Stop the Shame Commercial Misses It’s Mark

The new commercial put out by “stoptheshame.info,” which compares addiction to cancer, is a shot and a miss. I fully understand where they were going with this ad, but they are comparing apples to oranges.

Alcohol and drug addiction always, 100 percent of the time, starts with a choice. It also ends with a choice. As someone who has first hand experience with addiction, I can tell you that when an addict is truly ready for a change, all they have to do is reach out, get help and make the change happen.

The same cannot be said for someone suffering from cancer. Most people with cancer never made a choice that gave them cancer, and they can’t just one day decide to not have cancer anymore. You could make the argument that the cigarette smoker chose to get cancer by smoking, or that the guy with skin cancer made his choice by not wearing sunscreen. However, there are many people who have been diagnosed with lung cancer that never touched a cigarette in their lives, and many people with melanoma who used sunscreen everyday.

That’s not to say that I don’t think addiction is a disease, a fact medical studies have proven time and time again. According to the Surgeon General, the National Institute on Drug Abuse addiction and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, “addiction is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavior problem involving alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex.”

Let’s face it, treating drug addiction as a criminal act is a failed policy, and has done nothing more than fill our prisons with nonviolent criminals who suffer from this disease. It is way past time that we change our policy on drug addiction in this country and start treating it as the disease it is.  

In 2001, Portugal decided to decriminalize all drugs and treat addiction as a national health issue. Those caught with illicit drugs were simply given a referral for treatment. This policy has had an amazing positive consequence in that country. In 2015, there were only three drug overdoses for every one million people. Compare that to rest of Europe, which averages around 17.3 for every million, according to the Washington Post. That number sits around 14.7 for every 100,000 people here in the U.S.

It’s obvious that something has to be done here at home to change the mindset our society has created about addiction, but comparing it to cancer is way off the mark. It is extremely insensitive to cancer patients. We are taught at a very early age that drugs and alcohol could lead to addiction. Yet those who are addicted today made a choice at some point to do it anyway; cancer patients did not. I get where they were going with this commercial, but I feel they were way off the mark.

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It’s not a comparison, it’s a call to stop the shame

PSA’s that make you uncomfortable are definitely effective. The topics discussed in them aren’t supposed to make a person feel good, but rather to make people pay attention to a pressing issue. That’s why a tip of the cap should go out to Kansas City-based company, First Call. The alcohol/drug prevention and recovery organization came out with a commercial that asked the question: What if we treated cancer patients the way people view recovering addicts?

The commercial is extremely powerful, depicting a man suffering from cancer who is shouted at by his mother and father, who beg him to change his life. His parents become frustrated that the man isn’t getting better by himself. It goes so far as to have the mother tell his sick son that he will never amount to anything in his life due to the cancer.

Tears roll down the face of the man and the viewers stomachs are sure to turn. They should feel awful for the cancer patient; the people who should be the most supportive during what is undoubtedly the most difficult time of his life instead are belittling him. The commercial isn’t saying cancer and addiction are the same. It is saying addiction is a true disease and shaming someone with a disease will never allow the patient to ever get better.

One of the biggest arguments to addict-shaming is that they deserve it, due to their choice of abusing a substance. First Call acknowledges that. In fact, at the end of their commercial they ask viewers to go to their website stoptheshame.info. Then they ask a question: Do you believe addiction is a disease? Based on whether you answer the question yes or no, people will be taken on an information-filled tour of addiction.

First call does say that addiction often begins with a lifestyle choice, but it eventually becomes a nasty disease that is unbearable alone. After all, other lifestyle choices also lead to bad health. The website claims one in 10 people will contract a fatal disease from choosing not to exercise regularly. One in five people will develop skin cancer, often from choosing not to put on sunscreen. Most people make choices in life that ultimately harms their health. First Call is asking why aren’t those choices getting scrutiny either.  

The advertisement isn’t claiming that cancer and addiction are the same. First Call knows that no cancer patient ever makes a choice to get the disease. All First Call is saying is that addiction is, in fact, a disease. Their whole goal is to shed a light on that issue and how people suffering with addiction need the support and love from people around them that other sick people need to fight this daunting battle.