Sobriety works for alcohol and tobacco and drugs, albeit unevenly and with much distress; to avoid falling for those substances again one must forever fend off their siren songs, as well as the pain of withdrawal and the other complications of addiction. Which isn’t easy. As we now know, the memory channels run deep for things we’re addicted to. But abstention is even more problematic for food, in that we can’t just stop eating, even if we could muster the necessary self-restraint.
