Originally Posted by John Henry

I don't have any statistics, but if you're interested in a personal testimonial...

There are definitely paralells with pornography and addictive substances, although the comparison with heroin is ludicrous. I don't know whether 'addiction' is the right word per se, but I have definitely had a porn problem, just as I have had a marijuana problem and arguably an alcohol problem at times. Although these were almost immeasurably minor compared to a heroin addiction, they all had some undesirable effect on the rest of my life.

With porn, I found that my consumption started small and softcore and grew larger and more hardcore. I have looked at porn for eight hours straight, I've watched porn while I was supposed to be working, I've watched porn while I could have been socialising, I've been late for work because of it and I believe that my use of pornography had a detrimental impact on my relationship with a former girlfriend, not that she ever knew about it, but because of the 'sexual callousness' described above that it helped to cultivate.

Having experimented with various hard drugs and not become addicted, I would suggest that there is no inherently addictive quality that porn shares with heroin. In fact, the thing it has in common with marijuana and alcohol (my other former 'problems') is its ready availability.

I don't blame porn for these problems. Rather, as ninety09 suggests, it's due to weakness of character.

Porn is a tool of self destruction, not a cause. If you make porn as illegal as heroin, people who want somewhere to hide will just go somewhere more dangerous.

Even if you got rid of all the drugs and the drink and the gambling and the porn, losers would just become political or religious fanatics.

Frankly I prefer wankers.