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Addiction, once debated, is now recognized as a disease. It was officially classified as a disease in 1987, with alcoholism being recognized earlier. This is a relatively recent concept considering alcohol has been around for centuries. The discovery of addiction as a disease is shocking considering how long these issues have existed. Narcotics and opium-derived medications were prescribed for non-pain-related issues in the past, such as sinus problems. These examples highlight the need for addiction to be treated as a medical diagnosis earlier. In today's world, we all have our own vices. Our morning cup of coffee, our glass of red wine with dinner, or our nightly TikTok scrolling sessions. However, when do these vices become an addiction? When was addiction first talked about and or discovered? How has this concept evolved through the years? This week on Kicking It with Kylie, we will dive into these topics a little bit better to understand addiction and why it deserves to have the medical diagnosis that it was once given. Everyone has heard of the age-old debate, is addiction a disease or a choice? The problem is, is that it's not a debate anymore. Well, it is, but it really shouldn't be. According to an article from Indiana University Health, addiction was only classified as a disease by medical professionals since 1987, with alcoholism being listed 30 years prior, which is interesting. But nevertheless, the acknowledgement of these issues as a disease is a relatively young idea, especially when you factor in the timeline. I mean, for example, alcohol has been around since 700 BC. People have been drinking for that long, and alcoholism was only classified as a disease from the 50s on. The recent discovery of these diseases is horrifying to think about because of how long these issues have been around. My goal is to show you some small pieces of the puzzle to help further drive home the point that addiction needs to be a medical diagnosis and should have been treated as such much, much earlier than it has. Obviously, I could spend forever talking about this issue, but there are some key points I want to make. There is a reason for drugs being around that can cause addictive behaviors, like most narcotics are used to treat pain for whatever medical procedures you might have. However, I found a medical journal published in 1915 that showed narcotics and opium-derived medications were being prescribed for ailments that would typically not require such measures in today's world. One of these case studies was when a patient was prescribed morphine for an issue that was not even directly related to pain. It was a nasal issue that the person was having when they were having sinus issues. The funny thing about this example is that the person was having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain. They were having a sinus issue, but they were not having any pain.