Addictions, every one has at least one, let it be tea, milk, steak well done,cream buns on an Sunday, it is not the Addictions it is just how and what you will do for it

Well, there are addictions and passions. If I'm addicted, I HAVE to have something, I need it (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, or hard drugs). If I have a passion, a particular preference, I might enjoy it, but I don't compulsively NEED it. For example, I love tiramisu. Even so, I don't need it every day; I'm not dependent on it.

Addictions can kill you, while passions, at worst, can lead to unwanted weight gain that you can't get rid of!

Interesting that Opium dens use to exist. A safe place to get high. Even Sherlock Holms used to smoke Opium. It is addictive and becomes a bad habit that you need rather than enjoy. Nice images with good atmosphere. - Bob

Opium dens weren't that unusual in themselves. They were tolerated for so long that the number of addicts became overwhelming, posing a genuine social problem, prompting the government to take action. We remember: even heroin was initially just a legally obtainable medication, until it began to be widely misused as a means of escaping reality.

Alcohol is more of an exception. Its consequences are also often fatal, especially with long-term and excessive consumption. However, unlike the other substances mentioned, alcohol has a lobby, people who profit from it, entire industries have sprung up around its production and distribution (I was part of one myself!), and even the government collects taxes on alcohol.

The question is whether, with the increasing number of alcoholics, a change in thinking will eventually occur. That should be interesting to see...

Smoking addictions are hard to beat and can easily shorten your life and take you straight into your final resting place quickly!

hee hee - is that Robert Plant? 😉✌️

It looks a bit like him, but it was not intended! :)