Alcoholism: Disease or Not Disease?

Paper Summary:

This concise and well-organized paper examines alcoholism as a disease. The author describes the criteria for an illness to be considered a disease. According to these criteria, alcoholism fits the definition of a disease. The author concludes if considered as a disease, better treatments can be found for sufferers of alcoholism.

From the Paper:

"First, as more and more research is put into the claim, it becomes quite obvious that alcoholism is an actual disease. Alcoholism is defined as "an illness marked by consumption of alcoholic beverages at a level that interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family, or occupational responsibilities" (NLM). Alcohol dependency, a form of alcoholism, is portrayed by a higher tolerance for alcohol, which means that it requires more substance for an affected person to become intoxicated. Also, people that suffer from alcohol dependency normally suffer from withdrawals if alcohol use is discontinued or reduced. People that are dependent on alcohol normally spend much of their time consuming or acquiring alcohol. When one consumes too much alcohol many side effects and body disorders occur. Some of the most recorded side effects of alcoholism are: pancreatitis (irritation and swelling of the pancreas), heart muscle damage, nerve damage, esophageal bleeding, brain degeneration, cirrhosis of the liver, delirium tremens, erectile dysfunction, insomnia, and nutritional deficiencies. All of these are bodily disorders which effect different parts of the body (Rychtarik, 3)."

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