Alcoholism (also known as alcohol dependence, ethylism, dipsomania, potomania, alcohol addiction, alcoholism or alcohol use disorder) is the dependence on the psychotropic substance ethanol. Mental and/or physical dependence on alcohol is usually a social and human problem for the individual, but experience has shown that it also has a negative impact on the person's environment, such as family and work.

Throughout history, there have been and still are alcohol bans in various forms in individual countries or even in entire cultural areas, such as Islam, to prevent alcohol abuse or alcohol consumption in principle for various reasons through strict prohibitions. A significant example of the dubious success of alcohol bans is Prohibition in the USA from 1920 to 1933.

When do you become an alcoholic?

The boundary is fluid - there is no measurable no/yes point. According to Prof. Dr Wilhelm Feuerlein (Head of the Psychiatric Polyclinic, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich and author of recognised standard works), there are five definition criteria for pathological alcoholism from a clinical point of view.

These are 1. abnormal drinking behaviour, 2. somatic alcohol-related damage, 3. psychosocial alcohol-related damage, 4. development of tolerance and withdrawal syndrome (physical alcohol dependence) and finally 5. development of "withdrawal syndromes on the subjective level" with, in extreme cases, total loss of control, as well as the centring of thinking and striving for alcohol (psychological alcohol dependence).

If only the first four criteria are met, this is referred to as alcohol abuse (alcohol abuse), with the fifth criterion being alcohol dependence. According to estimates by the German Centre against the Dangers of Addiction, around eight million Germans (10%) are considered to be at risk of alcohol abuse, 2.5 million of whom are alcoholics. 20% of accidents at work and 20% of traffic fatalities can be attributed to the influence of alcohol. This data can be converted proportionally to the population of Austria (just under 9 million).

Classification or types of alcoholics

A typological classification comes from Professor E. M. Jellinek. The US psychiatrist is regarded as the "pope" of alcoholism research; his main work "The disease concept of alcoholism" from 1940 led to the general recognition of alcoholism as a disease, and the typology of alcoholism was published in 1960. Jellinkek assumes four or five types, which he describes as follows:

Alpha and beta alcoholics

These two types are still...