...Alcoholism is a chronic illness characterized by the habitual consumption of alcohol. Some alcoholics drink daily. Others drink less often, but the drinking becomes out of control. This is done to the degree that it interferes with physical or mental health, or with normal social or work behavior. Alcohol produces both physical and psychological addiction. It is a central nervous system depressant that reduces anxiety, inhibition, and feelings of guilt. It lowers alertness and impairs perception, judgment, and motor coordination. In high doses, it can cause loss of consciousness and even death. Chronic or continued alcoholism damages the brain, liver, heart, and other organs. History According to Arthur G. Nikelly (1994), an Associate Professor, working at the McKinley Health Center University of Illinois at Urbana, "precapitalist societies did not experience severe problems with alcoholism as they exist today. The broad parameters associated with alcohol abuse have not been explicitly investigated by alcohol educators and researchers. Instead, they focus on group influences and stress individual responsibility to curtail alcohol abuse. Seeking the causes of alcohol abuse...