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from the as-if-addiction-were-only-temporary dept.
Google temporarily bans addiction center ads globally following exposure of seedy referral deals
Google is temporarily halting advertisements worldwide for addiction and rehabilitation centers, following a report last week showing it was acting as a platform for shady referral services earning huge undisclosed commissions.
Essentially these ads, which commanded huge prices on Google's networks, would show for people seeking addiction treatment; the help lines and services listed would then refer the person to an addiction center. These centers were, unknown to their new patients, paying enormous finders fees to the referral services, on the order of tens of thousands of dollars.
The ads were already banned in the U.S., but were banned in the UK following a Sunday Times investigation. Google then extended that ban worldwide.
Also at The Verge.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by pdfernhout on Tuesday January 16 2018, @04:09PM
This applies to more than food; from: http://web.archive.org/web/20160418155513/http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article16.aspx [archive.org]
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The pleasure trap
Figure 1 (above) depicts a devastating trap. People consuming a whole natural foods diet will experience a normal range of pleasure from eating low-fat, high-fiber, unprocessed foods—shown as Phase I. However, if concentrated, adulterated, processed foods are consistently allowed in the diet, they quickly will become preferred [because humans are evolutionarily adapted to seek sweet, salt, and fat which used to be scarce -- and seek them at the least effort].
In Phase II, we see that these products are typically experienced as better—that is, more pleasurable—than natural foods. This is the result of the heightened pleasure-inducing characteristics of artificially-produced foods. However, within a short period of time (a few weeks), the taste nerves adapt to this higher level of stimulation, and reduce their firing rate. This reduces the pleasure experience of artificially-stimulating foods back down to normal levels (Phase III).
Phase III is the culmination of a process of extraordinary importance. It is within Phase III that most people live out their lives. And it is from within Phase III that most people will engineer their own health crises. Phase III occurs when we have become “used to it” - used to the extreme levels of stimulation present in artificial foods. Yet ultimately, we experience no more pleasure than had we remained on a simpler, more healthful diet! However, this process is rarely noticed - just as we rarely notice the process of getting used to a brightly-lit room.
A challenging escape
Once in awhile, a person may actually become aware of important dietary knowledge. Despite the ingenious misinformation campaigns waged by the dairy, cattle, and processed food industries, sometimes a person actually comes to understand the truth about diet. At such times, determined individuals might attempt to change their diet toward whole natural foods—in spite of dire and unfounded warnings from their families, friends, and doctors.
But along the way, they are likely to be met with a formidable obstacle—their own taste neuroadaptation to artificially-intense foods. This challenge is depicted as Phases IV and V, wherein a change to less stimulating foods typically will result in a reduced pleasure experience. In the early stages, this process is dramatic because natural foods often are not nearly as stimulating.
Scientific evidence suggests that the re-sensitization of taste nerves takes between 30 and 90 days of consistent exposure to less stimulating foods. This means that for several weeks, most people attempting this change will experience a reduction in eating pleasure. This is why modern foods present such a devastating trap—as most of our citizens are, in effect, “addicted” to artificially high levels of food stimulation! The 30-to-90-day process of taste re-calibration requires more motivation—and more self-discipline—than most people are ever willing to muster.
Tragically, most people are totally unaware that they are only a few weeks of discipline away from being able to comfortably maintain healthful dietary habits—and to keep away from the products that can result in the destruction of their health. Instead, most people think that if they were to eat more healthfully, they would be condemned to a life of greatly reduced gustatory pleasure—thinking that the process of Phase IV will last forever. In our new book, The Pleasure Trap, we explain this extraordinarily deceptive and problematic situation – and how to master this hidden force that undermines health and happiness.
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See also "Rat Park", on environmental aspects of addiction due to stressful places: http://brucekalexander.com/articles-speeches/rat-park/148-addiction-the-view-from-rat-park [brucekalexander.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park [wikipedia.org]
Addiction involves an interaction of person and environment. Sadly, many people who go through addiction treatment then go back to the same environment with the same cues and so immediately return to their old ways. See also: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/the-addicted-brain/ [nationalgeographic.com]
For food addiction, "Blue Zones" is one approach to change the food and exercise environment in specific locations to promote healthier behavior.
Addiction can be seen as an externality of free market (and black market) capitalism -- socializing costs and risks of selling addictive substances (whether sugar, entertainment, or cocaine) while privatizing gains.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ethics-everyone/201202/facebook-addiction [psychologytoday.com]
And the problem is only getting more challengine:
http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html [paulgraham.com]
The biggest challenge of the 21st century: the irony of technologies of abundance used by scarcity-minded people.