![]() ![]() Person-first language, which shifts away from defining a person through the lens of disease (eg, the term "a person with addiction" is recommended over the terms "addict" or "addicted patient"), implicitly acknowledges that a patient's life extends beyond a given disease. Non-stigmatizing, non-judgmental, medically-based terminology and the adoption of person-first language can facilitate improved communication as well as patient access to and engagement with addiction care. Role-modeling better approaches can help us move away from the inaccurate, outdated view of addiction as a character flaw or moral failing deserving of punishment, and toward that of a chronic disease requiring long-term treatment. Although non-professional terminology may be used by individuals with addiction, the role of clinicians, educators, researchers, policymakers, and community and cultural leaders is to actively work toward destigmatization of addiction and its treatment, in part through the use of non-stigmatizing language. Stigmatizing language can worsen addiction-related stigma and outcomes. The way we communicate about addiction, its treatment, and treatment outcomes matters to individuals affected by addiction, their families, and communities. ![]() ![]() 1 Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, PA (AEZ), Past President, American Society of Addiction Medicine, Past Director, American Board of Addiction Medicine, Past Director, American College of Academic Addiction Medicine, Clinical Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (MMM), Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, PA (DPR), Director, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (FH), Chief Executive Officer, Faces & Voices of Recovery, Washington, DC (PM), Founder and CEO, American Chronic Pain Association, CA (PC), Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York City (EAS). ![]()
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