[matheusmoreira]

I don't dispute any of that. I once fell into the mobile game trap myself, it's really bad. I've posted many times here on HN about how these games are deliberately designed to form habits in players and I think they should be illegal.

The thing is I've personally seen opioid addicts do literally anything for a drug. Not for pleasure, just to avoid the pain of abstinence. One guy killed his own mother because she tried to cut off his access to the drugs, he ended up homeless and reduced to crime and was eventually arrested and forced to undergo treatment. The power of these substances cannot be underestimated. As bad as predatory video games are, I'm convinced opioids are worse.

[iSnow]

I think you are spot on but many people haven't experienced opiate (or benzo) addiction or talked to ex-addicts. It's really something else.

[matheusmoreira]

Indeed. I have experience at a neurology practice, I suppose it has skewed what "severe" addiction means to me.

Benzodiazepines addiction is severe as well. Not as bad as opioids but still pretty bad. I've seen patients get violent because a doctor didn't want to renew their prescription for their own good.