[manacit]

Gambling? Porn? Sex?

These are all things that we acknowledge are possible to be addicted to to that are not substances. Not to mention that coke has caffeine which is a chemical substance just as much as anything.

You can pin addiction to anything as a personal weakness, including drugs. Why are some people able to smoke a few cigarettes or do a little bit of cocaine without ever getting addicted, when others are hooked on day one?

If there's one thing that's been fun to see as the outcome of GLP-1 drugs, it's that a lot of people seem to have a real problem seeing people better themselves the "easy way".

[mathgeek]

A good way to frame addiction is via perceived rewards. You can be addicted to many things if you look at it as “the person expects a reward for an activity, often errantly”. The worse addictions get into “the reward isn’t even expected with a moment’s clarity, but you do it anyway” territory.

[naijaboiler]

It doesn’t matter what the actual addiction is, the reward circuitry in the brain is pretty much similar.

Addiction is basically highjacking our brain wiring that’s meant to help us expend energy chasing things that we need for survival (food, reproduction), and using it to chase other things

[tharkun__]

But you are addicted to a substance in those cases.

Sure, you don't take the substance directly. But the things you do have your body produce/release the substance.

A dopamine high is a dopamine high. Even though you didn't buy a dopamine pill from a shady dude in the parking lot.