Alcoholism – Disease or Disorder?

The debate between disease and disorder is explicit while classifying alcoholism; as the two terms are quite interchangeably used in frequent occasions where sort of highly addictive habit is involved. People often seem to be inadequate in differentiating a true meaning between disease and disorder. The term disease is an illness that’s caused by a specific activity/behavior and shows relative signs and symptoms, or, it’s an irregularity in human body functions that affects an individual . The term disorder is an illness to mental or physical health . Whereas the word alcoholism means to be a chronic disease that makes an individual habitual of consuming alcohol in a greater quantity and long-term continuity can induce disorders among distinct mental and physical parts of the body. Hence alcoholism can be classified as a disease that gradually encourages disordered amidst different parts of the body. And this report will validate the statement further in the light of evidence and opinion theory.

Discussion

No doubt the deliberation is highly expressive across the world but still a majority of opinion builders are sided towards disease factor. As the renowned and extensively acknowledged organizations have already marked alcoholism as a disease, amongst so many few are; American Medical Association in 1956, World Health Organization in 1951 and American Psychiatric Association in 1952. Evidences provided by Dr. E.M Jellinek in 1940, were enough for medical practitioners to conclude alcoholism is a disease. Furthermore, as per the recent findings by top medical staff who enunciated that; alcohol is a drug, moreover a dependant drug and any dependency, i.e. alcoholism, that causes serious health problems can be classified as a disease; as disease is to a structural phenomenon that gently destruct human health . According to Fetal Alcohol Disorders Society; alcoholism is a chronic disease that is progressive and fatal. Whereas it’s declared disease because, alcohol addicted individuals are vulnerable to some serious health related issues and mostly deaths.

Conclusion Reassuring that disease has always to do with demise but disorder is life lasting; henceforth it is now easily attributable that alcoholism is a disease that has an ability to produce disorders and fatality. Therefore confusion between disease and disorder relating to alcoholism has to be eradicated as quickly as possible because such bewilderment has major implications over law suits and medical treatments.