Alcoholism: 'A Type of Drug Dependence'

THERE is still debate over this question, but the preponderance of evidence points to the conclusion that alcoholism is an illness. The American Medical Association and the World Health Organization, as well as many other professional groups, have come to regard it as a specific disease entity. Some have even made official pronouncements that designate it as such, in order to stimulate interest and focus effort. Recent court decisions recognizing it legally as a "disease" have lent additional support to this position and in so doing have shifted the brunt of responsibility for the care of an impressive number of alcoholics away from law-enforcement agencies and more appropriately onto the medical profession, and health and rehabilitation groups.