h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Check out the Miller-Keane Medical Dictionary. They classify it specifically as a disease.

A disease as defined by the American Heritage dictionary ( http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=disease ) is as follows:

1. A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.
2. A condition or tendency, as of society, regarded as abnormal and harmful.

Additionally, alcoholism can result in:
* delerium tremens - when the patient undergoes physical tremors (shakes) that can cause death if not specifically monitored
* cirrhosis of the liver
* fetal alcohol syndrome
* coronary artery disease, and hypertension.

Therefore, it is not simply Alcoholics Anonymous that bases its agenda on alcoholism as a disease. As a matter of fact, the Basic Text of Alcoholics Anonymous says: "For those who are unable to drink moderately the question is how to stop altogether. We are assuming, of course, that the reader desires to stop. Whether such a person can quit upon a non spiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not."

It goes on to say:

"We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition."

Therefore, AA doesn't say that nobody can stop on their own. It is a recovery program for those who believe they can't stop on their own. It's not really proper to tell someone who goes through physical withdrawal from alcohol, or DTs, that they should be able to "straighten up and fly right", or "fix the problem through willpower alone". Extended alchol abuse not only damages organs, but changes brain chemistry, and can sometimes lead to a brain edema ("wet brain").

An allergy is defined as an "abnormally high sensitivity to certain substances, such as pollens, foods, or microorganisms." (see http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=allergy ) Since alcohol is defined as a sedative, why does it cause some people's behavior to change, and cause a physical craving that can only be satisfied by more consumption? Research shows that the "moderate drinker" has the proper enzymes to metabolize alcohol at the famous one-ounce-per-hour rate. However, in alcoholics, the alcohol doesn't metabolize as fast. At some point, the elevated levels of acetic acid that remain in the brain of the alcoholic actually cause the "craving" that can't be turned on and off like a light switch.

I'd call that an "abnormally high sensitivity".

Yes, people should take responsibility for their own problems. However, if I've got a headache, I take an aspirin so it doesn't incapacitate me. My mother takes her chemo treatments so she'll live longer.

Help is where you find it, and AA has helped millions of people since 1935.