Severus Snape and Substance Abuse
What is the fandom's opinion on this topic?
Did he drink too much in order to find some peace of mind?
Did he take too many stimulants in order to juggle the responsibilities of a teacher, a housemaster, a spy, a human?
Or did he prefer sedatives to get at least some rest?
And what about cigarettes?
Chocolate?
Shepherd's pie? (Ngl, I could eat that stuff all day, every day.)
Well, we know he drank wine, but we don't know to what degree. And it's possible that he may have been using potions to help him function, but I'm not sure if he'd be the type. Cigarettes aren't out of the question; smoking would have been more common around the time he started working at Hogwarts. Not sure about food being an addiction given how thin he is.
Alcohol: I don't think he will was alcoholic. He did drink elf wine and probably drank on occasions but not daily or drunk to the point of no return.
Tobacco: I actually think he chewed Tobacco. He belonged to a working class family where tobacco chewing is quite common. Probably explains his yellowed teeth often remarked by Harry.
Cigrettes: I do think he was a chronic chain smoker. And agree with the statement of @thegestaltprince.
Food: I don't think he was a big foddie with his thin figure. But I like to think he had sweet tooth and carried candies and chocolates around to indulge privately.
Other substances: I don't think he substance abused or any potion. There are fics where he often takes sleeping or other kinda potions to the point of abuse but as I see Snape as a master of his mind, I don't think he took Potions to function unless he was in highly stressed condition like his Headmaster year.
I think the fandom has convinced me that Severus is a smoker. I'd never considered it before, mostly because I just don't smoke myself and don't encounter it often now that I'm out of home.
I don't however subscribe to the idea that he indulges in anything that could impair his cognitive faculties. I've read some fanfictions where he's supposedly has a "controlled" usage of illicit substances, but I doubt there is a such thing, and I find it detracts from my own reading experience. (Personal preference, of course.)
He does keep the wine, as previously mentioned, but I don't believe he drinks very often. The bottles are dusty, from memory. One could argue that the entire house is dusty as there's an "air of neglect" but if he was truly an alcoholic those bottles wouldn't exist. At minimum, they wouldn't be covered in dust.
My headcanon is:
Alcohol: Occasional and never abusive. But a little here and there to take the edge off those exhausting staff meetings/required social gatherings is fine.
Cigarettes: I don't see him as a smoker, either occasionally or habitually; a pack of cigs in his pocket doesn't fit my versions of Severus.
Tobacco: Hadn't thought about it until @naaga brought it up, but now I think it's quite likely (for the reason Naaga gave).
Food: Yes, he's thin, but some people have what's called a "high metabolism", so he could eat anything and not gain weight... or he could be bulimic? But I'd rather say he's a picky eater and not very interested in food. But for some reason I see him as being fond of mint sweets and dark chocolate with mint.
Other substances: I think he values the sharpness of his mind too much, so he wouldn't take anything that would "space him out".
Potions: It is very possible that he would take potions to either sleep or stay awake, or to stay focused despite being exhausted.
Some very interesting replies here, yes. I haven't even considered chewing tobacco.
Where my own headcannon is concerned, it depends on the time period (of Severus's life).
Where tobacco is concerned, I'm a bit sceptical. My parents were born around the year Severus was (dad much earlier, mom somewhat later), and no matter which of my relatives I've asked, they all told me they've started to smoke more or less due to peer pressure; and I think Severus was too much of a loner to be really subjected to this.
I think he favoured alcohol from his mid-teens to the early years of his teaching career. It likely wasn't too hard to get some booze in Cokeworth, be it at home or elsewhere. Also, I can imagine he was invited to quite a number of parties at the Malfoy mansion, which ended up with everyone getting hammered. And alcohol does take the edge of one's trauma off.
That said, I think he managed without any substances up until Voldemort's return, when he started to develop potions tailored to his needs, which culminated during his time as the new headmaster of Hogwarts, because those last nine months or so must've been punishing.
I agree that this depends on Severus's age/circumstances at any given point. I can see him experimenting quite a bit with substances as a teenager, something that could've easily continued into the earlier part of his adult life. I do think it would've changed later on, but it's worth pointing out that there was a 10 year gap between Lily's death and Harry's arrival at Hogwarts. Severus was miserable, his grief was raw, fresh, and painful, and he had nothing to do but wait. I t's totally feasible that he might've been a heavy drinker or even an addict of some sort. I imagine Dumbledore would've turned a blind eye as long as Severus was semi-functional, just like he did with Trelawney.
If this was the case, I can see him choosing to get sober in preparation for Harry's arrival. He spends the summer drying out, is still suffering from withdrawals, and on top of that, and all the pain that he was using whatever substance to escape from comes rushing back to the surface.
That would explain so much of his behavior, why his pain seems so visceral even more than a decade after Lily's death. I think it's because he spent 10 years finding ways to escape those emotions. They didn't fully hit him until he came face to face with Harry and no longer had the option of numbing away the pain.
As for him drinking during the series…
"Within seconds he was back, bearing a dusty bottle and three glasses upon a tray."
The word "dusty" is significant here. It suggests that Severus has had the bottle for quite some time, which wouldn't be the case if he was a frequent or excessive drinker. It's also worth noting that Harry never mentions him smelling like alcohol, something he's quick to observe with other characters.
By this point in Severus's life, the ONLY thing he cares about is fulfilling his promise. He's willing to suffer whatever he has to suffer to make that happen, up to and including killing Dumbledore, a man he loves and respects. Would he really be willing to risk all that for the sake of temporary relief? I don't think so.
Finally…
I've always imagined him as a smoker. Smoking was ubiquitous when he was growing up and on through the 80s and 90s and it makes even more sense given his background. If he grew up with at least one smoking parent (which he almost certainly did), it's statistically much more likely that he would've been a smoker himself.
Personally? I hope he was. The poor guy deserved at least one vice, and unlike alcohol or hard drugs, nicotine would've in no way impaired his mental state or ability to do his job.
I think he drank coffee by the liter. I don't think he likes sweets.
This topic of cigarettes is interesting. In the 1990s, almost everyone smoked. Indeed, yellow teeth could be caused by this. So it's very likely, but it doesn't match my image of Sev in my head. He could drink strengthening potions, but he always tried to keep a sober mind, so he didn't abuse them. I don't think he drank alcohol - vide: alcoholic father.
