London
(ANI):
The
magic
spell
cast
by
harry
potter
on
its
young
as
well
as
old
fans
is
similar
to
the
addiction
that
drugs
or
cigarettes
inflict
on
people,
according
to
a
leading
psychologist.
Jeffrey
Rudski
has
claimed
that
many
of
the
boy
wizard's
readers
are
suffering
from
withdrawal
in
just
the
way
that
drug
addicts
do.
After
studying
4,000
Potter
fans,
Rudski
concluded
that
one
in
10
of
the
boy
wizard's
fans
were
suffering
withdrawal
symptoms,
such
as
depression
and
loss
of
appetite,
after
JK
Rowling's
final
tale,
harry
potter
and
The
Deathly
Hallows,
was
published.
A
further
20
per
cent
admitted
being
on
the
verge
of
addiction
to
Rowling's
creation.
He
also
found
that
some
of
the
fans
polled
had
been
spending
as
much
as
four
hours
a
day
on
Potter
activities.
"I
feel
like
someone
close
to
me
has
died," the
Mirror
quoted
one
fan,
as
saying.
"Addiction
to
a
drug
is
no
different
to
an
addiction
to
harry
potter,"
said
Rudski.
harry
potter
and
The
Deathly
Hallows,
the
seventh
and
final
book,
was
published
last
summer.