It's a pretty common mechanism in humans to replace one craving with another. AA (e.g.) doesn't necessarily care if you have a two pack a day smoking addiction -- that's not what they're "optimizing" for.

> Are you saying a lot of people just stop experiencing hunger? Like does their stomach not growl and feel empty unless they’re high?

I think maybe a better way is to understand what the best solutions are. Right now it seems to be replacing one craving with another. People who stop cigarette smoking often gain weight -- that's been well documented for decades now. Knowing that, is type 2 diabetes better or worse than smoking and risking lung cancer?

People who run get a lot of endorphins from the exercise. People who haven't run and start running get a lot of pain from it at first. Maybe after a few months they get endorphins.

GLP-1 agonists (wegovy, zepbound) do reduce food cravings, but they also are being studied for alcoholism. I've heard it could affect gambling addiction as well. The real question is, why would a GLP-1 agonist affect a gambling addiction at all?