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Comment by twox2 | Hacker News Reader

From what I understand, a true addiction is defined by if it's pathological or not, and the thing is no one is out on the street prostituting themselves for coffee, cigarettes, or candy... but they are for crack, heroin, meth, etc.

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Same argument could be made about social media. Just because you don't see folks prostituting themselves for a minute of fame doesn't mean... wait a minute ... never mind.

I wasn’t able to summarise such a nuanced thing into one paragraph. So here’s the full link. No one is selling their body for smartphones either but it’s now being increasingly accepted as an object of addiction. It’s more about what impact an object or activity has on your life than anything else. Although, Sugar probably isn’t addictive enough to be so automatic that you are chugging a scoop of table sugar pacing the kitchen.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-addiction-201706...

Cigarettes are relatively cheap and accessible, if they weren't you'd 100% find people prostituting themselves for them, it's probably as addictive as heroin.

If we'd make cigarettes illegal tomorrow, we might see some nicotine related prostitution. If we'd do the same for coffee or sugar, I'd doubt we'd see it.

Idk, I feel like caffeine is just as addictive as nicotine, and we allow kids to consume it. The health effects are different, certainly, but just try taking coffee away from a lifelong drinker.

Kid yourself not, smoking is an addiction.

I know, I used to be a tobacco smoker and I want one just as bad after not having had a cig for over a decade... I'm sure it's a nuanced topic, but I'm just relaying what I understand from the clinical perspective. I don't have a horse in this race. I know all of these things are addictive, but the impact is the question.

Probably because coffee, cigs, and candy are cheap?

So is heroin, crack, and meth.... at least until it's not.

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