What is Addiction?

Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.
Nat'l Society for Addiction

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.† It is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control. Those changes may last a long time after a person has stopped taking drugs.
Nat'l Institute on Drug Use, NIH

Addiction, right now, is considered physical. Behavioral addictions are not recognized by the DSM, the professional's bible. Only Gambling is recognized as troubling behavior. That's likely to change, but there are traceable, measurable differences in the brain of the addicted.

There are numerous very specific criteria that must be met at a "clinical level," meaning the issue is causing distress or dysfunction in one or more life domains. Additionally, the level of substance use has to be determined.

Addiction, right now in the US, is indeed confined to drugs and alcohol. There are other theories underway, some of which may better describe the genesis of need, but they live in a separate closet right now.

You would no sooner call random feeling cancer without tests and protocol that you'd redefine terms that have been used for decades; it's dangerous to manufacture what you want mental health to be.

Wiki says...."Addiction is generally a neuropsychological disorder defining pervasive and intense urge to engage in maladaptive behaviors providing immediate sensory rewards (e.g. consuming drugs, excessively gambling), despite their harmful consequences. Dependence is generally an addiction that can involve withdrawal issues. Addictive disorder is a category of mental disorders defining important intensities of addictions or dependences, which induce functional disabilities."

There are two main forms of addiction: substance use disorders and behavioral addictions.

The definition of a drug is any substance that when consumed gives rise to a scientific paper