Many people have a different definition of what think an alcoholic is. To understand what alcoholism is and who is actually an alcoholic, first you need to understand what alcohol is. Alcohol is a drug. A drug is something that when taken into our bodies, it changes the way our bodies work. Alcohol is a depressant drug because it causes our bodies to slow down. Sometimes alcohol makes people slur their words, but it can also make them more talkative. Alcohol is often not thought of as a drug largely because its use is so common for both religious and social purposes in most parts of the world. It is a drug, however, and compulsive drinking in excess is one of modern society’s most serious problems.

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the United States. About 100,000 Americans die every year from alcohol-related causes. Only smoking and an unhealthy lifestyle cause more preventable deaths. In addition, more than 76 million Americans have experienced alcoholism in a member of their families. More than half of all Americans say that at least one of their close relatives has a drinking problem. The children of alcoholics are three and a half times more likely than others to become alcoholics themselves.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) was created by the federal government in 1970 to supervise funds for research on alcoholism. In 1999 the United States government budgeted more than $230 million to search for ways to prevent and treat alcoholism.

According to the NIAAA, alcoholism is a disease and is characterized by these symptoms:

• Craving - A person feels a strong need to drink.
• Loss of control - After a person starts drinking, he or she cannot stop doing so.
• Tolerance – The person needs increasing amounts of alcohol to achieve the same level of intoxication (drunkenness).
• Physical dependence (also called addiction) – the persons body has become dependent on alcohol to function normally. Stopping the drug causes withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, tremors, and intense anxiety. These symptoms are relieved only when the person drinks more alcohol or takes a minor tranquilizer.

Although there are no clear boundaries separating different categories of drinking, the NIAAA has also described a second pattern of alcohol consumption known as alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that causes one or more of these things to happen within a year:

• The person is not able to perform normal tasks at home, school, or work.

• The person drinks while driving a car or doing something else that should never be done while drinking.

• The person is arrested for driving while intoxicated or hurts someone while intoxicated.

• The person continues to drink even though it harms family relationships and friends.

When people are asked to describe and alcoholic, they often picture a “bum” – a man in shabby clothes, unshaven and with bloodshot eyes, who begs for money on a sidewalk. This may be the stereotypical image, but in reality, anyone can become an alcoholic. An alcoholic can be rich or poor, male or female, young or old. An alcoholic can be a pretty and successful woman in her big beautiful home. An alcoholic can be a twelve-year-old kid.

How often and when a person drinks alcohol is as important as how much alcohol he or she drinks. For example, one drink every day – seven drinks each week – is considered drinking in moderation (drinking in small amounts) for an adult. However, drinking seven drinks in one night is considered alcohol abuse.

For people who drink alcohol, the safest way to enjoy it is in moderation. Most people agree that moderate drinking is drinking that doesn’t cause problems for the drinker or others. But that definition has different meanings for different people.

Safe drinking limits vary from person to person. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services state this general rule: moderate drinking means no more than two drinks a day for most men and no more than one drink a day for most women.

Alcohol is part of our society and is here to stay even though it is a dangerous drug and causes many problems. But it is possible to drink sensibly and carefully without harming your health – it’s up to you!