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Alcoholism: a moral issue or an illness?

We see every day in our law courts our hospitals and our mortuaries the results
of alcohol abuse.

The victims of alcohol abuse come from right across the spectrum of society. It
is not selective. All walks of life are affected; from Princes and Presidents to
Pop Stars and Paupers.

Some societies forbid the consumption of alcohol. One might imagine that this
type of rigid control would be effective.

Far from it. Alcohol abuse is prevalent in those societies and strict laws to
prevent the consumption of alcohol are quite ineffective.

This is a fact in spite of huge efforts spent by law enforcement agencies.

The problem does not go away or diminish. In fact the consumption of alcohol is
ever increasing and the number of people that become dependent upon it is
increasing proportionately.

Statistics show that out of every 100 people that drink alcohol on a regular basis,
about 12 of these regular drinkers, at sometime during their lives, become
dependent upon it.

When this happens, alcohol begins to cost the individual and society
more than money. These people have lost the tolerance to alcohol they may
have once had. Their bodies have now become allergic to the intake of alcohol.

Their minds become obsessed with the thought of alcohol. They will go to
extreme lengths to convince others that they do not have a problem with it.

They will hide their booze and lie about the amount they are consuming.

These same people begin to lose friends, time at work, respect of others and
eventually self respect.

They will often reject the advice of friends and family that they ought to drink less.

They will drink secretively because inside they know they are drinking too much.

They will stop drinking just to show everyone they don’t have a problem.

But, they cannot stop for any length of time. When they do make a supreme
effort to control their drinking it usually lasts just a while.

The family begins to get hope and this is soon dashed when the victim takes a
few drinks and is back on the same old merry go round.

They try again and again to drink like others but they cannot. They have lost
all power to control their drinking.

These people are often described as alcoholics.

Now let’s get to the point of the topic; is alcoholism an illness or is it a
moral issue?

Let’s briefly examine some realities.

As far back as 1951, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised
alcoholism as a disease.

Following this, in 1957, the American Medical Association (AMA) declared
alcoholism as a treatable illness.

Unfortunately, many people do not accept alcoholism as a disease. This includes
some medical doctors.

Although their own professional organisations recognise alcoholism as a disease
there are some, as individuals, that do not or will not.

They prefer to see alcoholism as a moral issue, and this is especially true in
certain countries and certain cultures.

In a 1992 JAMA article, the Joint Committee of the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction
Medicine published this definition for alcoholism:

"Alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and
environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The
disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired
control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol
despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, mostly denial.
Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic."

With all this professional input on alcoholism surely the most obstinate amongst
us cannot deny the possibility that these people may at least in part have
merits for the concept that alcoholism is a disease rather than a moral issue.
And if we did at least keep an open mind, might not society be better equipped
to squarely deal with it and all its ramifications?

When I speak of ramifications, I am not just talking about the estimated 115
billion dollars it costs the American economy annually.

I am not just talking about the “wet brains” in our societies that need to be kept
under lock and key.

I am not just talking about lunatic driving we all see on the roads in Kuwait
and elsewhere that is caused through alcohol abuse or other mind altering
substances.

I am also talking about the families, the friends, the employers of those
alcoholics.

These all suffer as the result of the alcoholic in one way or another.

But in spite of all this, there is a Ray of Hope.

There are in fact over 2 million RECOVERING alcoholics in the world at this
present time.

They are living useful and productive lives without alcohol.

They are using the most successful recovery programme known.

How do I know this?

The simple and honest answer is that I am one of these people.

I’ll not go into a lengthy dialogue of how my life is today. Suffice to say I have not
taken any alcohol in any shape or form for a number of years.

That does not meant to say I am now cured of my disease. My disease is still with
me, for there is no known cure.

However, there is a way to arrest the disease and the method is simple and
totally FREE to ANY person who WANTS to have this arrestment.

I underline the word WANT. I did not use the word NEED.

I know from experience that unless a person is WILLING to try this method then
there is little chance of recovery.

It is heartbreaking to see families torn apart because of alcoholism.

But, there is a solution if the person who is drinking too much wants to do
something about it.

If there is anyone reading this article who would like to know more about this
treatment, please call this local telephone number:

(965) 96 41 389.

It will cost you nothing and may save your life.

Your call will be treated in total confidence.