Alcohol Abuse and Addiction - Alcohol Abuse Or Alcoholism?

The American Psychiatric Association, publisher of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), first defined alcoholism in 1952 (DSM-I). DSM-III renamed alcoholism as alcohol dependence and introduced the phrase "alcohol abuse." According to DSM-III's definitions of alcohol abuse, the condition involves a compulsive use of alcohol and impaired social or occupational functioning, while alcohol dependence includes physical tolerance and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is stopped. The most recent edition of this publication as of this writing, the Manual's Fourth Edition, Text Revision 2000 (DSM-IV-TR), refined these definitions further, but the basic definitions remain the same.

The World Health Organization publishes the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is designed to standardize health data collection throughout the world. The Tenth Edition (ICD-10) generally defines abuse and tolerance similarly to the DSM-IV-TR.

Symptoms of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in its September 2004 update of Alcoholism: Getting the Facts, states that alcoholism (alcohol dependence) is a disease that includes the four symptoms listed and described in Table 4.1.

According to Alcoholism: Getting the Facts, "alcohol abuse differs from alcoholism in that it does not include an extremely strong craving for alcohol, loss of control over drinking, or physical dependence." The symptoms of alcohol abuse according to this publication are listed in Table 4.2. The NIAAA notes that "although alcohol abuse is basically different from alcoholism, many effects of alcohol abuse are also experienced by alcoholics."

Other warning signs of alcohol abuse include the need to drink before facing certain situations, frequent drinking sprees, a steady increase in intake, solitary drinking, early-morning drinking, and the occurrence of blackouts. Blackouts for heavy drinkers are not episodes of passing out, but are periods drinkers cannot remember later, even though they appeared to be functioning at the time.