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Alcoholism is characterized by an increased tolerance to alcohol – which means that an individual can consume more alcohol – and physical dependence on alcohol, which makes it hard for an individual to control their consumption. The physical dependency caused by alcohol can lead to an affected individual having a very strong urge to drink ...
An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems. Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle." [62]
There are two major differences between alcohol dependence and alcoholism as generally accepted by the medical community. Alcohol dependence refers to an entity in which only alcohol is the involved addictive agent. Alcoholism refers to an entity in which alcohol or any cross-tolerant addictive agent is involved.
Alcohol use is a major cause of preventable liver disease worldwide, and alcoholic liver disease is the main alcohol-related chronic medical illness. [6] Millions of people of all ages, from adolescents to the elderly, engage in unhealthy drinking. [7] In the United States, excessive alcohol use costs more than $249 billion annually. [8]
Alcohol has been used as an antiseptic as early as 1363, with evidence to support its use becoming available in the late 1800s. [32] At times and places of poor public sanitation (such as medieval Europe), the consumption of alcoholic drinks was a way of avoiding water-borne diseases such as cholera. [33]
As Gen-Z drinks less, other age groups follow suit. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health found less than two-thirds of Americans drank alcohol at least once in 2022. According to ...
William Duncan Silkworth (July 22, 1873 – March 22, 1951) was an American physician and specialist in the treatment of alcoholism.He was director of the Charles B. Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions in New York City in the 1930s, during which time William Griffith Wilson, a future co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), was admitted on four occasions for alcoholism.
“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States – greater than the 13,500 ...