Addiction, then, is not inherently good or bad. Yet addictions can also have appalling consequences. Schaler's approach sweeps away a fog of pseudoscientific obfuscation and reveals the moral issues at the heart of this subject. Therefore, whenever we talk or write about addiction we are dealing with an ethical issue, not a medical one. Addiction is not a disease, nor is addiction a public health problem.
Addiction is a choice.
Recognizing that the average reader will have a hard time accepting that assertion, Schaler cites an impressive body of research that contradicts popular notions about drug habits. He shows that experimenting with reputedly irresistible drugs such as heroin and cocaine generally does not lead to addiction and that addicts commonly moderate or stop their drug use on their own. He debunks studies that are said to demonstrate the overwhelming power of drugs and systematically attacks the disease model of habitual intoxication promoted by Alcoholics Anonymous. In taking on the prevailing wisdom, Schaler shows a sharp eye for contradictions, non sequiturs, and unfalsifiable claims. Ironically, the fact that addiction treatment does not work helps to convince people in the addiction treatment field that addiction is a disease.