Premium
Constructing addiction as a moral failing
Author(s) -
Harding Geoffrey
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.ep11346491
Subject(s) - opium , panacea (medicine) , addiction , variety (cybernetics) , value (mathematics) , political science , criminology , sociology , law , medicine , psychiatry , alternative medicine , pathology , artificial intelligence , machine learning , computer science
The medicinal value of opium as an analgesic has been known to humankind for centuries. In England during the nineteenth century it was regarded, especially among the labouring classes, as a popular panacea for a variety of ailments. However by the end of the century addiction emerged as an issue of public concern ‐ due largely to the ‘moral crusade’ launched by the Victorian anti‐opium movement against the non‐medical use of opium. Central to the movement's campaign was a certain model of addiction, promulgated by its most prominent organisation, the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. This paper examines how this model was taken as an objective reality.