ABSTRACT
Addiction is a term used in everyday language, usually without much reflection upon precisely what the construct means. Addressing the question ‘What is addiction?’ opens a Pandora’s box of troublesome concepts which take some effort to define and understand. Informally, addiction may be defined as a degree of involvement in a behaviour that can function both to produce pleasure and to provide relief from discomfort, to the point where the costs appear to outweigh the benefits. Heavy involvement in an addictive behaviour is often accompanied by the recognition on the part of the ‘addict’ of the physical, social or psychological harm that he or she incurs, and an expressed desire to reduce or cease the addictive behaviour, yet, despite this, change is no easy matter.
