An addiction to opioids in oncology patients suffering from severe pain is developing in a different way compared to street-drug addicts. Its development is possible according to the regimen of their application: 1. Treatment strategy based on a fixed-interval schedule provides the patient with a time-constant pain relief. This strategy preventively suppresses emerging pain. with application of this regimen, drug addiction is suppressed to a minimum. 2. Analgetic strategy "on demand" is a practical presentation of opioid-phobia of a physician. Opioids are administered irregularly. Pain relief is repeatedly replaced with pain emergence. Frequent changing of those states can lead to psychical dependence and subsequently leads to the development of iatrogenically induced drug-addic tion behavior.

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