Well this is sure tricky of me. I hope no one catches on to the cheap little thing I have done here.

Is alcoholism a disease which can be treated? Or is it just a vice of pathetic, weak-willed bums? And does it even matter whether or not alcoholism is a disease?

Back in the 1930s, a couple of guys came to the conclusion that a Higher Power could help pathetic, weak-willed bums get sober and stay sober. These couple of guys started an organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous. While this organization has helped many God-fearing Christians, it doesn't do much for the rest of us. Currently AA is a bit schizophrenic. Many, if not most, of its members embrace the alcoholism-is-a-disease concept, but if you read the Big Book, it hammers home the pathetic bum message. Assorted people think AA has outlived its usefulness, but for entirely different sets of reasons.

One entry in the AA-is-useless camp has an intellectual approach to fighting addiction. They call it the Addictive Voice Recognition Technique. This organization, which calls itself Rational Recovery, misses the boat on two things: They erroneously come down hard on AA for suggesting (gasp!) that alcoholism is a disease (and if you think AA takes this stand, just take another look at the twelve steps), and they are confused about the mental state that AA calls denial.

Rational Recovery correlates denial, where an alcoholic blames his alcohol-related problems on external forces, with calling an alcoholic stupid. Well, yes, people who kill other people by driving drunk aren't usually at their best. What is peculiar is that Rational Recovery seem to miss their own point. When an alcoholic hears the message in his brain, "I don't drink too much - I lost my job because my boss is an asshole," it is the voice of the addiction rationalizing the consequences of the addiction. An alcoholic or addict in the grip of the Addictive Voice is in the state called denial. Rational Recovery has an excellent grasp of this process, but has made the error of making a moral judgement about denial. Denial is about being sick, not stupid.

Then we have Stanton Peele, who wins a special prize for being the most ignorant entry in the AA-is-useless field. Naturally, he doesn't think alcoholism is a disease. Unsurprisingly, he thinks alcoholics are a bunch of pathetic bums. His big departure from AA is that he thinks alcoholics can drink alcohol "sensibly," and those who fail at this are wimps. But this fool isn't just ignorant, he has his own nasty agenda to push: if alcoholism is not a disease, then why are we spending all of this medical insurance money on these worthless drunks anyhow? I can only conclude that the man is an alcoholic with the most fantastic case of denial ever seen. (This may seem far-fetched, but I knew an alcoholic who was convinced AA was formed solely to irritate him). Some Stanton advice: "Don't go to the same bars."

So maybe it does matter if alcoholism is classified as a disease. If we are confronting the evil specter of no medical benefits for alcohol treatment programs, we need to arm ourselves with facts. Rooms By The Sea recommends "Under The Influence" by James Robert Milam. This book was written back in 1983 and everyone is still catching up to it. Dr. Milam describes in detail the physical process of alcohol addiction (did you know that alcoholics aren't actually addicted to alcohol, but to chemicals their bodies produce when they consume alcohol?), and also suggests an unusually enlightened approach to treatment (just ignore the part about the policeman being your friend). His criticism of the AA approach is invaluable. This hasn't deterred individual AA members from embracing his views. Let a nice AA guy tell you more.

Rooms By The Sea believes that alcoholism is a progressive illness which can be treated only by complete abstinence from alcohol combined with education for the alcoholic on the effects and causes of the disease. And it matters whether or not alcoholism is classified as a disease, because the alternative to a medical approach is ineffective moralizing. Medical treatment for alcoholism saves lives.

If you are interested in looking at some more links on alcoholism, Web Of Addictions is a fine starting point. Also, the Skeptic's Dictionary has an interesting analysis of Substance Abuse Treatment.