[4death4]

I don’t think you can automatically classify addiction as disease. It can be a disease, but it can also be a compulsion that a “sufferer” chooses to partake in. There is an implicit assumption in your argument that all drug addicts would choose to stop if they weren’t addicted. In my experience, that isn’t true. Many drug users like to use drugs and would not stop using given the choice.

For a more benign example: I “suffer” from dermatophagia. It’s a compulsion that would be very hard for me to stop. But I like doing it. I wouldn’t stop even if I could. This is similar to how addiction is a compulsion, but that doesn’t make the behavior something done unwillingly.

[anonzzzies]

If you are an addict how do you know that the liking is not the addiction? Many ex smokers liked smoking but after really kicking off the habits they cannot stand the smell or thought of it. Same with many ex drinkers; they would tell you they just like drinking and wouldn’t stop, but when they do they dislike the taste even if not full blown alcoholics to begin with. I think you forget that you can only ask them to their choice after waning off the addiction, not while they still have it. Same for your benign pleasure.

But sure, it depends on the case, I didn’t say it didn’t, however I think there is little interpretation for the Philly zombies in this case; given a choice (not addicted and a life that supports that), they would, probably all of them.