A supposed condition of addiction and poisoning from drinking absinthe regularly, characterized by neurological problems, supposedly caused by toxic compounds in the drink.
From absinth(e) plus -ism (a condition or practice), following medical terminology patterns of the 1800s. Created by French physicians during the Belle Époque to name what they believed was a specific disease.
Absinthism was largely a moral panic—doctors blamed absinthe for society's problems in 1890s Paris, but scientific analysis shows the 'toxin' they feared (thujone) was present in tiny amounts, making it impossible to cause the described effects.
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