Organized by mechanism of action — severity increases downward
Each card shows four dimensions of addiction severity: Dependence Likelihood, Harm to Self, Harm to Others, and Difficulty of Quitting (0–100). Chemical substance scores are grounded in Anthony et al. (1994), Lopez-Quintero et al. (2011), and Nutt et al. (2010), The Lancet, with post-2010 adjustments. Behavioral addiction scores are editorial syntheses from peer-reviewed literature. All scores are calibrated estimates derived from a structured synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature, weighted for cross-addiction comparability. Card shading reflects overall severity within each column.
Classification reflects primary legal status in most Western jurisdictions. Behavioral: non-dietary activities with no substance consumed. Food: eating-related behavioral addictions. Legal Substance: freely available without prescription (caffeine, nicotine, alcohol). Prescription Substance: requires medical authorization; includes sedative-hypnotics, opioid analgesics, amphetamines, and ketamine. Controlled Substance: primarily illicit. Cards retain mechanism-view colours.