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by lm28469
617 days ago
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I have a lot of friends who drink a large beer every evening and "can stop whenever they want" none of them ever stopped in the last 20 years, they might not be physically addicted to the substance but they are definitely addicted to the habit and the effects are the same in the end. It doesn't matter if you can in theory stop but not do it or if you cannot physically stop, in the end you're drinking every day |
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It matters a lot, if you want to use the term "addiction".
Addiction has many definitions, but usually it involves a habit or compusion to some behaviour or consumption of some substance, often with and despite negative consequences (e.g. mental or physical health, employment issues, relationship issues), and often with negative consequences (e.g. withdrawal symptoms) upon cessation.
A single large beer every evening may be a habit, and your friends may miss that habit if they were to stop, but I'd suspect they don't experience significant negative life consequences from that single large beer, and nor would they experience symptoms of physical withdrawal if they stopped.