No one knows why people become addicted to drugs or alcohol and it is impossible to tell which person will become addicted and who will not. It isn't a matter of having poor moral principles, a deficiency in willpower, or even personal choice.

No one knows why people become addicted to drugs or alcohol and it is impossible to tell which person will become addicted and who will not. It isn't a matter of having poor moral principles, a deficiency in willpower, or even personal choice.
Drug addiction is complicated and recovering from addiction often takes more than improving your willpower or simply quitting cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. Addiction treatment is often necessary in order to foster the changes in the brain necessary to overcome the addiction.
Quitting on your own is extremely difficult as the problem lies in the brain's responsiveness to the drug and on the many ways to overcome being addicted. Even if you feel completely ready to quit your addiction, trying to cope on your own is usually a futile task.
Addiction is a common problem affecting millions of people throughout the world. It is estimated that the cost of addiction in the US alone is in excess of $600 billion USD per year. These costs stem from a decrease in productivity among those who are addicted, crime-related costs, and the costs of healthcare for the treatment of addiction and the complications of being addicted to drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.
It is also estimated that about $193 billion USD is spent on the care and lost productivity in those who use illicit drugs, $193 billion USD is spent on people who use tobacco products, about $235 billion are spent on people who abuse alcohol.
While these just represent monetary figures, the cost of addiction goes much further than that. It exerts a toll on society (that must care for these people), family members (who deal with the addict on a day-to-day basis.
Addiction is an extremely destructive problem, having safety and health implications that are brought along with those who are addicts. Families can be broken up due to addiction, people lose their jobs because of addiction, students fail in school because of addiction, and millions of people are victims of domestic violence when an addict becomes out of control. Children are abused every day because the addicted person is out of control or is craving their drug of choice and is agitated as a result.
What is Drug Addiction?
As mentioned, addiction is a complex problem. It originates in the brain as a chronic and relapsing condition that results in the compulsion to seek out and use illicit drugs or abuse prescription drugs. Initially, the addict starts out like anyone else--interested in trying something new or coerced into trying an illicit drug by a family member or friend.
Eventually, however, addition takes on a life of its own and the individual finds increasing reasons to use the drug or can develop cravings that lead them to take the drug over and over again. This is because addiction fundamentally changes the way the brain operates and this wreaks havoc on the addicted person's sense of self control. They simply can't resist using their drug of choice because they have brains that do not allow them to stop using their drug of choice.
Drug addiction doesn't just affect the individual using the drugs, altho