High body mass index (BMI) is an important cause of a range of diseases and is estimated to be the seventh leading cause of death globally. In this paper we discuss evidence that food consumption shows similarities to features of other addictive behaviours, such as automaticity and loss of control. Glycemic index is hypothesised to be the element of food that predicts its addictive potential. A...

We examine the possible existence of a ‘gateway’ effect between the consumption of three different substances – cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana – among adolescents. A gateway effect exists when consumption of one substance increases the likelihood of subsequent initiation of consumption of other substances. We find evidence that smoking and/or alcohol consumption serve as ‘gateways’ for init...

Avatars are a unique cyber product that hold much potential to be a market success because they provide consumers with various psychological benefits such as anonymous personalization and an artificial sense of well-being in cyberspace. However, due to the very nature of avatars, consumer psychology, and the way that they are marketed to teenage consumers, avatars may also pose considerable thr...

This commentary proposes a complementary perspective to that developed by Billieux, Schimmenti, Khazaal, Maurage and Heeren (2015). The addiction-as-disease approach tends to sideline explanatory factors of a psychosocial, cultural, political, or historical nature. I therefore suggest taking into account not only the personal characteristics (loss of self-control, impulsivity) related to the di...

It is common for clinicians, researchers, and public policymakers to describe certain drugs or objects (e.g., games of chance) as “addictive,” tacitly implying that the cause of addiction resides in the properties of drugs or other objects. Conventional wisdom encourages this view by treating different excessive behaviors, such as alcohol dependence and pathological gambling, as distinct disord...

Philosophy underlying harm reduction  Problem drug use is not an all or nothing phenomenon: it ranges on a continuum of minimal use to extreme abuse  Changing addictive behavior is necessarily a stepwise process with complete abstinence as the final goal. Any movement in the direction of reduced harm, no matter how small, is positive  Sobriety is not for everyone. The harm reduction approach...

It has been argued that food cannot be "addictive", unlike conventional drugs of abuse, because it is an essential part of life. In this paper, evidence is reviewed, largely from an evolutionary psychobiological perspective, that plant-based psychoactive drugs (such as those derived from the opium poppy and the coca leaf) and gambling-related behaviors were once adaptive for human health and su...

The plant indole alkaloid ibogaine has shown promising anti-addictive properties in animal studies. Ibogaine is also anti-addictive in humans as the drug alleviates drug craving and impedes relapse of drug use. Although not licensed as therapeutic drug and despite safety concerns, ibogaine is currently used as an anti-addiction medication in alternative medicine in dozens of clinics worldwide. ...

How people intentionally change addictive behaviors with and without treatment is not well understood by behavioral scientists. This article summarizes research on self-initiated and professionally facilitated change of addictive behaviors using the key trans-theoretical constructs of stages and processes of change. Modification of addictive behaviors involves progression through five stages--p...

It is well known that cigarette smoking and the use of other addictive goods is harmful to health. Still, some people smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol in their daily lives. The consumption of addictive goods seems, therefore, to be the antithesis of rational behavior. In this article, however, it is demonstrated that a rational individual, in the sense that he or she maximizes his or her well...