A chronic condition of poisoning or overdose from barbiturate use; barbiturate addiction or abuse.
From 'barbituric' plus '-ism,' following the pattern of medical terminology for conditions caused by specific substances.
Barbiturism as a medical diagnosis emerged precisely when doctors realized that barbiturates were dangerously addictive—creating a new word for the problem was the medical profession's way of admitting they'd made a mistake.
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