Let’s see what doctors call it, then. Here’s how the clinical practice of the Yale School of Medicine describe alcholism/alcohol use disorder:
Alcohol Use Disorder
- Chronic brain disease characterized by continued alcohol use despite harmful consequences
- Symptoms include loss of control over alcohol use; social, economic, or health problems caused by drinking
- Treatments include medication, counseling, and behavioral therapy
- Involves Addiction Medicine and Psychiatry
Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition. It’s a disease of brain function and requires medical and psychological treatments to control it.
The wikipedia entry for alcoholism states that
Within the medical and scientific communities, there is a broad consensus regarding alcoholism as a disease state. For example, the American Medical Association considers alcohol a drug and states that “drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite often devastating consequences. It results from a complex interplay of biological vulnerability, environmental exposure, and developmental factors (e.g., stage of brain maturity).”[185]
While Wikipedia is not an argument in itself, it cites research (archived version on Wayback Machine). There are other similar publications to be found if you search. In other words, medical research calls alcoholism a disease (of the brain), respected clinics call it a disease, other respected medical authorities in other non-english speaking countries call alcoholism a disease, alchoholism matches the dictionary definitions of disease. Thus, I’m inclined to believe the medical experts and say that yes, alcoholism sure looks like a disease.