Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the health problems and negative social consequences it causes. Medical definitions describe alcoholism as a disease which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. Alcoholism may also refer to a preoccupation with or compulsion toward the consumption of alcohol and/or an impaired ability to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Although not all of these definitions specify current and on-going use of alcohol as a qualifier, some do, as well as remarking on the long-term effects of consistent, heavy alcohol use, including dependence and symptoms of withdrawal.

The behaviour regarding alcohol consumption which leads to alcoholism varies wildly. It is impossible to predict the probability of becoming an alcoholic based on drinking habits, though obviously some alcohol intake is required. The biological processes which cause alcohol dependence are not fully understood, though influences such as mental health, genetic predisposition and social surroundings have been researched.

The word ‘alcoholism’ was first used in Sweden by Dr. Huss in 1849, but it was not brought into common usage until the 1940s with the founding of the Alcoholics Anonymous. The AA didn’t have a clear definition for the disease, so they likened it to a kind of allergy.

A 1960 study by E. Morton Jellinek is considered the foundation of the modern disease theory of alcoholism. Jellinek’s definition restricted the use of the word “alcoholism” to those showing a particular natural history. The modern medical definition of alcoholism has been revised numerous times since then. The American Medical Association currently uses the word alcoholism to refer to a particular chronic primary disease.A minority within the medical field, notably Herbert Fingarette and Stanton Peele, argue against the existence of this disease. However, critics of the disease model acknowledge that the word “alcoholism” refers to a disease, and use the term “heavy drinking” when discussing the negative effects of alcohol consumption.

Due to alcoholism’s unclear definition, the disease is often hard to precisely detect. There is no physiological difference between someone who drinks frequently and an alcoholic. One must assess objectively the negative effects alcohol consumption is having on a person’s life and the benefits the drinker believes to be receiving from continuing to abuse alcohol. It is often obvious when an alcoholic’s life has been severely damaged by excessive drinking, but identifying the person as an alcoholic can be difficult in more complicated cases.

The primary effect of alcoholism is to encourage the sufferer to drink at times and in amounts that are damaging. The secondary damage caused by an inability to control one’s drinking manifests in many ways.

It is not unusual for an alcoholic to keep drinking even after his physical health deteriorates. The negative health issues caused by excessive alcohol consumption include alcoholic dementia, heart disease, epilepsy, cirrhosis and in many cases death.