The term craving is generally delined as a state of desire, longing, or urge for a drug that is responsible for ongoing drug-use behavior in drug-dependent individuals. Craving is also viewed by many drug-abuse researchers and clinicians as the main cause of relapse among drug users attempting to remain abstinent. During periods of abstinence, drug-dependent individuals often complain of intense craving for their drug. Several systems for diagnosing drug abuse include persistent desire or craving for a drug as a major symptom of drug-dependence disorders.

The belief that an addict's inability to control drug use is caused by craving and irresistible desire was a prominent feature of descriptions of addictive disorders provided by many nineteenth-century writers. Craving continued to be important in many models of addiction developed in the twentieth century. The use of craving as a key mechanism in theories of addiction peaked in the 1950s, supported...