Addiction Displacement: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Saito Hajime was [[Historical Domain Character|historically]] a heavy drinker, and the version of him who shows up in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' is a chain smoker instead, explaining that if he drinks, he becomes [[Ax Crazy]].

 

== Comic Books ==

* In an [[The Eighties|eighties]] ''[[Archie Comics|Archie]]'' [[Very Special Episode|story]] on the dangers of smoking, three teenagers unintentionally create a false fire alarm by chain-smoking in the boys' washroom at school. At the end, they apologize to the principal, Mr. Weatherbee, and inform him that from now on, whenever they have nicotine cravings, they'll chew gum instead.

{{quote|'''Weatherbee:''' Egad! Another habit I don't approve of. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.}}

 

== Film ==

* It's not stated outright, but one of the gangsters from [[Oop North]] in the ''[[Layer Cake]]'' film seems to have a case of this. He's very jittery and has something of a [[Hair-Trigger Temper]], and he's always sucking on a lollipop.

* Virtually all the vampires in ''[[Daybreakers]]'' smoke like chimneys. Granted, they don't have to worry about getting lung cancer, but given that their blood supply is swiftly running out, it's likely to be this trope at work as well.

 

== Literature ==

* [[Discworld]]:

** The Black Ribboner [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampires]] (who've sworn to abstain from drinking human blood) all do this.

*** The first-seen and apparently founding member Lady Margolotta claims that what vampires really wanted by drinking blood was power. She turned her addictions to politics.

*** The current head of the organization apparently obsessively builds matchstick models.

* In ''[[Holes]]'', Mr. Sir is a former cigarette addict, replacing them with the much more benign sunflower seeds.

* Brazilian writer [[Luis Fernando Verissimo]] once wrote a comedic text about addictions, specially smoking (and diets). It ranged from simple replacements ("Gimme candy. Gimme bubblegum. Gimme a pencil to chew. Gimme your nails to bite, mine are over!") to... unorthodox methods:

{{quote|-I quit smoking, Chief.

-That's a reason to strangle 17 people?|Didn't know what to do with my hands.}}

* Sherman Alexie loves to have recovering alcoholics/smokers/drug addicts drink soda [[Author Appeal|for some reason]].

 

* In season 1 of ''[[Leverage]]'', Nate is [[The Alcoholic]]. So far in season 2, he seems to be drinking a truly massive amount of coffee. What's more, the other characters fear he is pulling riskier and riskier cons in order to substitute for alcohol, and worry that if they fail one, he could fall off the wagon again. Ironically, {{spoiler|he starts drinking again to help sell a [[Short Con]], but once he's started he can't stop.}}

* The title character of ''[[Kojak]]'' quits smoking and takes up lollipops. Who loves ya, baby?

** Others speculate that, since he is addicted to porn, he is simply displacing ''that'' addiction while he's on the job.

* On ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', Sylar meets his biological father who, like himself, was driven by a [[Horror Hunger]] to seek out other superpowered people and [[The Assimilator|steal their powers]], but who has since given it up. His father tells him that if he wants to quit, too, he should find "something to keep your hands busy," and this is why he became a taxidermist.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The few remaining High Elves have long since learned to replace their reliance on the Sunwell with meditation, or being within range of a Night Elf Moonwell, playing this trope a little straighter.

 

* In [[Multiplex]], Jason developed a really bad case of addiction to caffeine. [http://www.multiplexcomic.com/strip/440 A co-worker of his told him about how she was addicted to coffee and it got so bad that she had quit the movie theater and worked as a coffee server. She managed to quit by smoking weed.]

* [[Dominic Deegan]] had been 'cured' of his smoking problem by his brother's white magic. He then became addicted to Mavple Candy.

 

== Western Animation ==

* On ''[[South Park]]'' Kenny eventually stops getting high on cat urine... and gets high by sniffing flowers.

** ''[[South Park]]'' goes farther to say that Alcoholics Anonymous is this in one episode. And you're powerless against the addiction.

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:This Is Your Index On Drugs]]

[[Category:Just for Pun]]