Abstract
Alcoholism is an illness or disease that requires medical diagnosis and treatment. Alcoholism is not a moral problem; rather, moral problems result from the alcoholism. Much of what appears to be alcoholism are the consequences of alcoholism. Alcoholism begins simply as an addiction to alcohol that is physical in origin. From the pursuit, compulsivity, and relapse to alcohol ensue the mental, medical, psychiatric, and spiritual consequences. The essential core of the alcoholism needs to be identified because the consequences will abate. Treating only the consequences will serve to distract the attention from the primary disease of alcoholism and enable the consequences to continue (1–3).
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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York
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Miller, N.S. (1991). The Pharmacology of Alcohol. In: The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_9
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