A recent survey in the Journal of Addiction Medicine found that 23% of American adults either disagreed or did not know that addiction is a health condition. Jessica Hulsey, who is the Executive Director of the Addiction Policy Forum and was a co-author of the study, said, “that tells us we have more work to do.”
The survey, jointly led by the Addiction Policy Forum and Gallup, asked 5,250 adults whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree, or don’t know that “drug or alcohol addiction is a health condition.” 33.0% of respondents strongly agreed, 43.9% agreed, 11.9% disagreed, and 5.1% strongly disagreed that addiction is a health condition, with the remaining 6.0% saying that they did not know.
The American Medical Association recognized addiction as a disease in 1987. The American Society of Addiction Medicine refers to addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse noted that addiction “is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control.” In contrast, those who do not view addiction as a health condition would likely view it as an immoral act.
While a convincing majority of respondents agreed that addiction is a health condition, the likelihood of this varied by the respondents’ demographics and life experiences. For example, 83.2% of individuals in recovery agreed that addiction is a health condition compared to 77.7% of those who have never struggled with addiction and 75.4% of those who have struggled with addiction but were not in recovery.
The survey also found that 87.2% of respondents who went to a graduate or professional school agreed that addiction is a health condition compared to 64.9% of those who did not graduate from high school.
Additionally, 79.4% of women, 74.1% of men, and 83.7% of nonbinary individuals agreed that addiction is a health condition. By race, 85.4% of Asian people agreed that addiction is a health condition compared to 78.1% of white people, 71.6% of black people, and 67.4% of individuals with a race of “other.” 70.7% of Hispanic individuals agreed compared to 78.2% of non-Hispanic individuals.
What’s more, the survey found that individuals who did not recognize addiction as a health condition were less likely to believe that addiction can be treated by health care professionals, that medications (e.g., buprenorphine) can be an effective treatment for addiction, and that early interventions are helpful for treating addiction.
Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, a professor at the University of Delaware and the first author of the study, said, “when addiction is not recognized as a treatable health condition, it can exacerbate stigma, which is well-documented as one of the strongest barriers preventing individuals and families from seeking help.” A similar point was echoed in the 2025 Blueprint for Effective Drug Policy report, which argued that “efforts should be made to reduce the stigma associated with substance use, as it can be a barrier to seeking treatment.”