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Definition of Addiction (2019 Update)
Open AccessAddiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Prevention efforts and treatment approaches for addiction are generally as successful as those for other chronic diseases. (Adopted by the ASAM Board of Directors September 15, 2019.) Background: since ASAM's 2011 long and short definitions, public understanding and acceptance of addiction as a chronic brain disease and the possibility of remission and recovery have increased, alongside growing acknowledgment of the roles of prevention and harm reduction. In 2018 the ASAM Board recognized the need for an updated definition that would be more accessible to patients, the media and policymakers, and appointed a task force which produced this revised definition.
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