The belief that alcohol controls us rather than we control alcohol is absurd. It rejects the very idea of humanity - that we are not simply animals controlled by our instincts and impulses (Wilbanks 40). The notion alcoholism is genetic or hereditary is based partly on an article by Donald Goodwin. In the article it states, “about eighteen percent of the children of alcoholics become alcoholics themselves.” This also indicates that eighty two percent of the children of alcoholics do not become alcoholics, therefore indicating it is very likely alcoholism indeed is not hereditary (Claypool 23). Could it be possible those children who did become alcoholics did not do so because they inherited it, but they actually learned it from their parents? I believe this is very probable. We learn everything from our parents; how to dress, how to act, how to express ourselves, why not how to drink? Researchers also investigate possible genetic components of alcoholism by studying populations and families as well as genetic, biochemical, and neurobehavioral markers and characteristics.
But these studies have not yet proven alcoholism is based solely on genetic factors. The acclaimed anti-disease model revolutionist, Herbert Fingarette, claims, "There was no genetic or other biological explanation for why a person drinks too much either on a particular occasion or habitually, why a person decides or commits violent or criminal acts when drunk, why a person decides that he or she is an alcoholic and that drinking is an excuse for misbehavior ( Peele 2)." Fingarette views drinking as an all-purpose excuse, a special case of self-deception anointed by science but actually steeped in the lore of magical "loss of control"- "I couldn't help myself"- as though this description of irresponsibility was somehow an explanation and an excuse for it (Peele 2).
"Disease" is a powerful word that generates provision of health insurance payments, employment benefits such as paid leave and workmen's compensation, and other government benefits. The direct and indirect cost of alcoholism is rapidly increasing, already exceeding a billion dollars annually (Fingarette 51). In addition, cost to society on alcoholics' health care expenditures alone already total to $18,820 million (Cost 1). Health insurance companies are paying for these treatments of alcoholics as if they actually had a disease. This means the United States actually has to pay more for health insurance - health insurance that should not be provided at the cost of the American public. . This is an absurd amount of money to be spending on alcoholics, people who preferred to take the path of drinking to the extent that they became addicted.
Alcoholism is not only costly money-wise, but it also claims many lives each year. Nearly 200,000 people die each year from alcohol abuse that includes deaths from accidents and diseases caused by alcohol (Claypool 17). Alcohol abuse plays a part in some 10,000 accidental deaths a year, at home and on the job (Langone 39). The U.S. Department of Justice Report on Alcohol and Crime found alcohol abuse was a factor in forty percent of violent crimes committed in the United States (Violence 1). In 1996, there were 17,126 alcohol-related traffic fatalities accounting for the forty and nineteenths of all traffic fatalities during the year. Alcohol is also involved in at least half of all homicides in the United States, with the attacker, the victim, or both under the influence. This is probably a good explanation for the fact that more murders occur on Saturday nights than any other night- the fewest murders occur on Tuesdays (Goodwin 16). Besides all these traffic fatalities and violent crimes where alcohol is a factor, do not forget the premature deaths and birth defects alcohol abusers are also responsible for. In 1992 there were 31,327 premature deaths due to alcohol abuse (Cost 1).
Each year five thousand babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; this is a form of mental retardation caused by mothers who drink while pregnant (Claypool 17). Imagine a child growing up with mental retardation, having to face all the hate and discrimination in this world. These innocent lives would have otherwise been spared had their mother not chosen to continue to drink during her pregnancy.
It has also become a legal basis for arguing that alcoholics should be excused from moral and legal responsibilities for any misdeeds. In the 1968 case of Powell, the court rejected the criminal defense alcoholism is a disease and hence it ought to excuse the alcoholic for crimes committed while intoxicated (Fingarette 104). Imagine if all the alcoholics who, one night without thinking of the consequences, got drunk and decided to get behind the wheel, only to kill an innocent family, would try to justify themselves by saying "I had no control over it! I have a disease, I'm an alcoholic!"
Another ridiculous case, in my opinion, where the excuse of alcoholism as a disease was brought to the Supreme Court, is that of two alcoholic veterans. The Supreme Court denied the two alcoholic veterans, Veterans Administration (VA) educational benefits they were unable to use within the period established by VA regulations because, they claimed, they were alcoholics (Peele 2). In other words, they spent so much of this time drinking that they didn't feel like going to school, a situation they claimed was brought on by the disease of alcoholism from which they suffered. One irony in this case was that, although the VA's position was that these men engaged in willful misconduct rather than manifesting a disease, the VA treatment creed is very much one based on the disease model. However, the VA expressed a different, sensible position in this case because, to do otherwise, would simply overwhelm the federal government with unimaginable claims it owed people who were too drunk to demand them at some time in the past (Peele 1). Cases like these prove that the word "disease" will only be used by alcoholics to excuse themselves from the consequences of their actions.
There are several cases and examples which could lead people to believe this to be a disease when, in my opinion, becoming an alcoholic is a personal choice. In order to become addicted to alcohol, as is common in consumption of other drugs, you have to first try the drug at least one time. In the case of an alcoholic, it would take numerous occasions of drinking to become addicted. Some find when depressed, drinking alcohol can help ease the depression and have results similar to that of Prozac. If you were depressed to the extent that you were going to consider excessive drinking and did not consider seeing a doctor, it was in some ways your decision to follow the path towards alcoholism. A simple trip to a doctor would have allowed you access to a drug such as Prozac ending any depressing thoughts. Without a cure to depression, relying on alcohol is no longer an option and you can not blame your obsession with drinking on a disease.
Society and Alcoholics have both been misled by the erroneous classification of alcoholism as a disease. It is not right to let alcoholics believe they are helpless and dependent on others, that they have an inevitable disease. It is not right to excuse them legally and give them special government benefits at the cost of the American public. Moreover, it is not right to let society keep viewing them as helpless victims, to keep paying for their treatments, and to keep losing thousands of lives each year to a drunk behind a wheel or women who drink while pregnant.
Alcoholics are not powerless; their choices led them to the life they live and they should take responsibility for their actions. It is time we stop viewing alcoholism for what it is not, a disease, and start viewing it for what it is, an addiction brought about by personal choices.
Works Cited
Claypool, Jane. Alcohol and You. London: Franklin Watts, 1988. "Costs of alcohol and drug abuse in the United States." http://silk.nih.gov/silk/niaa1/database/cost5txt.
Fingarette, Herbert. "Alcoholism Is Not A Disease." Chemical Dependancy: Opposing Viewpoints. Eds. Cozic, Charles P. and Karin Swisher. California: Greenhaven Press, 1991 101-104.
Goodwin M.D., Donald W. Alcoholism: The Facts. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Langone, John. Bombed, Buzzed, Smashed or Sober. Canada: Little, Brown and Company, 1976.
Peele, Stanton. "Herbert Fingarette, Radical Revolutionist: Why Are People So Upset With This Retiring Philosopher?" http://peele.sas.nl./lib/fingers.html. Peele, Stanton. Diseasing of America. Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1989.
Skipper M.D., Greg. "Addiction…A disease? "http://www.easystreet.com/sbnw/disease.htm.
"Violence and Alcohol." http://alcoholism.about.com/health/alcoholism/library/weekly/aa980415.htm.
Wilbanks, William L. "Drug Addiction Should Be Treated as a Lack of Self-Discipline." Chemical Dependancy. Ed. Bruno Leone. California: Greenhaven Press, 1989. 39-44.
