Is Addiction A Choice? Harvard’s Gene Heyman Says Yes.

I’ve been citing Heyman’s book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, quite a bit.  Here’s a video where you can see him explain some of his insights:

I don’t mean to fawn, but I seriously believe he will be the hero for substance abusers everywhere in the 21st century.  There are plenty of other voices who have done a wonderful job in bringing sanity to the subject of addiction, but Heyman’s work puts together a brilliant model of addiction, it’s backed with evidence throughout, and I have a hard time finding any big stones he’s left unturned.  Furthermore, he presents it in a way that the intellectuals may finally accept, and he’s got the credentials to be taken seriously on a national stage.

In this interview he brings up the important point that unlike real diseases, addiction responds to incentives.