Originally Posted by Choker

Wow, lot's of armchair alchoholism experts here.

Fact is that alcholism is a disease not a addiction. Ask any doctor, any medical group, any social worker, any expert and they will tell you this. The AMA has recognized alcholism as a disease for some time now. The genome project is even supposedly close to isolating the gene that can trigger alchoholism.

There is no one sympton that defines a alchoholic, but the most common sign is if you get a buzz and have a hard time stopping then chances are you are a alchy. Of course there are all the other indicaters that you may have, letting booze interfere with your job, relationships, etc. Being able to not pick up the first drink means nothing, many alchys can go months even years without drinking. It's their ability to put down the drink that matters.

Crack, cocaine, etc addictions are NOT diseases, there is a big difference. Alcholics and addicts suffer from totally different problems.