特定の物質の接種や行動過程への執着などの嗜癖は、有害な結果にもかかわらず報酬刺激に対しての強迫的関与を特徴とする脳障害です。何十年にもわたって行われてきた研究がそれを裏付けているにも関わらず、世間の嗜癖行動に対する誤解や偏見、不正確な報道や情報は、正しい知識の普及や理解の促進を妨げてきました。

本書は、この疾病に対するそうした誤解を一掃することを目指し、依存症に関連する主な疑問に、米国の依存症の研究と臨床における第一人者のスゼット・グラスナーが、実証的な情報に基づいた分かりやすい解説を提供するものです。依存症の起源をはじめ、治療法や合併症に至るまで、洞察に満ちた概観を提供しています。一般読者にとどまらず、医療の専門家や政策立案者が最新の状況を踏まえた、正確な情報を得る上でも信頼の置ける一冊となっています。
 

• Addresses essential questions and controversies about addiction in an accessible and effective question-and-answer format
• Shows what sensible, evidence-based policies might look like to address addiction and the rising overdose deaths
• Researched and written by a leading expert and award-winning book author in the science and treatment of addiction (and mental illness)

   
While historically a topic of great interest, controversies and general public discourse surrounding addiction have been growing rapidly, particularly in light of the rising death toll resulting from the opioid epidemic. Debates are heating up over issues of opioid prescribing practices, legalization of marijuana, the potential for substances such as marijuana to be truly "addictive," the use of medication to treat individuals with addiction, and much more. In light of the common misconception that addictive behaviors are entirely volitional, misinformation and stigma have had a deleterious impact on the public's understanding concerning the nature, causes, and treatments of substance use disorders. Despite decades of research and tens of thousands of published and peer-reviewed investigations, critics continue to ask whether addiction is a genuine medical condition or a choice.
    
In Addiction: What Everyone Needs to Know®, leading expert in the science and treatment of addiction Suzette Glasner aims to clear the air of some of the most polarizing and misleading information that dominates public thinking about addiction. Providing straight talk and sound guidelines for the general public as well as health professionals and policymakers, Glasner raises important questions related to addiction and answers them in an accessible yet empirically informed manner throughout the book. Offering an insightful overview of addiction from its origins, to forms of treatment and complications, this book will be the go-to resource for authoritative, up-to-date, accurate, and compelling information about this topic.