Demi Lovato wishes more people treated addiction as a "disease".
The 21-year-old pop star is well-versed on the perils of substance abuse, having received treatment for alcohol use, bulimia and self-harming in 2010.
Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Demi addressed those who write off addiction as a matter of will.
"I wish more people would lose the stigma and treat addiction as the deadly and serious DISEASE that it is," she wrote.
The star also took aim at music artists and filmmakers who use their mediums to showcase drugs in a flattering light.
"Drugs are not something to glamorize in pop music or film to portray as harmless recreational fun. It's not cute, "cool" or admire able," she wrote, adding sympathetically, "It's very rare when people can actually predict their addiction and even then, you never know when too much is going to take their life or take a bad batch of whatever it is their using. It's time people start really taking action on changing what we're actually singing/rapping about these days because you never know if you could be glamorizing a certain drug to a first time user or alcoholic who could possibly end up dead because they end up suffering from the same deadly disease so many have already died from. This stuff is not something to mess with. Why risk it? Addiction IS a disease."
Demi appeared inspired to write the lengthy post in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death.
The beloved actor was found dead in his New York City apartment Sunday after suffering an apparent drug overdose.
"Please spread the word so we can take the taboo out of discussing this illness and raising awareness to people of all ages," she wrote, adding, "RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman.. An INCREDIBLE artist who lost his life to this horrible disease.. May you rest peacefully and in complete serenity now that your pain is gone. God Bless..."
