certain substances. To acquire an appetite is to acquire a felt need, a source of pleasure and pain, that has a periodic motivational force that is independent of one s capacity for critical judgment. Hence, for creatures with such a capacity, to acquire an appetite is to become vulnerable to temptation. 

Nor does the conception of addiction as acquired appetite imply that this condition is necessarily harmful, all things considered. Certain addictions can be regulated without interference with a person s physical or mental health or with productive social relations.27 Opiate dependency can be a reasonable price to pay for control of acute or chronic... 

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