Surgeon General: Addiction is a Disease of the Brain, Not a Moral Weakness

Remember the 1964 Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health that first linked cigarettes to cancer? Well, even if you don’t, it led to a successful national campaign against tobacco use. Yesterday, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a call for a cultural shift in how we think about addiction in his 426 page report “Facing Addiction in America.” In it, he highlights the fact that more than 20 million Americans have substance abuse disorders (more than are diagnosed with cancer) but only...