Defining substance use and abuse.

Theories that have been developed to explain addictions and addictive behaviours, include:

1. Moral Models, which regard an addiction as a result of weakness and lack of moral fibre;
2. Bio Medical Models, which see an addiction as a disease; and
3. Social learning theories, which regard addicted behaviours as behaviours, which are learned according to the rules of learning theory.

Definitions become tautological. For example:

An addict: someone who "has no control over his or her behaviour", "lacks moral fibre", "uses a maladaptive coping mechanism", "has an addictive behaviour".

An addiction: "a need for a drug", "the use of a substance which is psychologically and physiological addictive", "showing tolerance and withdrawal".

Dependency: "showing psychological and physiological withdrawal". High in heroin, less for LSD.

Drug: "an addictive substance", "a substance which causes dependency", "any medical substance".

Definitions are related to theory for example, concepts of "control", "withdrawal" and "tolerance" are indicative of a biomedical view of addiction. Concepts such as "lacking moral fibre" suggest a moral model of addictions, and "Maladaptive coping mechanisms" suggests a social learning perspective.

Definitions

Tolerance is the process by which the body increasingly adapts to a substance and requires larger and larger doses of it to achieve the same effect. At some point these increases reach a plateau. 

Withdrawal refers to unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms people experience when they discontinue using a substance on which the body has become physically dependent. The symptoms experienced depend on the particular substance used, and can include anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance, hallucinations, nausea, headache and tremors. 

Substance abuse (according to Rosenhan and Seligman, 1984)

1. Existence of a clear pattern of pathological use, such as heavy daily use and an inability to stop or decrease using it.
2. Heightened problems in social or occupational functioning resulting from substance use, as when a person loses friends or jobs repeatedly because of it.
3. The existence of pathological use for at least a month.

Who Smokes? African Americans are more likely to smoke than white Americans. People with a good education, a high-income and a job with prestige are less likely to smoke. There is an overall decline in smoking, but an increase in heavy smoking (25 or more cigarettes per day) over the years between 1965 and 1985.