Overall treatment must target the drug dependence, relapse, and behavioral, family and social problems, in addition to diseases masked by the drug use and diseases acquired by the addict. It should also be noted that current detoxification protocols are short-term and targeted at acute abstinence. But protracted withdrawal complaints are recognized for many drugs. Those complaints are quite prolonged and clearly not limited to immediate effects of drug absence. The cocaine addiction model is so important because it emphasizes the dysphoria, relapse and need for addiction treatment rather than detoxification.
Smoking is an intensely addicting illness.
A typical smoker who inhales 30 cigarettes a day and takes eight to 10 puffs per cigarette smokes at least 240 times a day, or 87,600 times a year, and in toto has smoked in 20 years at least 1,752,000 times before coming in for treatment. If someone injected heroin that many times, there'd be no needle site left. Inhalation is an extremely powerful route of drug self-administration, more similar to intravenous use than oral use, so compelling brain reward and pathological attachment is very strong. But when we see someone smoking, we don't think of a needle sticking out of their arm. We've been desensitized to smoking behavior and aren't as alarmed as we should be when we see it.