Apr. 17--Society has long viewed the addict as a person who lacked willpower. A moral failure. But thanks to more research and new treatments, addiction is being viewed like any other illness.

"The medical community now considers addiction to be a brain disease and not a moral failing," said Myrna Trickey, vice president of administrative services for Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare.

Treatment experts now view addiction to alcohol, drugs and even tobacco as a disease with genetic roots. It is a disease not unlike diabetes or other chronic illnesses that develop over time. But one that most admit develops as a result of initial voluntary behavior of usage.

"The medical community now realizes that while some may voluntarily first begin using substances, as time progresses, use progresses. There are actually alterations to the brain structure and to brain function that creates the compulsive nature of addiction," Ms. Trickey said.

But just because addiction is a disease, that doesn't excuse behavior, Ms. Trickey added. And a holistic approach to treatment is still essential, as an addict cannot simply stop using drugs by sheer willpower alone.

A regimen of new drugs like Camparal, which blocks the pleasure receptors in the brain, counseling and other forms of therapy are essential to recovery.

"Medication will not take the place of treatment," Ms. Trickey said. "The individual will continue to need assistance with all the aspects that go along with addiction. It is a physical problem but also a psychological problem as well as a social problem."

Bernie Storms, director of addiction treatment services for Family Guidance, said the news about addiction being a disease is not new. The American Medical Association recognized addiction as a disease in the 1950s. What's new perhaps is the medically assisted treatment approach.

"This information has been known to the treatment community for a very long time," Ms. Storms said, "(but) there's still some stigma attached."

There's also a misconception in the profile of addicts, said Dr. Alex Amante, board certified psychiatrist with St. Francis Mental Health Services in Maryville, Mo. The addict isn't always the blue-collar, uneducated slacker.

"It's not just the people in the lower-income population," he said. "We're finding out it's really people who can afford (the drugs). Most are upper class and they're mostly professional. We see a lot of them in nursing, executives, lawyers, doctors ... unfortunately, people who have more money can hide it."

There are few resources available to combat the problem of addiction, Dr. Amante added. We need to see it as a problem for everyone and not just the addict, he said.

"All of us need to be accountable. It's a social problem. But I think all of us are responsible in the development of this problem," he said. "It's not just a problem of some parts of society, it affects all of us."

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.

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Last updated: 05/01/2008 - 03:06 PM