I don't think the parent is being tongue-in-cheek, and even if he is, plenty of people have expressed that sentiment seriously. Robin Hanson famously thinks addiction is impossible (or rather, that it's a true expression of revealed preference), which he ideologically needs to do because to admit otherwise creates problems for his defense of unrestrained capitalism.

I'm curious how he rationalizes the thriving market for nicotine patches.

I'm still refactoring my theory of mind in the face of the obvious successes of AI.