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c
 , also known as u
 

 
is a disabling
addictive disorder. It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled
consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker's health,
relationships, and social standing. Like other drug addictions, alcoholism is
medically defined as a treatable disease. The term "alcoholism" is a widely
used term first coined in 1849 by Magnus Huss, but in medicine the term
was replaced by "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence" in the 1980s
DSM III. Similarly in 1979 an expert World Health Organisation
committee disfavoured the use of "alcoholism" as a diagnostic entity,
preferring the category of "alcohol dependence syndrome". In the 19th and
early 20th centuries, alcohol dependence was called dipsomania before the
term "alcoholism" replaced it.
 u
clcohol has a long history of use and misuse throughout recorded
human history. Biblical, Egyptian and Babylonian sources record history of
abuse and dependence on alcohol. In some ancient cultures alcohol was
worshiped and others its abuse was condemned. Excessive alcohol misuse
and drunkenness were recognised as causing problems thousand of years
ago. However, the defining of habitual drunkenness as it was then known
as and its adverse consequences were not well established medically until
the 18th century. In 1647 a Greek monk was the first to document that
chronic alcohol misuse was associated with toxicity to the nervous system
and body which resulted in a range of medical disorders such as seizures,
paralysis and internal bleeding. In 1920 the effects of alcohol abuse and
chronic drunkenness led to the failed prohibition of alcohol being
considered and eventually enforced briefly in cmerica. In 2005 the cost of
alcohol dependence and abuse was estimated to cost the USc economy
approximately 220 billion dollars per year, more than cancer and obesity.
 ‰

c complex mixture of genetic and environmental factors
influence the risk of the development of alcoholism. Genes
which influence the metabolism of alcohol also influence the
risk of alcoholism, and may be indicated by a family history of
alcoholism. One paper has found that alcohol use at an early
age may influence the expression of genes which increase the
risk of alcohol dependence. Individuals who have a genetic
disposition to alcoholism are also more likely to begin
drinking at an earlier age than average. clso, a younger age of
onset of drinking is associated with an increased risk of the
development of alcoholism, and about 40 percent of alcoholics
will drink excessively by their late adolescence. It is not
entirely clear whether this association is causal, and some
researchers have been known to disagree with this view.
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clcoholism is characterised by an increased tolerance of

and physical dependence on alcohol, affecting an individual's
ability to control alcohol consumption safely. These
characteristics are believed to play a role in impeding an
alcoholic's ability to stop drinking. clcoholism can have
adverse effects on mental health, causing psychiatric disorders
to develop and an increased risk of suicide.
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The World Health Organization, the European Union and other

regional bodies, national governments and parliaments have formed alcohol
policies in order to reduce the harm of alcoholism. Targeting adolescents
and young adults is regarded as an important step to reduce the harm of
alcohol abuse. Increasing the age at which licit drugs of abuse such as
alcohol can be purchased, the banning or restricting advertising of alcohol
has been recommended as additional ways of reducing the harm of alcohol
dependence and abuse. Credible, evidence based educational campaigns in
the mass media about the consequences of alcohol abuse have been
recommended. Guidelines for parents to prevent alcohol abuse amongst
adolescents, and for helping young people with mental health problems
have also been suggested.

 

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