Why is alcoholism considered a disease, but not smoking? Are food addicts considered diseased?

Heh, you have a point. Smoking is in fact considered an addiction, but no one calls it a disease. The reason, I suspect, has more to do with politics than anything else -- it became an article of faith among some groups that alcoholism was a disease, because as hard as it is to believe, there was a time it was looked upon purely as a moral failing. Now we understand that alcohol is physically addictive. And cigarettes, until maybe 20 years ago, smoking wasn't believed to be addictive either!

I suppose an argument could be made either way regarding physical addiction -- it's like a disease in that it results in a harmful physical disorder of brain chemistry, but it isn't like a disease in that there's an element of choice -- such as whether you smoke or drink too much in the first place, or whether you quit if you get addicted.

Calling food addictive is, I think, stretching it. I mean, we're all addicted to food! And go through withdrawal symptoms when we don't eat. Arguably, addiction interferes with the brain chemistry that is naturally involved in our "addiction" to food, sex, and other necessary activities. Though in my own experience, if you eat lots of sugar, or starch, or fat, or whatever, your body does start to crave it, so in that respect, it may be like an addiction for some people.

Alcoholism Is Not A Disease

Alcoholism became a disease only because the AMA voted it to be a disease at the urging of Marty Mann, former PR woman who successfully made Alcoholics Anonymous the favored method of treatment in the US.

http://www.roizen.com/ron/mann.htm

The most convincing argument for alcoholism/addiction being a disease

comes from Gorski:

"If alcoholism is defined as a disease, it will be treated as a healthcare problem. As a result, alcoholics will be assured the right to receive appropriate medical treatment for this disease. The treatment of Alcoholism will be covered by health insurance and other health care financing plans in both the public and private sectors. The appropriate health care groups will be mobilized to support its treatment. And, most importantly, ongoing biomedical research which relates alcoholism to other diseases will be funded.

If alcoholism is not defined as a disease, we will be making the decision that it does not rightfully belong within healthcare. Alcoholics, then, will be denied access to vital healthcare services.

Insurance and other health care financing plans will exclude alcoholism.

Alcoholism, which is responsible for 30% of all inpatient hospital days and nearly 50% of emergency room visits, will be divorced from the medical field. As a result it will never be fully integrated into our health care system."

There it is, the ECONOMIC reason that alcoholism called "disease".

Over the years, the definition of the word 'disease' changed so that it might include alcoholism.

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Hello, my name is Ken Drew...

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well a disease is something that is spread or contagious or causes infection. Alcoholism is more of an illness.

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