Everyone should make it a point to learn something new. Learning is beneficial for many reasons, among which are keeping the mind occupied with the task at hand (problem focused), reinforcement for effort, and overcoming failure. All of these are part of the adaptation process and easily generalize to the remainder of life's challenges. For this reason, being a student is such a positive experience. Students go through a variety of feelings over the course of a semester. They experience highs when receiving positive feedback, and lows when they get negative feedback. With time and effort, though, their skills improve, and that is reinforcing. There are other ways to attain reinforcement, such as using drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. However, none of those require effort, and the negative consequences associated with each far outweigh the ephemeral high associated with use. Moreover, since substance use doesn't require discipline, nothing is learned from the experience. Thus, taking up a new skill is so much better.
Recently I started learning Karate. My son takes Karate and has received his blue belt. The karate school decided to have a parallel parent course which takes place the same time as the youth course one day per week. The first course was nine-weeks long and culminated in a yellow belt. Now, I'm in the second course which will also last nine weeks but end in an orange belt. I feel great learning this new skill for many reasons, not the least of which is the overcoming of failure experiences. Further, I enjoy getting feedback when I do something wrong, and using that feedback to improve my technique. That's what learning is all about. Moreover, unlike drug and alcohol use, learning Karate is beneficial to my overall wellbeing, physical and psychological. Although I love the taste of beer, it's not the same as the powerful feeling I get with a good roundhouse kick.
I think skills training can be used to help addicted individuals quit their substance. However, it is a process that will require intense effort and guided participation. Some of my colleagues have tried this approach already in research. However, they fail to realize the subjective importance substances have to the user. Although it was easy to get me to take Karate, it would be hard to convert a life-long substance user to a learner. First, one must rid the self of dependence to the substance, and this can be done with chemical means, such as nicotine replacement therapy with cigarettes. Then, one must start to work on finding a suitable replacement for the subjective importance of the substance. For many users, such as smokers, life without the cigarette is very empty. Thus, one must find an adequate psychological replacement for the cigarette as the cigarette has become something akin to a teddy bear to a toddler. This could take quite some time. Therefore, while I'd recommend learning as a treatment for addiction, there's a lot more to it than telling the addict to take a Karate course.
For those of us whom feel entitled to learning, but haven't experienced the joys of mastery in a while, I recommend taking a course. Find something safe and motivating to do and go for it!

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