3 min read
Addiction as Disease: How the Medical Model Helps—and How It Hurts
Framing nicotine addiction as a disease reduces stigma and enables medical treatment. It also removes agency—the addict is a patient, not an agent. The disease model is both a tool for compassion and a mechanism of control.
The disease model of addiction says: the smoker is not weak. They have a medical condition—nicotine dependence—that requires treatment. The model reduces stigma (it's not a moral failure) and enables healthcare intervention (it's a disease, so it should be treated). **But the disease model also removes agency. The patient is someone to whom treatment is delivered—not someone who participates in their own recovery. The smoker who is told they have a disease may feel less shame—and less empowered to change.**
