[Agent Steel]

Alcoholism - an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency.

Some qualified medical experts have said that alcoholism is a disease. But others contend that it is a behavioral problem rooted in choice. On debate.org an online audience voted on whether or not alcoholism was a disease. The result was divided right down the middle. 50% said yes and 50% said no. It is fair to say that there is no clear consensus.

I want to give an argument for why I think alcoholism is not a disease. A key component to any disease is that it is an abnormal function within the body. I do not believe that alcoholism is an abnormal function, and here's why: the reason for why a person might have an addiction to something is because that thing, whatever it may be, is something that the person really, really enjoys doing. It is not abnormal behavior to want more and more of something that gives you a lot of joy and pleasure. It is perfectly normal to desire alcohol. What would be abnormal would be to desire something that you didn't enjoy. It is not the alcoholic who has an ill mind. It is the nature of the substance that causes people to crave it.

[Suntzu]

A character flaw.

[The Immortal Goon]

The argument would be that there's a genetic component to it, I suspect.

I've seen people that can't control themselves around alcohol. I like to let myself be swept away by it now and then, but I'm letting myself do it. One of my best friends, if he starts, he will be chugging bottles of Jager at work every break. He'll start hiding how much he's drinking and make excuses to go to the store or whatever so he can chug.

Whether alcoholism is a disease or not, it's helpful for people like my friend to think of it as such as he can get control of his life back.

[Ter]

It is definitely a disease because the addiction is physical.
Alcoholics can die from delirium tremens.

I have also seen people hide how much they are drinking.
One of my close friends started in the morning, with a glass of seven up with Bacardi rum on the night stand next to his bed. He first lost his family, his circle of friends and finally his life at 44.

[Rancid]

I have alcoholics in my family. However, the alcoholism isn't really the problem. It's a symptom of the problem which is depression and social anxiety disorder in our genes. In this case, I would say it's not a disease.

[stephen50right]

Of course alcoholism is a disease. That's not really debatable.

What is debatable is how the disease affects different individuals.

My premise about addiction is the concept of discipline. Yes, it is someone's choice to drink that next drink or not. If they use discipline techniques, the 12 Steps is one of them, they will learn to visualize the act thru to the inevitable conclusion, and hopefully that view will convince the individual not to go thru with the act, IE not to take that drink, realizing it will lead to many more drinks and lead to harm and destruction in their lives.

Frankly, it's very hard to stop someone who is hell bent on self-destruction...hard but not impossible.

[Suntzu]

If alcoholism is a "disease" the healthcare industry can make money treating it.

[stephen50right]

If alcoholism is a "disease" the healthcare industry can make money treating it.

They already do.

[Suntzu]

They already do.

Duh!

[Brother of Karl]

Alcoholism is definitely a thing that some people are susceptible to and other people are not. In my personal experience, I make absolutely no effort whatsoever to curb my drinking, but I have a natural aversion to binge drinking. It ruins my sex drive, and I get no enjoyment out of it. Drunkenness seems to change people's personalities in characteristic ways (some people are angry drunks, some are fun drunks, some just become more "like themselves", and some just fall asleep), I'm the type who just gets tired and falls asleep. So for me, drinking in moderation takes no effort whatsoever.

I think alcoholism is a disease, and one with a genetic component. One type of mental illness is where a person is driven for whatever reason (sexual gratification, addiction, obsessive compulsion, etc.) to do something which harms their physical health or their standing in society. If a compulsion isn't harmful to a person's health or well-being, it isn't a disease. Alcoholism clearly is, because it damages your physical health and has the potential to both damage one's reputation, or even make them a danger to society (in the case of drunk driving or belligerence).

the reason for why a person might have an addiction to something is because that thing, whatever it may be, is something that the person really, really enjoys doing. It is not abnormal behavior to want more and more of something that gives you a lot of joy and pleasure. It is perfectly normal to desire alcohol. What would be abnormal would be to desire something that you didn't enjoy. It is not the alcoholic who has an ill mind. It is the nature of the substance that causes people to crave it.

Doing something that you really, really enjoy could be a disease. Pedophiles really really like hurting children, but it's a disease because it's harmful to children and to society. Alcoholism is a disease because if you really really love drinking alcohol and do it compulsively to success, it harms you and it can harm others.

On the other hand, I really, really love reading, and can do it compulsively to excess. That's not a disease because it makes me a better person overall. If you really, really love running and do it to excess then you'll be in great health.

[Brother of Karl]

It is definitely a disease because the addiction is physical.
Alcoholics can die from delirium tremens.

A distinction needs to be made between physical dependence and mental addiction. They can in fact be mutually exclusive. You can be mentally addicted to gambling, but not physically dependent. You can be physically dependent on certain prescription drugs like anti-depressants which have no mental addiction risk associated with them.

[Suntzu]

So smoking is a disease.

[stephen50right]

Alcoholism is definitely a thing that some people are susceptible to and other people are not. In my personal experience, I make absolutely no effort whatsoever to curb my drinking, but I have a natural aversion to binge drinking. It ruins my sex drive, and I get no enjoyment out of it. Drunkenness seems to change people's personalities in characteristic ways (some people are angry drunks, some are fun drunks, some just become more "like themselves", and some just fall asleep), I'm the type who just gets tired and falls asleep. So for me, drinking in moderation takes no effort whatsoever.

