A more-random than usual observation

Lemme bore you for one second (or several) before I get around to making a lot of people mad.

SCIENCE! (if you follow my FB postings you'll get that) says disease is: "an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors" Merriam-Webster

According to SCIENCE! and this definition, a broken arm is a disease. A hangnail is a disease. Freezing to death is a disease, "a response to environmental factors ... climate." 

Yep. Those of us in the South who've suffered heat stroke or heat prostration, "bear-caught" in my neck of the woods, will absolutely agree that environmental factors can cause disease.

But, my issue is with addiction being a disease. The above definition says it is. I do not agree. Addiction is no more a disease than being fat, less. SCIENCE! also agrees with me and disagrees with me. Which side are you gonna believe?

Addiction can't be a disease. Disease is caused by something outside the control of the person so ailing. Lemme interject here I've beaten three addictions, four, depending on how you tally 'em. None were, are or will be disease.

Consider alcohol.

Alcoholism isn't a disease. It's a condition. Alcoholism requires a person to continue detrimental behavior for the addiction to progress. Stop drinking and the problem stops.

Alcoholism can lead to disease like cirrhosis of the liver. Many addictions can lead to disease.

Alcoholism is not a disease. It's a choice. A choice can't be a disease.

If addiction is a disease, then so is the pursuit of any other destructive behavior. Smoking is a disease. Diabetics eating doughnuts every day and driving their sugar to stratospheric levels is disease, not the diabetes itself.

Decisions should not be categorized as disease.