“Addiction” is an important concept because it serves a crucial role in explaining why people act in ways which may ultimately damage their health. In an attempt to understand why people use, then go on to abuse available psycho-active substances (they rarely abuse any other kind) the concept of addiction is pivotal within current reductionist biomedical fashions of thought. This fashion attempts to reduce all behaviour to the action of genes.

In the “addiction” model, smoking, alcohol and illicit drug-use are all explained by the action of chemicals on neuronal receptors and neurotransmitters.

But is this a true picture of what happens?