I think alcoholism is a disease, and one with a genetic component. One type of mental illness is where a person is driven for whatever reason (sexual gratification, addiction, obsessive compulsion, etc.) to do something which harms their physical health or their standing in society. If a compulsion isn't harmful to a person's health or well-being, it isn't a disease. Alcoholism clearly is, because it damages your physical health and has the potential to both damage one's reputation, or even make them a danger to society (in the case of drunk driving or belligerence).




Doing something that you really, really enjoy could be a disease. Pedophiles really really like hurting children, but it's a disease because it's harmful to children and to society. Alcoholism is a disease because if you really really love drinking alcohol and do it compulsively to success, it harms you and it can harm others.

On the other hand, I really, really love reading, and can do it compulsively to excess. That's not a disease because it makes me a better person overall. If you really, really love running and do it to excess then you'll be in great health.

<<< On the other hand, I really, really love reading, and can do it compulsively to excess. That's not a disease because it makes me a better person overall. >>>

That really is an excellent point. It is a good idea when possible, to help an addict from a bad addiction and try to get them into a good "addiction" of sorts. In my opinion chatting on internet political forums can be a good addiction. To express our viewpoints and learn from others. To me that's sort of a good addiction.

For example someone say who is addicted to tobacco, try to have them when an urge strikes to smoke, to instead type on the computer at forum websites they enjoy, read a book, jog, or do something good to elevate their lives, rather than continue with a self-destructive addiction such as smoking.

Of course we can lead an addict to water, but we can't make them drink. Sadly, too many addicts hit rock bottom before they fully understand and get that light bulb moment when they finally realize they must do something to stop the addiction, otherwise they may not be around much longer.

[Drlee]

For Information:


US Government SAMSA

Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older report being current drinkers of alcohol. SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) – 2014 (PDF | 3.4 MB) reports that in 2014 there were 139.7 million current alcohol users aged 12 or older, with 23% classified as binge drinkers and 6.2% as heavy drinkers. About 17 million of these, or 6.4%, met criteria for an alcohol use disorder in the past year. Excessive alcohol use, including underage drinking and binge drinking (drinking 5 or more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on an occasion for women), can increase a person’s risk of developing serious health problems, including brain and liver damage, heart disease, hypertension, and fetal damage in pregnant women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol use causes 88,000 deaths a year. Many Americans begin drinking at an early age. According to the SAMHSA report Behavioral Health, United States, 2012, about 24% of eighth graders and 64% of twelfth graders used alcohol in the past year.

According to the NSDUH:

Men are more likely to report heavy alcohol use (binge drinking for 5 or more of the past 30 days) than women, 9.3% to 3.2%.
The percentages of those aged 12 or older who were current heavy alcohol users were 7.1% of non-Hispanic whites, 4.5% of African Americans, 9.2% of American Indian or Alaska Natives, 4.6% of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, 2.0% of Asians, 5.8% of people reporting two or more races, and 5.1% of Hispanics.
Only 8.9% of people aged 12 or older who needed treatment for alcohol use actually received specialty treatment for their alcohol use problem.

[B0ycey]

Is any addiction truly a disease? You could make an argument it is I suppose, but it is the habit of recurring over consumption that causes the effect and if you eliminate the access of alcohol such effects will cease to exist. Perhaps you can make an argument that alcoholism creates diseases like liver disease for example, but not necessarily be a disease itself.

[Agent Steel]

The argument would be that there's a genetic component to it, I suspect.

I've seen people that can't control themselves around alcohol. I like to let myself be swept away by it now and then, but I'm letting myself do it. One of my best friends, if he starts, he will be chugging bottles of Jager at work every break. He'll start hiding how much he's drinking and make excuses to go to the store or whatever so he can chug.

Whether alcoholism is a disease or not, it's helpful for people like my friend to think of it as such as he can get control of his life back.

That's basically how I am. I have nights where I allow myself the time to let go and drink, KNOWING ahead of time that once I get started I will want to keep at it for the whole night. I plan it out this way.

But there are also the occasional time where it accidentally gets out of hand for no particular reason. There are some nights (only a few times a year) where I lose control.

[stephen50right]

Is any addiction truly a disease? You could make an argument it is I suppose, but it is the habit of recurring over consumption that causes the effect and if you eliminate the access of alcohol such effects will cease to exist. Perhaps you can make an argument that alcoholism creates diseases like liver disease for example, but not necessarily be a disease itself.

Some folks out there consider the word "disease" to only mean something like an infectious germ. The word disease has other meanings as well. Once you see the definition below, you'll realize that alcoholism is a disease.

Pasted from Merriam-Webster:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disease

Definition of disease
1
obsolete : trouble
2
: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness, malady infectious diseases a rare genetic disease heart disease
3
: a harmful development (as in a social institution) sees the city's crime as a disease
diseasedplay \-ˈzēzd\ adjective

Examples of disease in a sentence
He suffers from a rare genetic disease.
a disease of the mind
Thousands die of heart disease each year.
They are working to stop the spread of disease in rural areas.
The article cites intolerance as one of the most dangerous of society's diseases.
He sees crime as a disease that too often plagues the poor and disadvantaged.

[Suntzu]

When you are dealing with insurance companies and the healthcare industry "disease" has a specific meaning.

[Agent Steel]

Are other forms of less harmful addictions also diseases? Is internet addiction a disease? Is porn addiction a disease? What about much more harmful addictions, like smoking? Why isn't that also a disease?

[Suntzu]

Are other forms of less harmful addictions also diseases? Is internet addiction a disease? Is porn addiction a disease? What about much more harmful addictions, like smoking? Why isn't that also a disease?

Yeah, why?