Alcoholism is a major problem in the United States because alcoholics endanger themselves and society. Alcoholism follows a characteristic course with known physical, psychological, and social symptoms. Once addicted, the alcoholic continues to consume alcohol despite the destructive consequences. While the particular symptoms and pattern of drinking problems may vary with the individual, the alcoholic can only regain control over his or her life by abstaining from the substance. Alcohol-related problems are not likely to be reduced by strategies involving single interventions directed solely at the individual. Economic, political, social and environmental forces that work together to encourage and perpetuate alcoholism must also be addressed.
In America alone there are an estimated ten million active alcoholics (Dulfano, 1992, p. 12). It is impossible to estimate the number of non-alcoholics affected by the disease. This number includes the battered spouses and children of alcoholics, the victims of drunk driving, and the employers whose alcoholic employees perform their work tasks with diminished capacity. The economic costs of alcoholism include the costs of medical bills, road accident damage, law enforcement expenses, unemployment and premature death. In the United States, between 1985 to 1990, the economic cost of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems rose 40 percent to $98.6 billion. Reduced or lost productivity and premature death accounted for 71 percent of this cost; medical care for more than 10 percent; and crime for nearly 6 percent (Alcohol Health, 1993, p. 133). In the United States, alcohol abuse has become the number one killer of teenagers, many of whom are killed by their own peers: "Nationally, six drunken teen drivers will kill somebody on a typical day" (Olinger, 1991, p. 122). Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in America, after tobacco and diet/activity patterns.
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