They're scarred, have a grey pallor, sunken eyes and bad teeth.
They have dragged their families and friends down with them.
They steal money, sell whatever they can get their hands on and have no thought for anyone but themselves and their next fix.
They are horrible well their addiction is evil.
The programme shows these people in a no holds barred, no excuses, hard- hitting profile with each episode about an addict their family and their friends with the closing scenes hitting that final verdict.
Go to rehabilitation or lose your family.
These heroin, methadone, benzo, meth and everything in between addicts.
Even one young woman Cassandra was binge eater purging in an effort to control her body and her environment up to 15 times a day as well as taking 10 to 30 laxatives.
It was tough to watch this young woman holding her family to ransom, with her constant demands, swearing, yelling and throwing revolting tantrums.
Her family, mum, dad, two sisters and a boyfriend were all suffering and in huge despair called the Intervention programme.
As reality TV it's impressive though perhaps people who are unaware of the problems addiction causes may lose interest fairly quickly because it aint pretty.
What amazed me in the three episodes I have watched is that the intervention is real and many cases has worked.
I think of New Zealand and really wonder where our rehabilitation centres are.
I know there are a few mental health facilities but it seems that throughout the United States where the news is constantly about celebrities checking in and out of recovery centres, it's a multi-billion dollar thriving industry.
The thousands of addicts in this country mostly get locked up in a police cell overnight if they're stroppy, make frequent visits to local hospital drugs and alcohol facility then get their "pick ups" from a designated pharmacy.
Apart from that it's a life of crime and "five-finger" shopping trips.
Addicts are losers especially in this country.
