PharmaWatch

Alcohol is a huge part of American culture; turn on a television program, or watch a movie, and you're likely to see an adult (or even a teenager) enjoying an alcoholic beverage. It's shorthand for a good time. However, some people take the enjoyment of alcohol to an extreme, to the point that it becomes dangerous for themselves and for the people around them, particularly if they choose to drink and drive. Alcohol addiction, also known as alcoholism, is marked by a strong urge, or craving, for alcoholic beverages, a loss of control or inability to stop drinking once you've begun, a physical dependence on drinking alcohol, and a high tolerance for alcohol, or the need to drink larger amounts in order to get the euphoric feeling that can accompany alcoholic consumption. Alcoholism is a disease; it is chronic, and it can be an inherited trait. Alcoholism is prone to run in families--this doesn't doom someone to a life of alcohol dependence solely because members of his or her family were alcoholics, but it does predispose someone to alcoholism. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse (NIAA), 17.6 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent, and the problems are highest among young people between the ages of 18-29. People who begin drinking at age 14 or younger are far more likely to develop a drinking problem than someone who starts to drink at age 21 or after.

The sad fact is alcoholism cannot be cured. It can be treated, with extensive counseling and medication, but an alcoholic is in danger of relapse at any given point. Most alcoholics who genuinely wish to make a lifestyle change find that they cannot ever drink alcohol again for fear of "falling off the wagon" or relapsing back into old patterns of behavior. Some of the medications that are used to help treat alcohol dependence are disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate. These medications help people with alcoholism reduce their drinking, avoid relapses into heavy drinking, and maintain abstinence. There are also drugs available to help a person dependent upon alcohol cope with withdrawal symptoms, such as shakiness, sweating, and nausea. A person with alcohol dependence who tries to simply "cut down" on his or her drinking is unlikely to succeed; one of the symptoms of alcoholism is an inability to restrict one's drinking, so it's not logical to assume that an alcoholic can safely drink any amount of alcohol.

For alcoholics who wish to get help, there are many excellent rehabilitation programs available, and meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous that can help to curb the habit after rehabilitation. But if an alcoholic is unwilling to admit that he or she needs help, things become a bit more complicated. A traffic violation can result in court-ordered treatment, but you must hope that your loved one won't hit "rock bottom" before you can insist on treatment. Specialists recommend that friends and family members of alcoholics stop covering up for their loved one; allow the person who is dependent on alcohol to experience the consequences of his or her drinking. Stage an intervention, and use specific examples of the ways that your loved one's drinking is troublesome. Get support for yourself--Al-Anon offers group support for family members and friends of alcoholics.