Nasal spray addiction: Further thoughts and observations –A qualitative analysis of addiction components in “rhinitis medicamentosa” by Lakatos et al. (2025)

The recently published study by Lakatos et al. (2025) interviewed 20 individuals with rhinitis medicamentosa, and examined if nasal spray addiction existed by applying the components of addiction (i.e., looking for examples of salience, tolerance, mood modification, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse) in their interview transcripts. The authors claimed to have found evidence for all six components. In this commentary on the paper by Lakatos et al. (2025), I argue that the examples cited as evidence for the presence of addiction components is questionable in a number of instances, particularly in relation to conflict, as well as to mood modification, relapse, and salience. There was also little evidence that any of the consequences of nasal spray overuse were persistent (i.e., lasting over 12 months).