The opposing position is that smoking remains voluntary behavior that the person chooses to continue or not (e.g., Lewis, 2016). Volkow (2015) has even defined addiction as a disease of free will. A central dispute is whether regular smoking brings about a change in the person that impels him or her to continue smoking, in effect depriving the person of voluntary control over his or her behavior (at least in connection with smoking). It is now generally accepted that cigarette smoking is addictive. Tobacco addiction is probably the most common and problematic form of addiction worldwide, especially given its adverse health effects that include millions of premature deaths. This article examines the question of whether addiction impairs or even destroys free will, based on a review of the research literature on smoking cigarettes. Views of addiction have continued to evolve and change, driven variously by societal trends, medical opinion, and research findings.
