Quality Care
Definition of Addiction
Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.
Glossary of Addiction Download the DefinitionWhat is the definition of addiction?
Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.
Prevention efforts and treatment approaches for addiction are generally as successful as those for other chronic diseases.
Background
Clear language and terminology in medicine is critically important in communicating current understandings of disease, risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, health, and wellness to patients, the public, policy makers, media, and others. Given the stigma associated with substance use and addiction, this is especially true for addiction medicine. Terminology in this area has long presented challenges to clinicians, patients, family members, policy makers, the media, and the general public. Even the name of the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ has evolved from previous terms found in the titles of predecessor organizations: alcoholism, alcohol and other drug dependencies, addictionology, and, finally, addiction medicine.
To help clarify the meaning of addiction-related terms as used by ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ, the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Board in 2007 endorsed the establishment of a Descriptive and Diagnostic Terminology Action Group (DDTAG). This group conducted extensive research and deliberated at length to develop ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s 2011 long and short definitions of addiction* as well as definitions for terms related to treatment, recovery, and the spectrum of unhealthy substance use. The DDTAG noted that variations in assumptions about what constitutes the desired outcomes of recovery, whether facilitated by professional treatment or not, were inherent in terminology challenges.
Since 2011, the public understanding and acceptance of addiction as a chronic brain disease and the possibility of remission and recovery have increased. At the same time, there is growing acknowledgment of the roles of prevention and harm reduction in the spectrum of addiction and recovery. In response, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Board in 2018 recognized the need for an updated definition of addiction that would be more accessible to many of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s stakeholder groups, including patients, the media, and policymakers. Accordingly, the Board appointed a Task Force to Update Terms Related to Addiction and the Treatment of Addiction. With the input of internal and external stakeholders, the Task Force revised the definition of addiction for use in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s policy statements.
The Task Force also recommended that definitions for “medication-assisted recovery (MAR)” and “medication-assisted treatment (MAT),” which had been identified by the DDTAG as transitional terms, be retired from use in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ documents. With the evolution of addiction treatment and its increasing integration with general medical care, the Task Force recommended ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ adopt general medical terminology to describe addiction treatment. Therefore, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ recommends using the term “medication” to refer to any FDA-approved medication used to treat addiction. However, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ recognizes the continued widespread use of the acronym “MAT” in laws, regulations, academic literature, the media, and the vernacular, and ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ suggests “MAT” be read and understood as “medications for addiction treatment.”
Updated: September 15, 2019
*Archived in 2019
Copyright 2019. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to make digital or hard copies of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for commercial, advertising or promotional purposes, and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, redistribution to lists, or other uses of this material require prior specific written permission or license from the Society. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Statements normally may be referenced in their entirety only without editing or paraphrasing, and with proper attribution to the society. Excerpting any statement for any purpose requires specific written permission from the Society. Statements of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ are revised on a regular basis; therefore, those wishing to utilize this document must ensure that it is the most current position of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ on the topic addressed.