Stars and Addiction

The list of Hollywood celebs who have battled substance abuse is long and growing every day. Singers, actors, celebutantes and the rich and famous – all seem more prone to addiction than the average person. What is it about the celebrity lifestyle that makes substance use or abuse seem appealing? Is there really something about celebrity that causes addiction?

Addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky says emphatically, “No. Absolutely not. And I have the data to prove it.”

Pinsky should know. A sort of star himself, he’s the executive producer of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew for VH1. Before that, he hosted Loveline for MTV and radio, where they collected reams of survey data about guests’ family, fame, upbringing and drug use.

“My data's very clear: celebrity has no affect on psychopathology,” Pinsky insists. “The addiction rates are exactly what you'd see in society at large.” That said, he does admit that the trappings of celebrity can cause addiction to blossom in those who may already be prone to substance use. Hollywood is also someplace where temptation is everywhere.

“Famous addicts make all the money they need to feed their addiction,” Pinsky says. “They have enablers who can get them the drugs and assistants who are making too much money off them and don't want to step in. So the addiction grows.”

In the end, celebrity doesn’t cause addiction, but it doesn’t make it any easier to avoid addiction either. And once someone has a substance abuse problem, there are no short cuts to recovery – no matter how well-known you might be.

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